Is The Slowdown Really Over?

This is the question which is niggling everyone. But there is no qualified
source that one can rely on and who will state that yes, the slowdown is over.
In its absence, people are making their own presumptions and calculations on
whether the brakes that have been applied on the economy have been eased or not.

Interestingly, several vendors are upbeat and believe that the Indian market,
which was not badly impacted by the slowdown anyway, is seeing more optimism
when it comes to consumer

buying sentiments.

The Asian Development Bank recently revised its growth projection for India
up to six percent from an earlier one of five percent for 2009, based on the
fact that public spending has gone up and industrial production is rising. These
are the telltale signs of increased business confidence.

Some other analysts are drawing their conclusions from the latest advance
corporate tax collections, which have risen by 14.7 percent in the second
quarter of 2009-10. Simultaneously, the stock markets are surging while foreign
institutional investors (FIIs) are making their presence felt once again in
Indian markets.

These are all positive signs and ones that the solution providers are lapping
up. This is also why it is the theme of the upcoming fifth SP Summit, organized
by DQ Channels, where we are focusing on how solution providers can hone their
business skills to be able to make the right thrust, when the revival actually
happens in a big way.

The SP Summit is an event which is always over-subscribed for. And this year
too, there were several requests from solution providers all over the country
who wanted to be a part of it, but could not be accommodated. My sincere
apologies to them all.

But for the fortunate 100 who will be joining us at Bangkok, this will be an
experience of a lifetime. They will get exposure to industry experts ranging
from an angel investor to a brand manager to an HR expert and a financial guru.
This aside, two eminent CIOs will give them a frank overview on the qualities
that seek in any SP that they decide to do business with and what these criteria
are based on.

It has been a trying time for our entire team to make sure that the right
profile of partners are associated with the SP Summit and that all their travel
and accommodation arrangements are taken care of, in the best manner. Making
this work for over 100 travellers is no mean feat. But the DQ Channels team has
managed to pull it off. Kudos to them. At the same time, I would like to thank
the delegates who are taking time out of their busy schedules to join us in this
momentous event. Most of them have been attending the SP Summit for the past
four years and meeting them again on this platform is like coming home-it feels
very familiar and comfortable.

Here's to a successful SP Summit. We have raised the bar by being the first
channel publication to organize an event for our readers on such a gigantic
scale, internationally. We have raised the bar for ourselves. Now we can only go
higher from here.

Vinita Bhatia

vinitavs@cybermedia.co.in