Indian IT portal launched

Bangalore -- A Bangalore-based start-up ITNation.com has launched the country's first online trading and auction portal exclusively for IT products (www.itnation.com). This is the only business-to-business e-commerce site specifically for the Indian IT industry.

The portal is being promoted as a platform for IT products and services aimed not only at vendors, dealers, and distributors, but also for providing corporates and individuals "a common online umbrella" to deal in and exchange IT-related information.

The company claims to have already signed up over a thousand IT trade members and 600 corporates, including Hindustan Lever, Reliance, Hutchison Max, Siemens, Zee Telefilms, RCF, ABN Amro, ACC, Castrol India, Chase Manhattan, Coca-Cola India, Crisil, DSP Merrill Lynch, Enron India, Godrej Soaps, Glaxo, HPCL, and M&M.

"The Indian IT market is highly fragmented, with many dealers and value-added resellers," points out Pawan Sood, Managing Director of ITNation.com. "Between them, they hold about 75 percent market share. And these people have already started accessing this platform for most transactions."

In the first phase of its marketing initiative, the company has opened marketing offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, and Pune. Six more offices are slated to be added soon. According to Rizwan Thakur, Joint Managing Director of the company, "The portal provides users with a single-window access for all IT requirements and builds an e-business environment for the Indian industry."