IT@TT - Online

Itrama.com is a treasure-trove of information about anything and everything IT. Shakir Ebrahim, CEO, Itrama.com, shares insights about this unique 'directory' with Amrita Ghosh of IT@TT.

IT@TT: What inspired you to start an online buyer's guide?

SE: I publish a similar directory on properties for the NRI market. And I thought it could be duplicated for IT products. It didn't start as an on-line venture but as a print publishing project, which was later converted into a CD-based project and finally into a net venture. I thought that need for such a product existed and that corporates would subscribe to this service/product.

IT@TT: Launching something as ambitious as a buyers' guide to IT products must have involved extensive market research. What's the market reaction been? Has it lived up to or belied your expectations?

SE: We've got almost 15,000 subscribers to this service, including over 5,000 identified decision makers. Horizontal portals are keen to have this information as well, so market reaction has been good. However, monetising this reaction is the key.

IT@TT: What's your mission statement?

SE: I don't believe in Mission Statements.

IT@TT: What or who is the "BASIL" team? And when did you launch the site?

SE: BASIL is actually the first alphabet in the names of 5 of us who financed this project; Bharat, Alok, Shakir, Iqbal and Leo. The project was first launched on a CD-ROM in September 1999. The web site was launched on March 27, 2000.

IT@TT: Why did you name the site ITRama?

SE: It's a branding proposition. There were other sites beginning with 'IT' followed by an English verb or adjective, and we thought in due course, there would be more. So 'rama' would be a distinguishing word. However the birth of 'rama' resulted from the word 'Panorama', which signified the extent of our coverage.

IT@TT: Your site stresses the quality of content. How do you generate information?

SE: The initial idea was to outsource, but we could not get quality information. We even lost a whole quarter due to delay in getting the right content. Ever since, we have performed research in-house.

IT@TT: Do you have any tie-ups with manufacturers or dealers? And if so, what's the revenue sharing?

SE: We will shortly be having a few tie-ups. However, they will be fee-based and not on revenue sharing, as we are not pursuing the e-commerce model.

IT@TT: How do you generate revenue?

SE: As the net is an evolving medium, we believe it is better to increase our basket of services within the IT Sector. Correspondingly, 3 basic revenue modes have emerged. The first is the "dot.com model" where we are still haemorraging but expect to generate positive cash flows in 2001 through syndication of content. The second is the "off-line model", where we undertake job-work in our area of expertise. This includes setting up a test lab for product testing and reviews, producing CD-ROMs for IT companies, etc. The third is the "Net-enabled model" where we are using the medium of the Net to conduct a service.

We have begun to conduct product and brand research (in the IT Sector). As against a conventional research this is much faster and cheaper, where questionnaires are answered on-line, real-time tabulation is done and a report is ready in just a few days. We have also begun a web-based call centre and developed an e-CRM package, called "Query Me Live" (www.querymelive.net) which we'll sell as stand-alone software or as an integrated service.

IT@TT: Could you tell us a bit about the company and what skill sets you consider for recruitment?

SE: I think one of the major strengths of ITrama is that most of the people we recruited right in the beginning are still with us. We basically look for the "can-do" attitude; a programmer may have zero experience, but if his attitude is positive, he's on.

IT@TT: You have marketing representatives in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. Are you considering an expansion of your activities in Eastern India?

SE: Strangely, more than 80% of India's IT companies are concentrated in these 3 cities. We have no expansion plans elsewhere as of now. However, we should be opening a marketing office in the US during the middle of this year.

IT@TT: What's the scalability factor?

SE: Our "Buyer's Guide" section is unique. And can be replicated in other countries, typically in developing ones, provided the revenue model in India proves successful. Our e-CRM offering is also a globally scalable product.

IT@TT: In your opinion what is the market success scenario for a directory like yours?

SE: I think the chances are a lot brighter after the dot.com crash! For several reasons. Firstly the crash has created the largest entry barrier possible. Second, those surviving will not want to duplicate resources on information easily available elsewhere. This safeguards our syndication business. Finally, since there will be few (if any) to offer information in the scope we provide, we can at some point, charge for listing fees and/or subscriptions.

IT@TT: How authentic is your claim of "India's most comprehensive buyers' guide for IT products?"

SE: We are certainly "the most comprehensive" in the country. You will not get a majority of this information from any other site, whether Indian or foreign.

IT@TT: Do have any competitors? What's the edge you offer customers?

SE: One can consider most IT shopping sites as competition. However, they list running items like Desktops, Ink jets, DigiCams etc, which total to approximately 25-30 product categories as compared to our 120. Even within those 25-30, they list only products of companies with whom they have a tie-up. So even within a category, they are not comprehensive. We may, in fact, be providing some of these sites with our information!

IT@TT: Where do you see Itrama.com a few years from now?

SE: The Net is too evolving to see much ahead. However, the Net on the whole, holds as much promise to change the way people live and work, as it did before the "dot.com" crash. ITrama will be one of the bricks in that wall of change.

IT@TT: Could you share with our readers some of your favourite web sites and why you like them?

SE: Most of my surfing is for business information like www.fortune.com, www.redherring.com, Indian sites like www.ciol.com, www.01markets.com, and searches at www.yahoo.com.

Interviewed By Amrita Ghosh
[email protected]

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