A recap of the year 2004 and trends initiated by the distributors in the current year.   Speaking about the trends started this year, the distributors give an insight into the current state of the IT industry and a flashback of the year that was.....     Perception of WTO, Reactions on Zero duty Regime   The top distributors expressed scepticism about the implementation of zero duty in 2005 but agree that its implementation will take India business to the global stage. Here are the excerpts.....     The impact of mergers and acquisitions on the channel and on respective distributors   Distributors see it as a healthy sign of growth and maturity in the IT industry and will eventually prove beneficial to the channel community. Here are the excerpts.....     The value a distributor would you place on the channel in terms of being profitable. Is there a need to have entry barriers to improve the quality of channel?   Providing value-addition to the partner, assisting him in lead generation is very important in distribution. Entry barriers are almost negligent, say most distributors     The formation of a distribution association has been discussed earlier. Is it something that the distributors are ready for? Will the pros outweigh the cons or the differences due to competition would not make such a forum feasible?   The distributors agreed that such a forum could only be beneficial to the industry. However, the need to involve the vendors and the channel partners for the same was also brought out.