Bangalore IT.in

IT.in to focus beyond Bangalore

Every year, India’s premier IT show helps attract IT investments. Besides showcasing Bangalore, this year’s IT.in intends to bring Karnataka’s tier II cities to the forefront, says Vinutha V.

The newly christened Bangalore IT.in (formerly known as Bangalore IT.com) is entering its eighth edition and is being held from October 26 to 29, 2005. The deadlines set by the Karnataka state government to improve the crumbling Bangalore road infrastructure finally convinced IT companies to withdraw their threat to boycott the event. A number of meetings between the representatives of industry and the local government ensured their participation.

Last year, the IT industry had threatened to boycott Bangalore IT.in (IT.com) but withdrew their protest after the government promised to take some action to improve the city’s infrastructure. Those promises were never kept, according to the industry. The state government has given deadlines for crucial projects including the operation of the Bangalore International Airport and Metro Rail, and has promised to meet them. Work has begun on the Bangalore International Airport and passenger flights will be operational from January 2008. The work on the Rs 6,207 crore (33 kms stretch) Metro Rail Project has commenced with the state’s share being Rs 1,807 crore, and government of India’s at Rs 1,447 crore. balance Rs 2,953 crore will come from banks. The first train is scheduled to roll out in October 2008. There will be four new flyovers that will be constructed by the Bangalore Development Authority at a cost of Rs 105 crore. A new elevated four-lane road will be constructed between the Silk Board junction and Electronics City on Hosur Road at a cost of Rs 400 crore.

The companies participating in the event this year include HP, Motorola, Freescale Semiconductor, TCS, Mysys, Mitsubishi, WeP Peripherals, IBM, APC, Hutch, Reliance, the London Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, Coral Telecom and Alcatel Business Solutions among others.

Bangalore still attracts

Even though the IT industry is highlighting the city’s infrastructure problems, Bangalore has been the preferred destination for IT ventures from across the world. The growth the industry has seen in the previous year is a testimony to this. Karnataka has contributed Rs 27,600 crore during 2004-05, a 52 percent jump in software exports from the state.

“The annual Bangalore IT.in event has helped to draw the attention and investments of global IT players towards Karnataka. Last year’s event was an unqualified success. The event has helped to attract about 238 IT companies between November 2004 and September 2005 as against last year’s 168. On an average, Bangalore is attracting four companies in a week,” says M K Shankaralinge Gowda, Karnataka’s IT secretary. “Now, it’s not just the IT companies that are acting as the enablers of IT investments. Good quality structures that meet global standards indicates that builders have understood the IT requirements such as employees’ requirements in the office, car parking facilities and so on,” he adds. After New Delhi and Mumbai, Bangalore has the largest domestic air connectivity, it has the talent and the law and order situation is stable in the city and the state.

‘Beyond Bangalore’

No doubt, new global IT ventures look to Bangalore as their destination, the existing IT companies in the city are aiming to spread their wings to tier II cities of Karnataka—Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli, Dharwad and Shimoga. “Tier II cities hold potential for the IT sector. The existing infrastructure of earth stations and incubation centres in these cities are the basic necessities for the growth of IT and availability of skilled manpower is an added advantage,” says Gowda. As of now, Mysore has the highest number of IT professionals amongst tier II cities. This is because of Mysore’s proximity to Bangalore. Real estate prices are lower and data communication resources are in place. Moreover, travelling is glitch-free and without traffic congestion.

The cosmopolitan culture that is existing in Bangalore is gradually sinking into Mysore too, according to a spokesperson of STPI, Mysore. The work on the four-lane expressway between Bangalore and Mysore is underway. The rail track between Bangalore and Mysore has also been increased to twice its current size. The existing airport at Mysore is being upgraded to accommodate larger aircraft with an expenditure of Rs 50 crore. Mysore’s IT companies employ about 3,500 software professionals in 33 companies, of whom, 2,500 people are employed in Infosys alone.

ONGC’s economic zone is expected to help in attracting IT communities to Mangalore. “Of the 19 IT companies in Mangalore, Infosys and MsourcE are the major IT players as of now. We expect more IT firms to come once the night flying facility improves at Mangalore airport. The city needs a greater number of international class hotels,” says Ganesh Nayak, Officer In-Charge, STPI, Mangalore. The IT workforce of Mangalore consists of around 2,500 people. Of this 1,500 are employed in Infosys followed by 400 in MsourcE.

The north Karnataka region of Hubli and Belgaum is home to the BPO segment, which is mushrooming in this region with medical transcription, data conversion and call centres. “For this region to improve, basic infrastructure in the form of good road and air connectivity is critical. We have an IT park with 2.7 lakh sq. ft area. Our incubation centre has nurtured eight companies, of which six are already full-fledged BPO outfits. Proper marketing of existing facilities and improvement of soft-skills of the existing manpower will encourage IT companies to operate from here,” says Jaya Prakash, Officer-In-Charge, STPI, Hubli. Currently, the seven BPO companies in Hubli and Belgaum have 500 employees.

There has been a consistent focus on part of the state government and IT players to move IT beyond Bangalore. Preliminary surveys have been conducted in these tier II cities. In view of this, IT.in will hold a separate seminar, ‘Beyond Bangalore,’ wherein a platform will be created for foreign visitors and domestic companies to understand the potential of tier II cities.

20,000 sq.mts have been allocated to the IT.in event, an increase of 25 percent compared to last year. This year, only certain places such as cafeteria and VIP zones will be WiFi-enabled. Says, M Hussain of Events Ten, “Unlike last year, the entire event area will not be WiFi-enabled. From the previous year’s experience, we have noticed that not all the participants would have equipment that support WiFi. Sify is providing WiFi services to the event.” Bharti is providing a broadband connectivity of 6 Mbps and the same speed for backup.

New flavours of IT.in 2005

To attract both B2B and B2C visitors, the event is holding ‘Bid and Win’ selling zone, wherein hardware companies will showcase their products including notebooks, desktops, printers and other computer accessories. Buyers can bid and win products in three slots of an hour each. Connoisseur and WeP Peripherals have already confirmed their participation and a few companies from China and Taiwan are also expected to showcase their products. In addition, the buyer-seller meet offers direct contact between buyers and sellers. The Global Zone and the Gaming Zone are also included as the special focus areas of the event.

This year too, the event will have eight pavilions—Global IT, STPI, IT states, infrastructure, software, ICMT, communication (earlier telecom) and IT mall (earlier Spectrum). This year’s IT.in event is focussing on HR issues in IT, bridging Barcelona and India, Invest in Bavaria and TiECon Bangalore 2005 in three days of conferences. The rest includes regular features such as networking dinner, CEO conclave, awards nite, rural IT quiz and Students Internet World with three lakh students who will also be a part of the event.

From the 13 countries in the previous year, the number of countries and regions participating has gone up to 20 this year—the US, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Mexico, Bavaria, Belgium, China, Japan, Russia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Germany and France. Some of the countries are bringing large delegations with them. For instance, Spain is coming with 40 delegates, and there are about 20 companies from both China and Taiwan. Australia too will be there with 20 companies. Mrs Sonia Gandhi will inaugurate the event and Chief Minister of Karnataka, Dharam Singh and Union Communications and IT minister, Dayanidhi Maran will be the chief guests at the inauguration. Over 250 companies are expected to participate and three lakh visitors are expected during the entire event.

vinutha@expresscomputeronline.com