IT majors to boycott Bangalore IT.Com

Desperate bid to force Govt. to act on infrastructure
IT majors to boycott Bangalore IT.Com
Poor Infrastructure, Continued Govt Indifference Are Villains Again
Times of India

Information technology may soon be Bangalored if the coalition government continues to ignore infrastructure. On Friday, top IT firms announced that they will boycott this year’s Bangalore IT.Com, the government’s flagship event, to be held next month. Disgusted by the government’s continued indifference to bad roads, the IT firms want to give a wake-up call to the “Kumbhakarna-like” government.

A low-profile association, the Bangalore Forum of IT companies (BFIT), which meets every two months to thrash out the issues that plague the IT industry, had unanimously decided on the boycott. Despite the media reporting on the poor infrastructure, the captains of IT companies sending out SOS signals, the residents resorting to rasta rokos, the government continues to behave like Ravana’s brother Kumbhakarna, whom no one could wake up for six months when he was asleep, says a CEO of an IT firm.

So this year’s IT.Com will not have illustrious participants like Hewlett-Packard (HP), Texas Instruments, Motorola, SAP, Philips Software, Novell, Siemens, Bosch, Synopsis, Cadence, who have their India R&D development centres based here. Indian firms Sasken Communication, Talisma and vMoksha, also members of the BFIT, will not participate in this annual IT grand show, which draws companies and delegates from all over the world.

Says Bob Hoekstra, CEO, Philips Software: “This is meant as a wakeup call to the government to take some kind of an action and improve the infrastructure of our city. We have invested millions of dollars in our facilities here and unlike the services companies, we just cannot move out of Bangalore and expand.’’

The IT companies have been struggling over the past few months with the infrastructure rolling into a deeper pit. “The problem here is that no one is willing to listen to us and take some action. One meeting was held where we came together on August 10 and the government promised to expedite the delayed work but do you see any improvement or any sign of improvement,’’ asks Pawan Kumar, CEO, vMoksha Technologies.

When contacted, Karnataka IT Secretary Shankarlinge Gowda came out with a typical reply: “The concerns of the IT companies would definitely be looked into.’’ He said: “Though we have not received any notification from them, we will not allow them to break away from the IT community. An executive council meeting is scheduled for Saturday and we will take appropriate action to allay their fears.’’

But the IT community is quite sceptical. “We have nothing against the IT department or the STPI-Bangalore who spearhead the show. Both the IT secretary and STPI director B.V. Naidu are very friendly and listen to our problems. But they cannot do anything... Their hands are tied... It is the government that has to take a call,’’ says another CEO of a firm which participates regularly in the IT show.

Interestingly, chief minister Dharam Singh, who is in Bidar, reiterated he will meet the IT captains and revisit the infrastructure issue. The IT.Com is aimed at attracting new investment. But can it, if the government fails to serve the companies which are already doing business here?

Unknown virus
“Despite the captains of IT companies sending out SOS signals and residents resorting to rasta roko, government continues to be like Kumbhakarna.’’ — CEO of an IT firm.

Abort, Retry
“The problem here is that there is no one willing to listen to us. One meeting was held, the government promised to expedite the delayed work. Do you see any improvement?” — Pawan Kumar, CEO, vMoksha Technologies.

Bad command
“The concerns of the IT companies would definitely be looked into.’’ — Karnataka IT Secretary Shankarlinge Gowda.

Other reports
Deccan Herald
Business Standard
The Economic Times
The Hindu Business Line