Brand Bangalore IT's abode

Brand Bangalore IT's abode

The Hindu Business Line

MAINTAINING its pre-eminence in the information technology sector, the country's technology capital Bangalore continues to attract global IT investments. It's not just major global firms that are investing and expanding their operations in the city, but also the next generation technology start-ups that are being attracted by the "Brand Bangalore".

The availability of diverse skill sets, driven by the large base of education and research institutions in Karnataka, telecom connectivity and the IT industry cluster in and around Bangalore are the key reasons attracting the attention of the global firms towards the city, which already houses over 1,600 IT firms.

From designing the next generation semiconductor chips to providing remote management services, the IT firms in Bangalore are providing a host of services for the global corporates.

Almost all the global IT giants including the likes of IBM, HP, Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, SAP, Oracle among others have their operations in Bangalore, which contribute to their latest product development and releases.

Latest data from the Software Technology Parks of India indicate that Bangalore has managed to attract investments of over Rs 1,520 crore from some 97 new technology companies till end-August in the current fiscal, as compared with Rs 1,300 crore in the corresponding period last year. Of the 97 new firms, about 57 are 100 per cent foreign equity firms.

Majority of the new firms are funded by venture capitalists and operate in the technology design space.

"The level of interest among global companies setting up their operations in Bangalore is very encouraging. The bulk of the IT firms find the industry much more qualitative. This sort of a cluster is not there anywhere else in the country," says Mr B.V. Naidu, Director, STPI, Bangalore.

The Karnataka IT department along with STPI are making special efforts to promote the Tier II cities such as Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli as alternative IT destinations.

Cities such as Mysore and Mangalore have already attracted the attention of giants such as Infosys, Wipro and MphasiS.

Even global majors such as IBM and i-flex Solutions, recently acquired by Oracle, are said to be keen on setting up their operations in Mysore.

Karnataka is targeting a 35 per cent growth in the current fiscal for its software and hardware exports, which stood at Rs 30,000 crore last year, says the IT Secretary, Mr M.K. Shankarlinge Gowda.

The Karnataka Government proposes to set up an electronics hardware park spread over some 1,000 acres near the upcoming international airport near Devanahalli.

The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) is expected to notify the land soon for the proposed hardware park for which the State Government is making efforts to get a special economic zone (SEZ) status.

An SEZ status would make available certain concessions such as excise duty to the companies that would set up operations in the electronics hardware park, Mr Gowda adds.

When operational, the hardware park is expected to provide a further impetus to the IT exports.

Early this year, Bangalore was chosen as the India headquarters for the United Nations "Global e-school and Communities Initiative" (Gesci), a special campaign to promote the use of technology in education.

Under the Gesci programme, diverse educational and community development projects and best practices will be developed in Bangalore for the benefit of all countries.

BangaloreIT.in, the country's prestigious technology event into eighth edition this year, is getting bigger by the year attracting significant interest from all over the world.

About 18 countries are participating this year as compared with 12 last year, says Mr Gowda.

High level delegations from countries such as Australia, China, France, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan and the UK are participating this year, while 120 global companies are showcasing their technologies in the event even while seeking collaborations, exchanging information, networking, headhunting, among others. Close to 150 Indian firms are also participating in the event. Prominent firms participating this year would be HP, Motorola, TCS, Misys, IBM, Infosys, Bharti Telecom, Tata Teleservices, BSNL, London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq among others.

The event expects to showcase the country's booming IT industry, providing an platform for productive interface between the CEOs, CTOs, managers, IT professionals among others.

Apart from the main expo, a host of events, including conferences, CEO Conclave, networking dinner, rural IT quiz and the students Internet world are also being organised.

Conferences on Beyond Bangalore, Information Technology in Services Management by the ITSM Forum India, Human Resources in IT by the HR India Foundation, TiECON 2005 on "Innovating in India for India by India" by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) chapter and "Accelerating Technology in Semiconductor Space" by the India Semiconductor Association are the key highlights of this year's event.