IT projects will be 'Vizaged' soon

Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam has all the ingredients to emerge as the next IT hub of India if the local technology base is tapped suitably with upskilling initiatives along with a greater interface with the startup ecosystem.

Delegates drawn from the entire technology ecosystem attending the 'BizzBuzz Business Conclave' in the city opined that the port city already has the necessary ecosystem in place and the current task is to accelerate investment opportunities further in the IT & ITeS space through promoting entrepreneurship and working on innovative and critical technical areas.

The two-day 'BizzBuzz Business Conclave'organised by The Hans Group and Bizz Buzz kick started here on Friday with a theme of 'Visakhapatnam, the City of Destiny.'

The session on IT had a theme of 'Vizag- a port for emerging tech'.

"In Silicon Valley, when any project is outsourced, it is called the project has been Bangalored. Soon, there will be a moment, when people will say the project is Viazaged," Krishna Sagar Rao, Organisational Strategist said addressing the session.

"Andhra Pradesh provides the highest number of technology workforce to Indian IT sector and there are many good human resources from Visakhapatnam who are working outside the city. We have to retain those talent for making the city a hub for IT services," Rao added.

Visakhapatnam has already attracted a huge amount of investment from many technology giants of India with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tech Mahindra, Wipro, and Cyient among others. Vizag is also home to many prestigious educational institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indian Institute of Petroleum & Energy, Indian Maritime University, National Institute of Oceanography, and many more. "Vizag has been positioned as the IT city of Andhra Pradesh. To support the growth of the sector, we are committed to skill development programmes among engineers. If the private sector comes up with the technology areas in which they want to skill talent, we are ready to provide all kind of support," Nanda Kishore Reddy, Group CEO, APEITA (Andhra Pradesh Electronics and Information Technology Agency).

The city also has one of the oldest STPI (Software Technology Park of India) centre in India. Through STPI, Andhra Pradesh is promoting various incubation centres in the state including in the city.

"Through the STPI, we are promoting various incubation centres in the State. Vizag is a key IT centre and the government is promoting various initiatives to make it more attractive," CVD Ram Prasad, Director, STPI – Hyderabad, said.

Many experts also opined that a vibrant startup ecosystem through promotion of entrepreneurship was the need of the hour.

"There is a need for promoting the startup ecosystem in Vizag through innovation in digital technologies. Work from Home (WFH) has expanded the talent base as companies can hire from any place now. In this environment, there is a need of change of perception. AP stands for Absolutely Perfect and Vizag has all the ingredient to emerge as the next hub if due importance is given to creation and innovation," Sairam Vedam, Chief Marketing Officer at Cigniti Technologies, said.

Many experts also said that high attrition and the move to tier-II centres will benefit a city like Vizag in coming years. Currently, most IT companies are having an attrition rate of more than 20 per cent. In city terms, Vizag has posted the lowest attrition rate in the country.

"Around 75 per cent of the IT work done from Vizag is related to BPM (Business Process Management) segment. To grow this segment further, we should concentrate on providing more specialised solutions like voice to grow our share in the overall IT market," said Sreedhar Kosaraju, MD - Nimaisoft Systems Pvt Ltd & President of iTAAP.

Gowri Prasad, General Manager of Reliance Jio, opined that the company is providing required digital infrastructure to the entire IT and startup ecosystem in Vizag and Andhra Pradesh. "We are planning to invest more in coming time to support it further," he added.