Will the dream to make Vizag a major IT hub come true?

l Infosys sprucing up a building at IT SEZ, Madhurawada

l New iconic tower on the lines of T-Hub

l Land bank, talent pool and reverse migration of local talent

Visakhapatnam: Co-founder of IT major Infosys Kris Gopalakrishnan had said in 2014: Visakhapatnam has all the ingredients to become a major IT hub and IT capital of undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Like all other VVIP visits, Gopalakrishnan, who was here to attend a CEO’s conclave nine years ago, had also fallen in love with the beauty of the city with two million plus population, fondly called City of Destiny. “For anyone its love at first sight as the city’s rare combination of valley and virgin beaches will mesmerise all the visitors,” he had remarked.

Even after several years elapsed, the city is still craving for big players to make a difference. The much-needed booster dose to strengthen the existing ecosystem has not happened despite big plans to construct a huge tower at Rushikonda, a Boeing-shaped tower at Siripuram-as a joint venture between Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and erstwhile Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (renamed as Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority) and another tower for data security at Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ)-Duvvada during 2014-19.

Now IT and Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath says following a directive from Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, they will be constructing a new iconic tower on the lines of T-Hub of Hyderabad with three lakh sq ft at Rushikonda-also projected as Cyber City of Andhra Pradesh. The New Industries Policy also talks about the new tower with plug and play facilities emerging as a game-changer.

Another development, which has raised hopes among the IT fraternity in the region, is the reported decision of Infosys to launch its operations in the city. It is sprucing up a building at IT SEZ, Madhurawada after taking it on lease. It is said that the IT major will have a headcount of 650. Top officials from Infosys already held talks with the AP Government and described their plans to improve their presence in tier-2 cities.

Adani Group is investing nearly Rs 21,000 crore on its data park and other facilities on the city outskirts after the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the ambitious project. The laying of submarine cables from Singapore will provide a significant increase in data speed. The submarine cables from Singapore to Visakhapatnam will increase bandwidth speed by five-fold giving a push to IT investments in the region. The Hyper scale data centre offering reliable data security will also be a positive indicator to many to invest in and around the city. Skill University and skill centres, the proposed technology and business park will also be a game-changer. “Infosys is getting ready to launch its operations. Adani Group work has started. There are efforts to bring more big ticket projects with the Bhogapuram International Airport expected to be operational in next few years. We are confident that Visakhapatnam will soon emerge as an IT hub making our long awaited dream come true,” Sridhar Kosaraju, president, IT Association of AP (ITAAP), told Bizz Buzz.

IT turnover more or less has remained stagnant in Visakhapatnam except launching of operations by some BPOs to take advantage of incentives offered by India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS).

The availability of land bank and talent pool and the growing trend for reverse migration of local talent following establishment of facilities by Conduent, Concentrix, WNS, Patra India, Fluentgrid and Miracle City are slowly bringing about the change in the IT landscape. With the launching of operations by few more big ticket projects, Visakhapatnam is expected to get the much-needed booster dose.

“Visakhapatnam is destined to be 4.0 World Valley. It is going to be a producer of software product and service but also going to be a manufacturing hub of hardware in the space of building Humanoid Robotics,” said Jai Krishna Kundala, founder, Finer Aspects Digi.

Infosys is getting ready to launch its operations. Adani Group work has started. There are efforts to bring more big ticket projects with the Bhogapuram International Airport expected to be operational in next few years. We are confident that Visakhapatnam will soon emerge as an IT hub making our long awaited dream come true

- Sridhar Kosaraju, president, ITAAP