Time
ripe for BPO cos to spread to smaller towns
V4U
News Service
The
National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom),
the premier trade body and 'voice' of the Indian IT-BPO
industry, along with A T Kearney, released the findings
of a first of its kind report on the assessment of 50 locations
in India suitable for the IT-BPO industry titled 'Location
Roadmap For IT-BPO Growth: Assessment Of 50 Leading Cities'.
This study provides a detailed gap analysis along with advantages
and shortcomings of these 50 locations, the available opportunity
for attracting investment from this sector with a deeper
objective of showcasing a roadmap to achieve uniform economic
development in India. It sets the stage for the next wave
of the industry's growth beyond the top seven cities.
Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman, Nasscom and Global CEO, Zensar
Technologies said, "the Indian IT-BPO sector has been
a frontrunner of economic development in select cities,
providing employment to a large number of people and improving
the overall quality of life and amenities like education
and healthcare in these cities.
"We now see the time as being right to spread this
development to a new set of locations, provided the requirements
of the industry can be met. We have broken down these 50
locations into different categories and for each of these
locations, and even beyond them, there is significant potential
to create a success story.
"We see this report serving as a planning input for
state governments, educational institutes, policy makers
and local industry bodies, when they look at means to attract
investment into their regions."
Speaking about the rationale of the report, Som Mittal,
President, Nasscom said, "the development of only a
few select set of cities has put severe pressure on the
infrastructure, costs and also increased migration of resources.
We see immense potential in the next set of locations if
the right steps are taken now. The growth projections of
the industry indicate that even existing seven centres will
see significant growth, however would need proactive planning
and meticulous execution to support this growth.
"This report will provide useful information on relative
attractiveness to companies who are looking to enter or
expand. The dispersion of IT centres will lead to balanced
economic development and reduce economic disparity.
"Apart from partly balancing the pressure on the top
tier locations, this would also add significantly to the
stability of employees and reduce migration to large urban
areas. The success of each of the centres would depend upon
the speed and commitment with which the local city and state
governments will work to fill up the gaps identified."
Govt help vital for small towns to come up
From
Page 1
The
National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom)
hopes that the government would come out with a policy to
support small cities to develop infrastructure for IT industries.
Som Mittal, President, Nasscom said, "the government
would encourage development of a few select set of cities
by extension of the STPI/SEZ like tax benefits, as there
are few SEZs in these locations".
Commenting on the methodology and findings of the study,
Saurine Doshi, Partner, A T Kearney said, "the objective
of doing this study was to assess the potential and attractiveness
of key 50 locations in India as hubs for IT and BPO operations.
In addition to the defined information on the locations,
we have also provided insights based on discussions with
key stakeholders on factors that determine 'location choices'
for both companies seeking to outsource as well as companies
offering IT-BPO services.
"The insights from this report will serve as key reference
point for everyone who plays a role in planning, development
and leverage of a location. This is a first-of-its-kind
study with such detailed analysis and insights on 50 locations
in India. We believe this report will play a vital role
in building competitiveness of all involved and taking the
success story of Indian IT and BPO industry to the next
growth phase. We are happy to have partnered with NASSCOM
in this effort to spread economic development throughout
the nation."
The study was conducted by collecting and analysing data
from 50 locations such as: Knowledge pool and skill-set
availability; infrastructure; social and living environment;
enabling business environment; government support and operating
cost.
The analysis indicates that based on their stage of development
for IT-BPO, the locations can be categorised into four groups,
viz Leaders, Challengers, Followers and Aspirants.
From a talent perspective, while the number of people required
to capture a five-fold growth are available, there maybe
a requirement of employable talent, of which approximately
50 per cent of the additional talent requirements will have
to be met from Tier 2 and 3 cities in India, necessitating
the creation of physical and social infrastructure in these
cities.
