After the new software development of hotspots such as Ahmedabad, Pune and Goa developing quickly, Chandigarh is a ‘challenger’ location for the information technology and business process outsourcing.

‘Location roadmap for IT-BPO growth: Assessment of 50 leading cities’, a study conducted by the global consultancy major A.T. Kearney and National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), an Indian IT industry lobby, indicates that the BPO sector in the country has the potential to grow five-fold in the next five years.

And, why not, tier-2 cities like Chandigarh emerge as a ‘challenger’ locations for IT and BPO industry.

“India should not take her success for granted. It is a fact that China is behind us in high-end outsourcing. But China is a quick learner. They are investing heavily in education. I think we should now make efforts to ensure that not only seven cities which are leaders in IT sectors. But if we can build 50 cities, including places like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Chandigarh, then I don’t see any reason why we can’t continue to succeed as we have population as well as capability,” said Ganesh Natrajan, Chairman of NASSCOMM.

Due to its geographical location and being a planned city, Chandigarh is ready to host IT firms. The city has engineering and technology colleges that nurtures talent best suited to IT and BPO industry.

To provide consultancy and impart training in various disciplines of Information Technology, the Society for Promotion of IT Chandigarh (SPIC) has been set up under the aegis of the Department of Information Technology, Chandigarh.

“As far as development of human capital is concerned, Chandigarh administration has already started development of educational city where we have planned to have high-end courses. The criteria for designing the courses have been identified. Selection of partners for the educational city has already been entrusted to a committee of eminent experts in this domain. So, we have already selected partners for phase 1, 2 and third phase is in process,” said M S Brar, Director, IT, Chandigarh.

The Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park is chock-full of big IT players like IBM, Daksh, Software solutions Ltd., Infosys Technologies Ltd and many more.

With the IT sector boom in the region, opportunities are there for job seekers. (more…)

India’s BPO industry is set to see a logjam as it braces up for tough times owing to lack of new business additions, economic slowdown in the US and increasing competition from other countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines.

The problem is likely to become critical because “the impending US elections have created a negative visibility factor for Indian BPO companies. No listed company in the US wants to dole out new business contract to an Indian BPO company. It creates a negative publicity for the company in terms of jobs being shipped abroad. MNC vendors such as IBM, Accenture and EDS now have strong offshore capabilities in India. Outsourcing to these vendors in the US does not create a negative visibility,” say Avinash Vashishtha, CEO and MD Tholons, an outsourcing advisory firm.

Stats speak for themselves. While IBM has built up a strong 73,000 workforce in India, Accenture has about 37,000 employees. Though Indian BPO companies are strong in terms of cost advantage, nobody wants to create a negative brand image by just saving a couple of thousand dollars. While MNCs are ramping up fast, Indian BPOs are not hiring that much.

Another factor which is coming into play these days is lessening of new pure voice contracts. Most of these pure voice-based contracts are now going to the Philippines. According to many surveys, Filipinos have a better voice and accent — closest to the American accent — which gives them a natural advantage. Metro Manila is the world’s largest concentration of BPOs in the world. About 240 BPO companies exist in and around Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Source