The Hindu Business Line : Going off the beaten track

Take, for instance, Coimbatore. Although it is credited for its manufacturing potential, the city appears to be gearing up for the next big wave, this time in the IT and ITES space.

The entry of renowned players such as Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Spheris (to name a few), is expected to trigger the city's growth. It has already opened a spectrum of opportunity for the job seeker.

And the city is not alone in this race. Places of historical importance such as Madurai and Tiruchy are also witnessing accelerated activity in the ITES space.

Industry players see these townships as ideal destinations for expansion. They cite the availability of a rich talent pool across these cities.

Also, sky-rocketing real estate rates in popular cities such as Mumbai and Bangalore, the pitiable roads within city limits with rising traffic (brought by the IT boom) and poor maintenance, and the energy demand outstripping supply in some pockets, are other reasons they cite for expanding their network in newer belts.

The Coimbatore zone of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) envisioned the city as the `ideal IT destination' almost six years ago. While CII's persistent campaign on marketing the city's potential has started to yield results, the Government's initiative in establishing an IT park here is moving at a slow pace. Undeterred by the delay, some renowned companies have moved in to strengthen their position and capitalise on the first-mover advantage.

Boosting headcount

Cognizant, for instance, has almost doubled its initial planned headcount here. The company set up its development centre in Coimbatore in August 2005. It had indicated at that time that it would have around 400 professionals at the end of the first year, but the numbers have already crossed 750. The company is upbeat about this centre. R. Chandrasekaran, President and Managing Director of Cognizant, recently acknowledged the set-up here as the fastest development centre for the company, globally.

TCS started its operations here in a small way, but has since grown manifold. The company is currently planning to set up another offshore facility and is looking at 1-lakh sq.ft space and a headcount of at least 500 in the first year. The TCS CEO, Ramadorai, has said the company will strengthen its presence further by tapping the IT services potential in the manufacturing space.

Spheris, in the medical transcription space, considers Coimbatore as the most vibrant city. Job seekers, young and old, are convinced that a career in a medical transcription (MT) company will help them earn substantially. Bosch is a recent entrant.

The company is looking to rope in 2,500 professionals at its development centre here in a span of five years.

Besides these, there are a number of smaller players doing unique services, particularly in the embedded solutions space.

Local players upbeat

Does the entry of these mega players signal `doom' for the local IT companies? "Definitely not. We want such players to establish their presence here as it will position this city on the global map. The natives, who had gone in search of greener pastures both — outside India and to other IT hubs such as Bangalore and Chennai — are now returning in search of better career prospects here," says Sridharan of KGISL.

The situation in Madurai and Tiruchy, though not comparable with Coimbatore, has improved remarkably. Today these temple towns are turning into potential IT pockets.

Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab has established its base at Madurai. "We have grown from 16 in 2002 to around 250 professionals on date. The facility will serve as a strategic centre for product sustenance and grooming talent. We plan to absorb another 300 engineers," says the Business Head of Honeywell in Madurai, Raghurami Reddy.

At inception in 2002, Honeywell occupied an area of 600 sq.ft, before moving over to the Thiagarajar Advanced Research Centre the following year to occupy an area of 15,000 sq.ft.

In 2005, it expanded its operations to Thirunagar with additional working area of 14,000 sq.ft.

`We have plans to specialise in certain domains, functional areas and elevate the Madurai arm into a Centre of Excellence in these domains and functional areas,' says Raghurami Reddy. Dotcom Infoway opened offices at Madurai and Chennai almost simultaneously with 25 professionals at each location, six years ago.

The headcount at its Madurai arm has swelled to 150 now, whereas the Chennai office continues to service clients with 50 professionals. Its CEO, C.R. Venkatesh, saysemployee loyalty is good in smaller towns.

The Tiruchy-based GFT Technologies is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the GFT Group in Germany. It is into outsourcing of testing and development service for clients in the UK and US markets.

Its Operations Director, Leo Anand, decided to establish the set-up in his native town, after a brief stint in Germany.

From 10 people, it has risen to 70 and the revenues to Rs 5 crore. "Attrition rates are low, but we are unable to attract talent because people are keen to move to bigger cities. The fear of limited career growth if placed in smaller towns looms large amongst job seekers," says Anand.

lnr@thehindu.co.in

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