STIRS DON’T SHAKE ‘IT’

Associations say the industry in better position than previous years

Despite the Seemandhra agitation, the IT sector is seeing progress and, more importantly, the ‘good sentiment’ is returning, suggest insiders.

Four new companies have set up shop in the city in the last one week alone. Industry associations indicate that it is in a better position now than in previous years and the fact that the final decision on the future of the state has been announced has given hope to the sector.

Almost 85 per cent of the big IT players in the global market already have a presence in the city. The smaller ones too are doing well and adding to the ‘good sentiment’ of the IT destination. Among the new companies that have opened offices in the city are Lender Processing Services Inc., Cigniti Technologies, Zensar and US-based Infix.

“The industry wants stability. But even before the decision was taken, the IT sector did not suffer even a single day’s loss of work. Not a single company was closed down even in the most turbulent times. The momentum has picked up again and just driving by the core areas of the IT hub one can see new office spaces cropping up rap- idly,” said Ramesh Loganathan, vice-president for IT and ITeS Industry Association of Andhra Pradesh.

There is a tremendous talent pool concentrated in the city with a large number of colleges and the spectrum of IT services offered is matched only by Bengaluru and Chennai.

“Despite the agitations and disturbances, the growth of the IT sector has not been affected. There has been constant growth and with four new companies setting up their offices in the city in just one week, it is clear that the IT sector is untouched by the current Seemandhra agitation,” said minister for information technology and communications, Ponnala Lakshmaiah.