Chandigarh Express

Last months' e-Revolution 2011-the biggest IT annual conference of the region that gets people from Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu & Kashmir, held in Chandigarh-was an eye opener of sorts.

I don't know how many of us are aware but there are over 25,000 IT professionals working in the Chandigarh region (that includes Mohali and Panchkula). Besides some large names like TechMahindra, Dell, and Infosys, which obviously contribute significantly to this number, there are over 250 small technology units that offer IT services to customers in India as well as overseas, and work on product development. And many of them are taking risks and building their own innovative products. Plus there are hundreds of small to mid-sized dealers selling off-the-shelf ICT products.

Interestingly, the range of technologies and applications these entrepreneurs are working on is vast. From CAD/CAM to HR solutions to managed print services. And the flavor of the day seems to be mobile VAS applications. For instance, there is a small team which has built a mobile solution to track each and every expense of yours throughout the day. You can track your expenses on-line anytime you want; and get a detailed expense by expense report at the end of the day or week or year. Makes life so easy.

The sad story in the region is the poor state of IT deployment in many of the small scale units. While the region is home to industrial clusters like garments, woolens, hosiery, hand tools, food processing, pharma, auto parts, sports goods, and so on, they are way behind in deploying and leveraging the new technologies. There is clearly a big untapped market, an opportunity for local tech players. A little government support and encouragement can go a long way in helping both, and in the process create more jobs.

Twenty two years ago-mind you, 22 years is a couple of generations in the IT world-when I entered the Indian infotech industry, there were only 4 cities where software and hardware professionals could go. These included Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata to some extent. Later Hyderabad and Pune also joined this exclusive club. And that is it. Nothing happened after that. The Indian information technology business grew from less than `3,000 crore to `3,85,250 crore, but we have not been able to beyond these few cities.

Two decades have gone by and these 6 cities and the companies located there are struggling to accommodate all the ICT professionals in the country. And similarly, these aspiring and budding professionals here too are also struggling with work and life. I know cases of software professionals in some very small companies living in filthy pigeon hole conditions in Gurgaon.

The Chandigarh life is so different. Maximum commute time is 15-20 minutes; attrition is very low (between 3-5%), and young professionals are relaxed after office hours, visiting the numerous shopping centers, restaurants, parks, and clubs. No wonder entrepreneurs and innovators love the place. Can we have more Chandigarhs please?