Chennai most attractive IT destination

The recent rains that lashed south Indian states may well turn out to be a 'blessing in disguise' - at least for Chennai's IT sector.

A cross-section of IT professionals have favoured Chennai over Bangalore, saying the Tamil Nadu capital's infrastructure had, by and large, withstood the brunt of nature's fury better than the 'Garden City'.

Chandigarh and Jamshedpur were the other cities to make their mark for good infrastructure.

Chandigarh was praised for reflecting superior planning as compared to other cities, while Jamshedpur's physical infrastructure was described as ''also very good'' though the 'city of steel' in Jharkhand lagged behind in local IT talent pool.

Chennai emerged the overall favourite for the status of the 'Most Attractive IT Destination,' as it was not adversely impacted by incessant rain compared to its neighbour whose hi-tech image came 'under a cloud' after rains disrupted businesses of IT majors.

''Be it people or general support, infrastructure or talent, Chennai offered a wee bit more of a choice,'' California Software Executive Vice President and COO J K Nair told UNI.

Having operations in both Bangalore and Chennai, the Calsoft official said costs were lower in Tamil Nadu's capital compared to the Garden City. ''Even in terms of infrastructure and talent sourcing or even attrition rate, Chennai was better,'' he said.

According to Take Solutions Vision Holder H R Srinivasan, ''Chennai is certainly better geared today than Bangalore but what is going to happen three years hence remains to be seen''.

He voted for Chennai for having better water, road and power facilities over Bangalore. However, a combination of factors was responsible for any organisation to choose its location.

The execution of mass rapid transit system and adequate power and water supply will ensure that Chennai continues to enjoy advantages. Focus on a holistic urban transportation solution could also help the city retain its edge, he added.

Another senior IT professional, speaking on condition of anonymity, gave full credit to Chennai for its resilience during the rains, but said the city was certainly getting congested and travel time was getting longer.

While no official figures were available on the losses suffered by the IT sector due to rains, Frost and Sullivan ICT Practice Director Alok Shende said mid-sized companies were the worst-affected as they were not equipped to face the problem.

A conservative estimate of losses in Bangalore due to rain was placed at between $8 to10 million, he said, adding this did not take potential losses into consideration.