‘West Doesn’t Rest’

At 18 percent, the Western region contributed the highest percentage of the

revenue to the country’s total IT pie during 2001-02 (DQ Top-20, July 15).

South came a close second with 17.9 percent revenue. North followed with 14.6

percent while East was last with five percent. The rest of the revenue was made

up by exports at 44.5 percent.

To the Western Region’s credit, it has consistently performed at the top

position among all the four regions in the last four years. Not even once, has

it been beaten in its revenue-generating efforts by other regions.

Thus, we found it very apt to name our special supplement on the IT business

in the Western region, ‘West Does’t Rest’ (available to partners only in

the Western region). The region did not rest even during difficult times. That

is how it has been able to remain a notch ahead of the Southern region which is

offering a stiff competition to grab the top slot.

The Southern region’s confidence comes from the high FDI that the region

has attracted in the recent past. However, even when cities like Bangalore,

Hyderabad and Chennai have hogged the headlines for their strides in building up

IT infrastructure, the Western region has stood firm to maintain its leadership

position.

There are couple of reasons for this. First, Mumbai as the commercial capital

of the country, consumes all the IT ware that vendors and partners can offer.

Also, the city offers a cosmopolitan environment for business to the envy of all

other metros.

Every other city would like to emulate the professional character

displayed in business by Mumbai.

Second, Gujarat, notwithstanding the recent cataclysmic happenings within its

boundaries, remains a state that continues to encourage investments. In fact,

the state likes to call itself as the "Business State of India".

Finally, there is Goa, a state that is marked by its natural beauty of serene

beaches and income from tourism. The IT business may not be big bucks here but

manufacturing activity is gathering steam because of government’s tax

incentives.

The Western region could not escape the overall economic downturn which is

evident from the fact that its revenue percentage in the overall IT pie slipped

from 19.3 percent in 2000-01 to 18 percent in 2001-02. Comparatively, this is a

steep fall for the Western Region, because the Southern Region fell only 0.4

percentage points, from 18.3 to 17.9 percent, indicating clearly that it wants

to catch up with the leader.

But the leader remains unruffled. The channel in the region is not

disheartened. Their expectations are low, so, chances of disappointments too are

low. The partners are bidding their time and looking for better days ahead when

they can ensure that the Western region continues to maintain the leadership

position in the country’s IT business pie.

sylvesterl@cmil.com