Orissa has tremendous IT Potential
Today, technology has enveloped the whole world. After Kolkata, probably Bhubaneswar is one of the largest cities, which can play a major role in making IT popular in the eastern region of India. Along with West Bengal, Orissa offers a big market for all IT vendors, investors, distributors and resellers. Known more as a laidback state, Orissa, of late, has emerged as a powerhouse of industries and technology.
The state is developing into a well-planned, robust and futuristic IT architecture which will definitely bring about positive changes in all walks of life, resulting in ease and convenience in transactions, increasing employment opportunities for the educated youth and ushering high economic growth in a definite time frame. The government is also trying in many ways to reach to the common citizen so as to narrow down the digital divide.
And one such event that has narrowed down the digital divide in Orissa was OITF (Orissa Information Technology Fair - 2007), the first-ever initiative from the house of VARIndia that brought together government officials, PSUs, large institutions and SMBs under one roof to understand the trend and progress of IT in the state. The attempt was purely for the purpose of understanding the IT corporates and vendors to enable their mechanism to create custom-built solutions in a cost-effective manner for the state of Orissa. The initiative that attracted the attention of big corporates was celebrated with great elan.
The occasion did unravel many significant developments for industrial growth. It also instilled a lot of confidence among the business class for doing good business in that area. The event was organized on a lavish scale on 6th September, 2007, at Hotel Swosti Plaza, Bhubaneswar. OITF – 2007 brought together professionals from IT and non-IT sectors. The Fair provided an opportunity to entrepreneurs, VARs, SIs, corporates, resellers and government officials to interact with each other. The event was graced by eminent personalities like Mr. Bijoy K. Sahoo, Chairman, JSS Consultancy Services; Mr. Manas Ranjan Panda, Additional Director, STPI; and Mr. A. K. Panda, Head, IT Promotion Cell, OCAC, to name a few. Mr. Vishal Dev, IAS, Director (IT), Government of Orissa, dwelt at length on the potential of IT in Orissa.
Mr. Deepak Sahu, President & Director, Kalinga Digital Media Private Ltd., delivered a welcome address to the delegates and guests. Following this, the chief guest Shri Surjya Narayan Patro, Hon’ble Minister of Energy, IT & Culture, Government of Orissa, lighted the ceremonial lamp.
The event witnessed a galaxy of CXOs, government officials and SIs from across Orissa and provided an excellent opportunity to share understanding between IT corporates and vendors. The event also discussed the increasing potential of IT in Orissa for increasing transparency, good governance and citizen participation.
Mr. Vishal Dev delivered the inaugural address, stressing the IT potential Orissa offers. Among others, a keynote address was given by Mr. A. K. Panda, Mr. Bijoy K. Sahoo, Mr. Manas Ranjan Panda, followed by presentations by corporates on different states, organizations and companies on various aspects and activities related to IT in Orissa.
Speaking on the IT scenario of Orissa, Mr. Vishal Dev said, “Orissa now presents a strong case for IT investments. Top IT players like Satyam, TCS, Infosys and Wipro are now well stationed and the software exports have crossed $110 million this year. Bhubaneswar is now well connected by air, rail and road. A staggering amount has also been earmarked for road construction, vibrant industrial infrastructure, stable political conditions, good law and order facilities, centres of educational excellence and a rich talent pool and power surplus condition. Today, Orissa is in an enviable condition for IT investments.” He described Orissa as a potential market, which is growing strong with every passing day. National E-Governance programme to network the entire country has also been taken up by providing adequate facilities by the Government. He further claimed that with the help of NIC, the Government has not only got all the block headquarters Internet connected 24/7, but has also ensured that all connections are through optic fibre.
Mr. A. K. Panda described Orissa as the metal hub of India and said that things are changing as international giants are bullish about investment. Government’s signing of billion dollar investment with various industry players in the sector will take Orissa to the next level in the coming 2-3 years. He claimed that with a power production, peaceful atmosphere and people-friendly sustainable development, Orissa is there with all the effects of a growing state. That is why more activities could be seen in the subsequent years. He added, “To scale up the kind of initiative, VARIndia has taken more and more people should join and make it a grand success.”
In his brief yet impactful speech, Mr. Bijoy K. Sahoo drew the attention of the illustrious assemblage towards some important aspects like enterprising in Orissa. He emphasized on government initiatives of placing Bhubaneswar in global IT scenario. He told that all we need is greater network connectivity which VARIndia’s initiative has successfully achieved. He also reminded the audience that Orissa is witnessing tremendous growth in every field. The coming five years Bhubaneswar would become top IT hub. He continued, “If you are not here in the next 2-3 years, then you will be missing a big opportunity.”
Taking the truncheon from Mr. Sahoo, Mr. Manas Ranjan Panda of STPI invoked the corporate spirit while simultaneously sharing his viewpoint on IT industry. Mr. Manas highlighted the massive availability of talent in the state. Illustrating more about STPI, he also dwelt at length about STPI and its functions that it acts as front end on behalf of the Government of India to take care of all the statutory needs like project approval, import approvals, bonding, export certification, etc. for the member unit registering under STPI. It also supports start-up companies by providing incubation infrastructure, with all facilities like Internet, telephony, fax, backup and captive power.
Shri Surjya Narayan Patro, Hon'ble Minister of Energy, IT & Culture, Government of Orissa, while addressing the gathering, said, “Orissa has tremendous potential and with the setting up of giant IT Parks in the state, it is sure to grow more and more in the coming future. We welcome the IT vendors and investors to the state and expect to grow with them.”
The purpose of attracting the IT vendors’ community to address the gathering on their focus on the Orissa market was successfully achieved as the major IT giants like Xerox, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, SAP, Tulip IT, ZyXel, Netgear, TVS, Seagate and HP joined the party and gave their presentations and discussed about the future prospects of IT business in the state and about their contribution to help the projects move fast.
The daylong session was frequented by launches and tea breaks. While the session was going on, the stalls from various top corporates like ZyXel, Seagate, HP, and Cisco were the cynosure of all eyes.
In the corporate presentation section, Mr. Sougata Mitra, (SAP), Mr. Rajeev Saxena, Regional Manager, Sales (Government), Cisco; Mr. Sandeep Sahu, Area Sales Manager, Personal System Group, HP; Mr. Prasanta Roy, Relationship Manager, East & North East, Seagate; Mr. R. P. Singh, Tulip; Mr. Atul Jain, Country Manager, Netgear Technologies; Mr. Rakesh Singh, ZyXel; Mr. Asim Kumar Barua, TVS-E; and Mr. Sanjay Goel, Xerox made powerful presentations of their organizations’ readiness and products.
Later in the evening, there was a channel meet to provide a vision and direction to the channel fraternity. Meanwhile, the audience was enthralled by the dance perfor-mance. The emcee set the perfect tone for an ideal evening, which was followed by entertainment programme, cocktails and dinner.
In the end, Mr. Deepak Sahu, President & Director, VARIndia, proposed a vote of thanks to the chair.
Press Coverage
By Oriya Daily News Service - SAMBAD
Dated- 7th Sep 2007
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By Bhubaneswar Jagran (Hindi Coverage)
Dated - 7th Sep 2007
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By Oriya Daily News Service- Dharitri
Dated - 7th Sep 2007
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