Vivek Kulkarni

The days when the country used to host a plethora of IT exhibitions may be history now, but there are still a couple of shows that command enough national, and more importantly, international recognition. One is the annual Nasscom jamboree that takes place in Mumbai, while the other is the Bangalore IT.com, now considered a showcase event for India’s Silicon Valley. The 2002 edition, to be held between 28 October and 1 November would highlight three sectors—BPO, e-governance and banking & finance, reveals Vivek Kulkarni, IT secretary, Karnataka.

With more than 330 sponsors and companies from different countries like the US, UK, Germany, Sri Lanka, Korea, Japan, Belgium and Taiwan confirming participation, Kulkarni feels that this would be Asia’s largest ICT event. Even different Indian states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, West Bengal and Haryana are likely to have a significant presence at the exhibition. Kulkarni expects business worth more than $300 million to be generated from the event.

Keeping in mind the vast potential that exists in the BPO sector, IT.com 2002 would be hosting a BPO summit; an interactive session on BPO skills besides a short-term training course on bioinformatics. The session on BPO skills would allow each visitor to apply for a 15-minute test to check out his skills as a call centre agent.

The e-governance thrust would provide a platform where IT-savvy state governments could discuss implementation strategies with other states. The focus on the banking and finance segment would see IT companies demonstrating their products to the banks, while the banks would in turn demonstrate the usage of these products to the public. This, Kulkarni feels, would bring the IT companies in direct interactive contact with the general masses for the first time in an IT exhibition.