Telengana jolts Hyderabad

Situated on the banks of the Musi River in the Deccan Plateau in southern India, Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, is the fourth most populous city of India. As the former capital of the largest and richest princely state and with patronage from Nizams, Hyderabad boasts of rich art, literature, architecture and cuisine. The city is a tourist destination and has many places of interest, including the Chowmahalla Palace, Charminar and Golconda fort. Hyderabad is home to several museums, bazaars, galleries, libraries, sporting and other cultural institutions. The Telugu film industry is based in the city. Hyderabad is also a major center for higher education and research and has 13 universities and business schools.

Since 1990, Hyderabad emerged as a hub for the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology industries, and information technology sectors. The growth of the software industry has even led to the establishment of an IT Park called HITEC City that has many renowned national as well as multinational companies establishing their base in India.

But unfortunately, the city's information technology market has not been faring well from some time now. While the country's slowing economy has hit the city's IT business, Andhra Pradesh's local problems are equally responsible for the downfall. Dealers say that the violence owing to the boiling Telangana issue has hit the IT market in a big way. " The Telangana issue has rocked the city. There is so much violence and so people do not find it safe to invest in the IT market here," said Jeevan Reddy, CEO, Alliance Prosys. Echoing similar sentiments, G Mahendar from Compage Computers said, " Besides Telangana, delayed college admissions has also slowed down the IT business of the city." Another domestic problem that has affected the IT market are the major power cuts of the city.

However the dealers are optimistic and hope the business will improve in the coming times. "We hope that the festive season and more and more college admissions will improve the IT market scenario," said Mahender. Talking about the upcoming trends of the market, which currently sees the laptops of Dell and Lenovo selling like hotcakes, Dr. Bhandari, CEO, Brahmanad Computers, said " We see a growth in the demand of laptops in the coming times as well. We also see a rise in the sale of components and but feel a decline in the market of PCs."

The market also has an IT association with the name 'Twin Cities Computer Dealers' Association', which is not very active, according to the dealers.

Market Name: Hyderabad
Market Location: Andhra Pradesh
Surrounding Markets: Secunderabad, Kapra, Medak
Computer Association: win Cities Computer Dealers' Association
Prominent Dealers: Compage Computers, Alliance Prosys, Brahmanad Computers, Bluecom Technologies, Cluster Infotech, Data Systems, Compaq World, Info Business Services
Business Verticals: Education, SMB
Number of Active Dealers: 20 (approx)