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     Scallion Side Hero Username: Scallion Post Number: 2794 Registered: 05-2009 Posted From: 69.245.214.200 Rating: |
The ongoing agitation for a separate state of Telangana, which had affected business in Hyderabad and most of Andhra Pradesh, has crippled IT industry across the state, says most partners. Partners are hoping for a swift resolution to the problem, so that business will return to normalcy. Vendors and distributors also reported sharp decline in transaction volumes during month November and December 2009. "It's quite unfortunate that the agitation in Andhra Pradesh has affected the IT channels across all segments. The reports we have for last quarter was indeed grim," said S Rajendran, CMO, Acer India. "Due to sporadic violence in Hyderabad city, many retailers have closed their stores for many days during December and we have missed out on potential end of year sales," Sainuddin Pasha, who owns a retail outlet in old Hyderabad city. "Several large projects in both enterprise and government are either on hold or are reported to have made little progress. This includes State Wide Area Network and Data Center projects. Since we have been betting on education sector, we have seen no action since violence has spread to university campuses," said AL Srinath, CEO, Shell Networks. "There is an overall concern among investors who we fear will stay away from Hyderabad or relocate their investments elsewhere, if we do not return to normalcy," Since transport services from Hyderabad to Coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions have been affected, many of the far-flung districts have seen shortage of supplies. "We have been sourcing IT products from Bengaluru during most of last month as most suppliers from Hyderabad were unwilling to ship material via buses fearing damage to goods," said Raj Reddy, RR Computers, Kadri, Ananthpur district. Some partners such as Srinath of Shell Networks focused on payment collection and opportunities outside the state during the period. "Since we have offices in Pune and associates across India, we were trying to close opportunities elsewhere during this time." However, many feel that things will improve as neither politicians nor agitating students can afford to keep the agitation going. "It's clear that if the status quo remains everyone loses out, and the administration cannot sit idle. Thankfully universities and schools have announced examination dates, and it looks like even students will soon return to classes. We are confident it’ll be business as usual sooner than later," said KV Jagannath, Managing Director, Choice Solutions. Jai NTR, Jai Jai TDP |
