MYSURU: The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have managed to achieve, albeit for starters, what the government has been pushing for all along — tech companies moving to tier-2 cities. With IT majors embracing the Work-From-Home culture and no signs of employees getting back to offices in the foreseeable future, many companies, specially those engaged in back-end operations, are looking at setting up shop in the heritage city.
With a readily available talent pool, many firms are on the lookout for office spaces in the city and some have moved operations. More importantly, they can save big on operating costs, especially property rents. A majority of them are units with 50 to 100 employees, but sources also say that some big names in the BPO and KPO industry, which have operations in Bengaluru, are also looking at larger commercial spaces in Mysuru.
Commenting on the trend, District Industries Centre Joint Director DK Lingaraju said that he has been approached by close to a dozen entrepreneurs looking to start businesses in Mysuru, primarily due to the cost advantage and availability of skilled workforce.
According to Vinayak, who runs a background verification outfit for larger companies, it was the cost that prompted him to look at Mysuru. "One of our partners is from Mysuru, which made it easier to find space. But the main factor is cost and talent is also cheap, which is significant since we are battling a slowdown and hiring is at an all-time low." Vinayak said he is setting up a 50-seater unit in Mysuru.
The city is also hosting several companies handling back-end operations for US-based clients like those engaged in processing health insurance claims and billing, that is seeing much demand globally. Confirming this, Bhaskar Kalale, former president of CII Mysuru, said such companies are looking to operate from Mysuru as there is availability of talent, and also due to the presence of companies like Sys Information in the city, which is already engaged in similar processes.
Remote working has become the new normal
The fact that companies are comfortable with the idea of remote working in the light of Covid-19 is another factor, Bhaskar Kalale pointed out. “Earlier, many were skeptical of remote working. But now, since it has become familiar territory, many are confident of running operations with one office in Bengaluru and another in Mysuru.
Also, air and road connectivity has improved,” he said. Though there are various schemes and sops for companies going to tier-2 cities, a majority of those coming to Mysuru are not taking the government’s help, he claimed.