VISAKHAPATNAM: JA Chowdary, a key architect of Hi-Tech city and Cyberabad, opined that Andhra Pradesh government must encourage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the IT sector. He was participating as the chief guest in a panel discussion on ‘Emerging Career Opportunities in IT’ organised by GITAM Institute of Management at Hotel Ambica Sea Green here Sunday. He further stressed that SMEs should be encouraged instead of asking big companies to open their branches here.
Addressing the gathering, Chowdary said that cost of operation in Vizag and Vijayawada is high compared to Hyderabad but IT can flourish like in Cyberabad if the state government plans properly.
He said that once SMEs strengthen their roots here, senior IT people will enter the field followed by big companies.
“Data scientists are high in demand but no university is offering specialised course on this subject. If universities are not training their human resources on current topics and domains, the future will be miserable,” he expressed.
Noted IT expert Deepak Mandala said that predictive ability of companies is the new concept and data analysts are required to do their job.
He said that if the State Government really wants to bring IT sector to Visakhapatnam, they must develop infrastructure for the SMEs first and then think about the big companies.
“If the government allocates land to big IT companies, they will take a long time to build their infrastructure and other facilities. But if the government offers ready-for-use infrastructure, startups and MSMEs will come forward to accelerate their operations,” he pointed out. He advised students to hone analytical, programming and product development skills to prosper in the IT world.
GITAM Institute of Management principal K Sivaramakrishna presided over the function, senior faculty Leben Johnson, Kishan Khaza and others participated in the event.