BangaloreITE.biz 2015 opens to showcase Bengaluru’s latest IT revolutions

BENGALURU: BangaloreITE.biz ── the 18^th edition of Karnataka’s premier IT summit kick-started on December 8, 2015. Pioneers from the industry came together with dignitaries from the government to celebrate the successes of the IT industry especially over the last year. BangaloreITE.biz is being organized by the Department of IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka, along with STPI-Bangalore at the Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru from December 8 to 10, 2015.

BangaloreITE.biz exhibition was inaugurated by Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder, Infosys Ltd. Chairman, Karnataka’s Vision Group on Information Technology, R. Chandrashekhar, IAS (Retd) President, NASSCOM Former Secretary, IT & Telecommunications, Government of India and Dr. Omkar Rai, Director General, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI). Over 60 startup companies along with IT major companies are participating at the BangaloreITE.biz exhibition.

The delegates for the 18th edition of Bangalore ITE.biz included Vanitha Narayanan, MD, IBM India Pvt Ltd, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder, Infosys Ltd. Chairman, Karnataka’s Vision Group on Information Technology, Siddaramaiah, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka, Kaushik Mukherjee, Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, R Chandrashekhar, IAS (Retd) President, NASSCOM Former Secretary, IT & Telecommunications, Government of India, Debjani Ghosh, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Group, Managing Director - South Asia, Intel and President, MAIT, V. Manjula, IAS Principal Secretary, Department of IT, BT and S&T Government of Karnataka and Dr. Omkar Rai, Director General, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) graced the occasion.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Siddaramaiah, Honorable Chief Minister of Karnataka, talked about Bengaluru’s evolution as an IT and entrepreneurship hub. He indicated that Bengaluru has gained distinction as the largest IT cluster, with over 350 of the Fortune 500 companies choosing the city as their research and development base as well as for offshore development operations. His address pointed out that the city, today, is home to over 40 percent of the 1000-plus global in-house centers, comprising captive technology and business support services. The chief minister also outlined some of the factors behind Bengaluru’s tremendous success as an alternative Silicon Valley: Abundance of talent, presence of over 400 research and development centers (both in public and private sectors), a number of private higher education institutions, adoption of global education standards, and the existence of high-tech industries in manufacturing and service sectors.

Vanitha Narayanan and Debjani Ghosh, VP of Sales and Marketing & MD- Intel South Asia, delivered the keynote on the occasion. Narayanan opined that disruptive technology was not a singular entity but a confluence of different technologies and drew attention to the need to see data as a resource. Ghosh, for her part, dwelt on the dreams for India’s future powered by technology and innovation.

The leaders conclave ‘Building Innovation and Start-up Culture through Proactive Policies’ saw participation from Latha Krishna Rau, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner Government of Karnataka, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder, Infosys Ltd. Chairman, Karnataka’s Vision Group on Information Technology, V Manjula, IAS Principal Secretary, Department of IT, BT and S&T Government of Karnataka, Sunil Kumar Barnwal, IAS Secretary Dept. of IT, Govt of Jharkhand and P. H. Kurian, Principal Secretary (Industries & IT) Govt. of Kerala. Participants came together to discuss policy formulation with a view to accelerate the startup ecosystem in India. Discussions focused on nurturing the spirit of entrepreneurship from a young age and the need for policy reforms in view of the growing number of startups.