New IT campus hub in UP

TECHNOLOGY IT companies plan swanky campuses in Noida, Greater Noida

A 650-acre IT park is coming up in Noida on the outskirts of Delhi. Being built by the Noida Development Authority, over 100,000 IT-ITeS employees are expected to work here

HCL Technologies has announced a 46-acre technology hub for 15,000 employees in Greater Noida

The IT services major Birlasoft, a part of the $1.4 billion CK Birla Group, is keen to develop a campus in Noida by 2009

Together, Noida and Greater Noida are set to emerge as a major IT campus hub in Uttar Pradesh. Not that the two locations do not have IT company offices.

In fact, they are home to a multitude of multinational outsourcing firms and software majors, especially Noida which boasts of companies such as Adobe Systems, HCL, EXL, American Express, Impetus, STMicroelectronics and Xansa, among others.

Now, a bunch of IT companies want to grow their footprints in Noida and Greater Noida and they are thinking big. Needless to say, their first USP will be space.

"Having a corporate campus is the most logical way to add capacity to our India delivery centre," says Harsh Singh Lohit, managing director, Headstrong India.

The IT company works in the financial services sector. Having built sprawling 150,000 square feet centre, Headstrong, wants more.

"We are looking for an appropriate property in the Delhi-National Capital Region, preferably in the Special Economic Zone," says Lohit. The company has earmarked Rs 400 crore for investment in the new campus.

Secondly, most campuses hope to measure up to the benchmarks set by the Bangalore's swank IT campuses. So expect the Noida and Greater Noida IT campuses, too, to house banks, ATMs, shopping arcades, food courts and much else for the convenience of their employees.

"We have attractions in the present Headstrong centre, expect similar extravagance in our new campus," says Lohit.

Having a campus, hopefully in Noida, is top priority for Birlasoft as well. "When clients come visiting, before they give us their business, it is crucial that we present a hub that reflects our commitment to our employees and is impressive enough," explains KS Ananthanarayanan, chief financial officer, Birlasoft.

Although the company is keeping its investments under wraps, it claims that its campus would be "an eye-opener for other IT services firms."

Birlasoft's CEO, Kamal Mansharamani, says that the company needs space as it is in an expansion mode. For now, it has added a 1,231-seat facility, spread over 1, 28, 000 square feet, in Noida. It has also announced its plans for another centre spread over 100,000 square feet.

"The ramp-up shall continue as we are generating new business and entering new service and technology domains," says Mansharamani.

Even though, Greater Noida property rates, at Rs 4,900 per square metre (as per industry estimates) are a fraction of those in Noida at Rs 18,000 per square metre, companies seem to favour Noida for their campuses.

Headstrong's Lohit claims that Greater Noida comes a close second to Noida for IT companies "as companies have a difficult time in getting people to shift to Greater Noida, as it lacks a well-connected public transportation. Also, not many entertainment and shopping options are available for people who would want to shift."

Not surprisingly, builders are developing premium residential and retail projects in anticipation of the Noida-Greater Noida zone emerging as an IT-ITeS hub.

Lohit says that operating out of Noida has it own set of problems like security. The company ensures safe commuting for its employees who work late. Consequently, it recruits people locally but admits that it is "restrictive for a company that hires through the year."

However, Greater Noida has all the space that these companies may require, observes a realty analyst. He credits IT majors such as Wipro, NIIT and HCL for the evolution of Greater Noida as a commercial hotbed.