Software innovation springs in towns,says study

Information technology start-ups are beginning to emerge outside metropolitan India

Information technology start-ups are beginning to emerge outside metropolitan India. A Deloitte study of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the country includes four from smaller cities and towns.

Chella Software from Madurai and M/S think furniture technologies from Rudrapur made it to the top 20 in the annual ranking. Vayvaya Labs from Belgaum and Salems Atline Technologies were also among the fastest 50 companies. The ranking was topped by Ubona Technologies,which makes mobile-phone applications. In 2011,Ubonas turnover grew more than 13 times its level last year,the study said.

Mobile value-added services as a sub-segment is gaining significant strength and can be easily classified as a segment in its own right, Deloitte said.

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Ubona was followed by software makers Aujas Networks,which grew at 1010 per cent,and Webaroo Technology,with a 780 per cent rise in revenue.

Prizm Payments,the maker of an electronic transactions system,became the company with the third-fastest growth in the country with 792 per cent.

PN Sudarshan,executive director at Deloitte,said: This year has been a year of shifting trends where new winners with new business paradigms have emerged while many repeat winners have shown that along with new revolutionary ideas,continuous innovation and sustained improvement in delivery are essential ingredients of a success story in todays competitive environment.

However,the report said average growth among the companies in the list fell from 296 per cent in the previous year to 236 per cent in 2011,weighed down by a more cautious approach towards investment and slower economic growth.

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The uniform decline in growth could be attributed to the cautious bottom-line focused approach of the companies or a result of negative macro indicators, Deloitte said. Start-ups that help companies reduce costs reported significant growth.

The bulk of the large IT companies who have made it to the list owes it to the innovations that they have incorporated in their delivery and processes, Deloitte said.