No.17 Tech Hotspots 2008

, India

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What's so special about Hyderabad?
Nicknamed 'Cyberabad', the city of Hyderabad, capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, is synonymous with Bangalore in terms of technology hotspots in India.

But as Bangalore runs out of space and frustration grows at its congestion and pollution, more tech companies are moving out to cities such as Hyderabad, Pune or Chennai.

Hyderabad's high-tech growth centres on the development of an out of town IT business park called Hitec City, which is home to an outpost of just about every major tech company in the world - more than 1,200 in total - and IT exports from the city passed $2.5bn last year.

Microsoft's Bill Gates proclaimed Hyderabad as "one of the most important centres internationally" and placed Microsoft's biggest campus outside the US - its India Development Center - here.

But it's not just about IT outsourcing and BPO, with a $3bn AMD-backed 1,200 acre semiconductor manufacturing facility called Fab City being built near Hyderabad's new airport.

The city is also a booming biotechnology and nanotechnology hub and a major centre for big pharmaceuticals companies.

Key tech companies Western giants like CA, Dell, Google, IBM, Microsoft and Oracle, all the Indian IT giants including Infosys, Satyam, TCS and Wipro, and a host of Fortune 500 companies including GE and Yahoo!. Hyderabad is also known for expertise in wireless technologies and Qualcomm has an operation here.

Key institutions The Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University and International Institute of Information Technology for technical skills, along with the Indian School of Business at Gachibowli in Hyderabad.

Local salaries Anywhere between $5,500 and $7,500 per year for an entry-level software engineer.

Famous faces Ramalinga Raju founded Indian IT giant Satyam in Hyderabad and, in addition to the company’s gleaming high-tech campus, still has the original office above a row of shops where it all started.

Population 6.7 million.

iPod cost $183 Source: CommSec, Apple.

Time zone GMT +5 hours 30 minutes.

Voltage and plugs 230V.

How to get there A brand-new international airport - the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport - opened up in Shamshabad near Hyderabad at the end of March 2008 to cope with the increase in air traffic to the city. Flights from the west to Hyderabad used to be via a connection, usually in Mumbai, but more direct flights are now in the offing with British Airways due to launch its direct service from London in October 2008. A new road is also being built to provide a high-speed link to the airport from the city and the various IT parks.

Watch out for As with any other Indian city - the traffic: cars, auto-rickshaws, motorbikes, people, cows. On the roads, anything goes. A great sight is the old white Ambassador cars used as taxis. Strangely Hyderabad is known for its love of flyovers - you'll see many of them, often half-finished, as you travel through the city.

Places to stay, eat or drink Any of the five-star hotels around Banjara Hills - the Taj Krishna, Holiday Inn or Taj Residency. For an authentic English pub experience head to 10 Downing Street or for something more upmarket try the Ahala bar in the Taj Krishna hotel. Good places to eat are the Bidri Indian restaurant in the Marriot and Zafran Exotica.

What you might not know? The largest film studio in the world, Ramoji Film City, is located on the outskirts of Hyderabad.