Bigger, better and more powerful. That's the slogan for Bangalore IT.COM 2003, the five-day information technology exhibition and conference that will kick off on November 1.

This year Bangalore IT.COM 2003 will be spread over 10 pavilions with 20,000 square metres of space available for exhibitors, an increase of 5000 square metres over last year.

The event expects to play host to 50,000 business visitors of which over 500 will be foreign delegates. This year over 285 companies are participating, compared to 250 of last year.

"The objective of the event is to provide valuable business-oriented content and strategic direction to companies to help them to understand and explore the wide array of opportunities available in the world today," D B Inamdar, Minister of State for Information Technology & Tourism said of the event, which is in its sixth year.

Perhaps as a signal that the slowdown in the IT sector is over, many technology giants including AMD, Bharti, IBM, Iomega and Moser Baer who had opted to stay away in the last two years are back.

AMD is a platinum sponsor for the event while Bharti has provided the connectivity for a few key events.

There will also be a tradeshow with special pavilions dedicated to Business Process Outsourcing, knowledge and R&D, communications, and software solutions. A pavilion for IT giants where prominent global companies will showcase their capabilities will also be there.

For Bangalore, called the Silicon Valley of India, IT.COM is as much a branding exercise as it is a technology event.

Today, Bangalore contributes over 30 per cent of the total software exports from the country. It has over 1,60,000 professionals employed in the IT sector -- of which 1,10,000 are in software services and about 50,000 are employed in the BPO sector.

In the first six months of 2003, software exports have touched Rs 7,200 crores (Rs 72 billion), a 65 per cent rise over last year.

Foreign investment in the last six months was at Rs 42 crores (Rs 420 million), up by 44 per cent over the previous year. Seventy new companies have come up, of which 34 are multinationals.

"Bangalore has emerged as a preferred destination for many IT companies coming to India. The enthusiastic response to IT.COM shows that the dip in the IT industry is over and that Bangalore has caught the upward cycle again," said Inamdar.

Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna and Governor T N Chaturvedi will be present for the inauguration ceremony.

Delegations from 14 countries, which include United States, Germany, Singapore, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Austria, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Russia and Mauritius will participate this year.

The conferences scheduled for this year include an open source summit, Government - IT Enabler, global outsourcing summit, knowledge summit, e-Governance summit, and TiE Con Bangalore 2003 session. 

An additional session on IT for the common man will provide an insight into the government's vision of taking IT to the masses.

"Bangalore IT.COM 2003 will host a series of conferences and discussions, which will feature several industry experts who will address core business issues relevant to the industry.

"The IT Giants & Knowledge and R&D pavilions are added attractions this year which would offer interactive and educative sessions to provide insights to participants," said B V Naidu director, Software Technology Parks of India.

To jazz up the event, the entire IT.COM exhibition and conference space will be Wi-Fi enabled, which means that wireless Internet connectivity will be available throughout the zone.

The entire event is expected to cost over Rs 4 crores (Rs 40 million).