Kai’s Bangalore Blog

"More pink slips from IT cos"

2008-03-16T05:28:00.001+01:00

The Times of India
Ursprünglich hochgeladen von kaihildebrandt1971

Yesterday I came across this article in "The Times of India". The newspaper states: due to the upcoming recession in US there will be a significant adjustment in the IT industry. While the Indian IT market has seen an unbelievable growth over the last years, it is now forced to cut costs and even release people from the bench.

On the other hand the last quater was very successful for many IT companies operating in India. Apart from what the "The Times of India" reports, the sentiment across many experience IT experts here is: due to the downturn in US, the overseas cos might even be more willing to outsource to offshore. My personal opinion is: we will see this trend not only in US, but also in Germany and other Non-English speaking countries.

Tech Companies in Bangalore

2008-03-09T14:55:00.003+01:00

Tech Companies in Bangalore
Ursprünglich hochgeladen von kaihildebrandt1971

This time I tried to have a relaxed weekend. Apart from dealing with admin stuff from Germany I ordered my driver to show me all the relevant tech companies of Electronics City. Although after three weeks in Bangalore I find the antagonisms in India not so unusal anymore like in the beginning. However, there is still a strong contrast for me between the IT and BPO industry on one hand and the rest of the population on the other. This picture shows the pyramid from the Infosys campus, a Hindu shrine and the native environment prior to the IT boom. Due to the threat of terrorist attacks, unfortunately in almost all places of Electronics City taking pictures was prohibited.

Those pictures I've taken anyway may be found here: http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=22995551@N04&q=Tech+Companies+in+Bangalore+&m=text

Weekend trip to Coorg

2008-03-03T22:11:00.000+01:00

Weekend trip to Coorg
Ursprünglich hochgeladen von kaihildebrandt1971

I'm now two weeks in Bangalore and this time has been so far quite intense. Last weekend we went with my colleagues to Coorg. Coorg is a region around 250 km away from Bangalore. Apart from beautiful nature in the hills we had quit a lot of fun with camp fire and elephant riding. On the way back we visited a temple with Tibetanian Monks and finally Mysore and its impressive Mysore palace with tousands of lightbulbs.

This was really an amazing trip. My fellows from Accenture gave me the opportunity to see India not just from a perspective of a foreign tourist, but embedded like an insider. This is inestimable! During these two days I almost got completely Indianized :-). This was certainly an event I’ll never forget for live time!

Special kudos go to the organizers and drivers!

More pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaihildebrandt/tags/coorg/

Sightseeing in Bangalore

2008-02-16T22:33:00.001+01:00

Sightseeing with Arihant
Ursprünglich hochgeladen von kaihildebrandt1971

The first weekend after recovering from the jetlag and the move between the apartments I used to see all the relevant touristic places in Bangalore. My colleague Arihant from Accenture was an exceptional guide.

More pictures: http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=22995551@N04&q=%22Sightseeing+in+Bangalore%22&m=text

View from my appartment #2

2008-02-14T23:59:00.001+01:00

Anreise
Ursprünglich hochgeladen von kaihildebrandt1971

View from my appartment #2 to the Dairy Circle in Banagalore.

Arrival - Day 1 in Bangalore

2008-02-14T23:59:00.000+01:00

I arrived at Bangalore airport after a 9 hour flight at 01:30 AM. Just 1.5 hours later I was able to leave the airport with my luggage. Furtunately the driver was patient enough to wait. We went to his car. Some roaming dogs around us. I think I had all vaccinations possible, but how about rabies? Anyway: I was too tired to think about it. The streets at this time were quite empty. Quite uncommon in the streets of Bangalore as I learned later. Around 4 AM I finally made it to the appartment and checked in.
Around 7 I received the first phone calls weaking me up. The hotel management told me that I have to change the appartment due to an mistake. Great. I packed all my luggage again and moved over to the other appartment. OK, the view was better from there. Around 8 AM I got informed that my driver is waiting for me. Hm, actually my first working day should start one day later. Anyway I could not sleep anymore and decided to go into the office. Totally jetlagged I just picked up some toasts for breakfast. This ride took me more than 1.5 hours and I arrived around 11 AM.
Due to a company policy I will not write any details about the Avanade / Accenture Office in Bangalore. However, I was really excited about the masses of people working there. All of my colleagues very friendly and helpfull. Excelent working envirinment! I love to be here! For lunch we went into a canteen shared with other companies in that tech district. Besides of several Indian food serving sections there is also McDonals and SubWay. I decided to try the Indian food. Very good choice!
Due to the long commuting time folks at Accenture decided that I should moved over to another appartment. I packed again all my stuff and the driver took me to the third appartment at this day. Arrived at 9:30 PM at my final destination. The appartment service optionally includes dinner. Due to my good experience at lunch I decided to try an Indian dinner meal and again was just blow away from the great Indian cooking style.
This concludes my day #1 in Bangalore.