A decade in the life of an event is time enough to attain maturity to pitchfork it into the next big league. But turning ten and being still found wanting is a poor situation and  Bangalore IT.in finds itself in that position.

The novelty it offered in its initial years and the halo surrounding the trade-fair-cum-conference, thanks to Bangalore’s own special status as the country’s IT capital, drew participants by droves. However, in the last few years, it is obvious that the IT jamboree has lost its sheen and pulling power.

While, during the last ten years, the sector which it seeks to support and showcase has blazed a glorious trail, the event, per se, has been caught in a time-warp. It has not been able to keep up with the changing times and the mounting demands it is faced with.

Despite the bogie raised by the industry that it was more government-driven than industry-driven, ministerial patronage had at least ensured the annual calendar call for who’s who in the IT business, who zealously logged in to confabulate and compare notes with one another.

However, this time around, there were no such issues for IT Inc to cry foul. Still, expecting well meaning corporate captains to be at the call of the bureaucracy for the conclave’s successful conduct was being rather naive. With corporates looking at how such participation would impact their balance sheets in terms of cost to company and returns thereof, it was no wonder that a majority of IT majors, even event sponsors, chose to give it a miss.

Some thought IT.in had lost its purpose of attracting IT investors because Bangalore, the IT capital, is saddled with its own infrastructural problems. Naturally, these are bound to dent the brand equity Bangalore IT.in had garnered over the years.

Another major reason for its failure was the shifting of the venue from the centrally located Palace Grounds to the distant Bangalore International Exhibition Centre which made travelling through traffic torturously long. Besides, IT.in had nothing novel on offer either. It is time the government wakes up to the harsh realities and instead of parcelling out blame for the event’s failure, worked earnestly to breathe life back into IT.in, so that the event gets back its chip and byte.