Bangalore beats San Francisco in confidence to go digital

[SINGAPORE] In the race to go digital, businesses judge India's Silicon Valley - Bangalore - the best host among 45 cities worldwide.

Business leaders in Bangalore, now called Bengaluru,  expressed the highest confidence in their digital environment based on people and skills, financial environment, innovation and entrepreneurship, new technology development, and ICT (Information and Communications Technology) infrastructure, according to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), published on Tuesday.

"India's cities may suffer more than most from infrastructure deficits, pollution, poverty and other ills, but when it comes to the environment for digital transformation, their executives are remarkably optimistic," analysts led by Denis McCauley wrote in the report.

"By contrast, developed cities account for eight of the 10 lowest readings in the barometer."

San Francisco came in second followed by two other Indian cities - Mumbai and New Delhi - while Tokyo, Yokohama and Berlin brought up the rear.

Most in demand are people with skills in digital security, according to the report, followed by Big Data analytics. These beat demand for cloud computing skills, social media, and artificial intelligence.

About 48 per cent of all companies surveyed said they are willing to relocate to take advantage of a more favorable environment. Fifty-three per cent of Asian firms answered this way, compared with 48 per cent in the US, 46 per cent in Australia and 42 per cent in Europe.

The EIU surveyed 2,620 executives across the 45 cities in June and July, in partnership with telecommunications firm Telstra Corp.

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