Colombo among next frontiers for technology talent

Colombo is among 40 global cities identified by Bangalore-based globalisation and technology market advisory firm Zinnov as next destinations for technology talent.

The study titled ‘Next Frontier Cities for Technology Talent’ identified 40 global cities suitable for hiring technology talent, after a comprehensive evaluation of over 400 of them on key parameters such as talent availability, market maturity, cost, peer group ecosystem, government policies etc.

These 40 cities are spread across the regions with nine cities in North America, nine cities in South America, 12 cities in EMEA and 10 cities in APAC.

The next frontier cities highlighted in the report are Ankara (Turkey), Asuncion (Paraguay), Boise (USA), Brasov (Romania), Caracas (Venezuela), Casablanca (Morocco), Chongqing (China), Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Coimbatore (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Florianopolis (Brazil), Foshan (China), Guatemala City (Guatemala), Guayaquil (Ecuador), Hanoi (Vietnam), Islamabad (Pakistan), Jacksonville (USA), Johor Bahru (Malaysia), Kharkhiv (Ukraine), Kiev (Ukraine), Lima (Peru), Limerick (Ireland), Lodz (Poland), Lviv (Ukraine), Managua (Nicaragua), Montevideo (Uruguay), Nagpur (India), Porto Alegre (Brazil), Rabat (Morocco), Recife (Brazil), Roanoke (USA), San Salvador (El Salvador), Santa Cruz (Bolivia), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), Sofia (Bulgaria), Tianjin (China), Tucson (USA), Wichita (USA) and Wuhan (China).

Commenting on the study, Pari Natarajan, CEO, Zinnov, said, “There are about 40 established locations and another 40 emerging ones, where technology companies have a large presence. Fierce competition for talent and ever increasing compensation structure in existing cities is forcing these companies to look beyond the typical talent hubs and venture into the off-beaten path.”

The report highlighted that there is an 86% cost differential between high cost established locations (for example Silicon Valley) and the next frontier cities in the Asia Pacific region.



Most of these next frontier cities have good education ecosystems, which are conducive to breed top talent, the report said, naming Chongqing (China), Lima (Peru) and Hanoi (Vietnam) as the top three frontier cities for R&D talent.