India’s tech capital shut down on Wednesday, following a call for a strike by local politicians over a border dispute with neighboring Maharashtra. But unlike the bizarre flash riots that broke out in April this year in Bangalore when a local film star died, Wednesday’s “bandh” (closure) was announced last week. This gave software companies and call centers enough time to plan alternative ways to serve their customers.

The strike called by local politicians over a border dispute with the neighboring state, Maharashtra, ensured vehicles stayed off the roads, but Bangalore geeks know how to telecommute. “Several of our employees work from home even on regular days since everyone has broadband at home,” said M. Harish, general manager, business development at Texas Instruments India. In any case, TI employees have been told that Saturday is a working day to make up for lost time.

Others like B. V. Naidu, the Bangalore-based director of the State Technology Parks of India who also oversees the Hyderabad (capital of neighboring state Andhra Pradesh) tech parks, planned an out-of-city day. Mr. Naidu travels to Hyderabad every Friday but moved this week’s schedule to Wednesday. “I cannot afford to lose a day,” he said.

At outsourcing giant Infosys, October 14 has been declared a working day to compensate for Wednesday’s loss. Its business process outsourcing (BPO) arm, which operates call centers, shifted some of its work to other locations in India. “Some critical work did go on even in Bangalore,” said a spokesperson.

24/7 Customer, a Bangalore-headquartered call center company, had some employees staying at the premises overnight. They were provided security in case of an emergency. A large number of calls coming in from European customers were routed to the company’s other call centers in Chennai and Hyderabad in India and other international centers. “Our clients have been informed about the bandh and contingency plans made to maintain business continuity,” said Pradeep Narayan, chief delivery officer.

Since the shutdown lasted 12 hours, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., most U.S. customers were not affected. Those on the west coast, for whom call centers run night shifts, may even be unaware of the strike.

Apart from cost arbitrage, it is precisely in anticipation of such events India’s BPO firms operate from several locations. WNS, one of India’s largest BPO companies, has large centers in Mumbai, Nashik, Pune (all three in the western state of Maharashtra) and one in Gurgaon, considered a suburb of Delhi but technically in the state of Haryana. Accenture has call centers in Bangalore and Pune; IBM’s call center arm Daksh has offices in Mumbai and Gurgaon as well as in other countries (the Philippines and the United States).

Such strikes baffle those new to India. “Would San Francisco shut down if California had a border dispute with Oregon? It’s unthinkable,” said Bob Plaschke, chief executive of Sonim Technologies, a California-based technology firm with a development center in Bangalore. He's one of many now learning that while the language of technology may be universal, that of local politics can be incomprehensible.

Contact the writer: KShah@RedHerring.com

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