ISpirt to co-exist with Nasscom

Industry leaders involved in the making of Indian Software Product Industry Round Table, or iSpirt, clarified that they intend to co-exist with Nasscom. This follows recent news reports about 30 IT companies breaking away from Nasscom to form a new body. "Software companies are not breaking away from Nasscom, but forming a think tank to co-exist with the industry body," clarifies Sharad Sharma, one among the founders of iSpirt (former head of Yahoo India R&D, startup mentor and founder of Brand Sigma ). "In fact, Nasscom is an industry body with members and we differentiate ourselves as a think-tank that include 'founders' and 'fellows' who support the group. About 15 organizations associated with iSpirt are existing members of Nasscom," emphasizes Sharma.

ISpirt, a non-profit institutions was formed because the industry feels there aren't enough think tanks in India. Its focus lies only on the software product industry. Sharma elaborates, "Our objective is a simple proposition. India is at the threshold of a silent revolution in the software products space. Reasons include availability of mobile phones, ease of adoption of SaaS, and the increased collaboration fostered by social networks".

In other words, lower price points enable small and medium business sector to afford ERP, CRM and other business solutions which were considered inaccessible to them two-three years ago. iSpirt is gearing up to empower the small businesses and informal sector. "Our aim is to see the software industry in the country to develop like Germany where the small business sector has empowered growth, and we're deliberate in refusing the model in UK where the sector has been hollowed out," Sharma adds.

iSpirt is a collection of full-time and part-time fellows and will be supported primarily by grants and contributions from product firms and individuals. Though it is too early to comment, iSpirt claims they will evangelize ideas and occasionally conduct outreach activities.