Keeping the Lamps Burning

Talking to a fellow software CEO at the end of a tumultuous results quarter,
I got an amusing new quotein these uncertain times, if the US economy does not
get you the mark to market on your options surely will! A quarter which saw some
wildly erratic results, ranging from Mastek and Zensars 70% plus y-o-y profit
growth, all the way to deep losses by a few has raised more questions than
answers!

Will the US economy that has been spluttering for some time, but still
recording an expansion, eventually splutter to a halt or slide into recession by
December? Will the tremors being felt in the UK result in a full blown explosion
of the economy? Will the Indian economy, struggling with its twin demons of an
oil price led inflation and a fractured polity regress into being an incidental
rather than a key market for the Indian IT sector? And, finally, is there any
crystal ball gazer who can say with surety what the economic outlook would be
year from now?

There are no immediate answers to these questions. And these opportunities
continue to abound for firms and leaders who have a point of view and the
ability to deliver that viewpoint unambiguously to key customers and markets. As
worries about their own markets bother our customers, the need to plug holes in
their information architectures will eventually open up opportunities in key
areas. The opportunity to demonstrate the industrys understanding of key
business processes, and move up the value chain from traditional application
development, and support true consulting led solutions will be available to
those firms that have built skills in key vertical domains. And for smaller
solution providers who have built a defensible niche for themselves, tactical
but key project opportunities will emerge that may not garner enormous revenue
in the short term but will position these firms for growth in their key customer
accounts in the not so distant future.

Ganesh natarajan

The next few months of uncertainty may also be an opportunity for all firms
to revisit their delivery strategies and look at a more optimal model for the
future. The Nascom-AT Kearney study on new locations, or Indian IT and BPO, has
provided significant pointers to the imperatives and the benefits of exploring
new locations which can prove to be more sustainable from a cost point of view
in the future. A truly integrated platform of delivery which exploits the
benefits of near shore and offshore delivery, and bridges cultural differences
across geographical boundaries will be the next step for the exports industry to
demonstrate its inclusiveness.

For those who despair at their favourite markets, the US and the UK showing
signs of frailty, a short flight to witness the economic boom that is visible in
many parts of the Middle East, could restore the faith in ongoing economic
prosperity and spending power. The technology intensity and the unparalleled
vision that exists in these countries can open up opportunities for the Indian
IT sector.

Perhaps the most appropriate way to summarise the opportunities that can be
tapped even in these turbulent times came from the guru from Gujarat, Murari
Bapu. Speaking to an audience of over a thousand followers who had flown to
Dubai from all parts of the world to listen to his discourse, he said

Hawa abhi tez hai, sambhalna padega

Par chiragon se keh do, jalna padega

How truethe time is still ripe for all the lamps of the IT and BPO industry
to shine brighter and light up the environment even as dark clouds loom on the
horizon!