Showcasing Innovation

In the Indian IT and BPO industry, we are at the crossroads. The
direction we choose will determine not just our future, but also the legacy we
leave behind for future generations of knowledge workers in this country.
Through the last couple of years since the innovation movement in Nasscom has
gathered momentum, its impact on new ideas, in all parts of the country, in
small medium and large firms and in every form of product, process and business
model, innovation has been a pleasure to watch, mentor and sustain for many of
us in this industry. And, as we embark on the next stage of the innovation
journey, the steps we take will determine the successful formation of the
innovation eco-system that is so necessary to give local ideas global context.

For many people involved in the Nasscom Innovation Forum, this
year's Innovation showcase events-where the best of the industry parade
their ideas and successes in front of an elite audience of their peers, funding
institutions and eminent academicians-have achieved the impossible-overshadowed
the Feb 2007 grand success at the Nasscom Leadership Summit. Over 150 industries
including Intel, Hewlett Packard, Wipro, WNS, Ittiam and Strand competed in four
categories. They have wowed a discerning selection panel in Bangalore and
Hyderabad, and given a tough task to some of us who have the onerous
responsibility of selecting the finalists for the 2008 Leadership Summit.

The fact that innovation is thriving in India was brought home
again at the end of December by Dr Kalam in his inaugural address at the Pan IIT
Global Conference in Mumbai. Speaking to the thousands of participants, he
reminded us that there were many opportunities in the task of nation building in
which all IIT alumni can play a role. And while he did not hesitate to point out
the little value addition that IITans who have fled abroad have provided to the
country, he pointed out that all of us can and should contribute to build a more
homogenous environment of prosperity.

There is no shortage of possibilities in the knowledge sector
too. The most interesting session for me at the conclave was not the one with IT
heavyweights pontificating on the future of the industry, but a session titled
"women beyond technology" where four IIT alumni in resplendent sarees
offered even more brilliant ideas on the role that home builders can play in
building an eco-system of innovation in the country. Deployment of technology in
education and governance, building collaborative networks that embrace every
geographic and demographic segment and enable the flow of ideas and knowledge to
happen across borders needs innovation-not just in our technology deployment
and process capabilities, but also in our mindset! Imagine a scene where a woman
with a baby under one arm and stirring the cooking with another can still use
the few hours she has to spare productively through the long enabling arm of
communications technology. The point is that any innovative mind can shape the
possibilities of new global development and testing models for the industry.

Can an Indian firm redefine the means and metrics for
outsourcing and make it happen within the country? Can new products in new
spaces be created first in India and then emulated by the rest of the world? Can
we redefine the frontiers of molecular biology, information security and even
knowledge process outsourcing through new capabilities and services pioneered in
these areas? Many of these and more ideas will find their ways into the Nasscom
innovation agenda in the coming years, with the sessions at the summit planning
to open up possibilities galore for the innovation community to challenge the
status quo and provide new pathways and new milestones for measuring the success
of IT and BPO in the country.

The author is deputy chairman & MD of Zensar and is chairman
of the Nasscom Innovation Forum for 2005—07. He can be reached at ganesh@cybermedia.co.in