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