Ganesh Natarajan's Blog

Collaborating with Competitors

2012-02-22T09:01:00.000+05:30

Kiran Karnik's new book launched at the recent Nasscom Leadership Forum is all about the theme of how people who fight bitterly in global and domestic competition are able to come together extremely well for common causes like global trade, innovation and other industry issues. It is a natural trait of all human beings to collaborate and we are only forced to take combative positions when the necessity of competition force us to do so !

My own experiences with NASSCOM over nearly two decades reveal that all IT CEOs are well meaning blokes and whether it is industry founder FC Kohli, doyen Narayana Murthy or even non resident former Chairmen like Raj Jain and Firoze Vandrewala, the alignment to the common cause is very strong indeed. Long may this bonhomie last and take this 100 billion dollar industry to a trillion by 2030 !

Kiran Karnik himself like his predecessor Dewang Mehta has collaborative skills as one of his main characteristics. I owe my Chairmanship of NASSCOM in 2008-09 to this man who genuinely believed that contributors should find their place in the sky even if it is resplendent with the shine of many bright suns !

Ganesh

The IT industry status and outlook

2012-02-10T13:05:00.000+05:30

The interesting conclusion one can draw from the FY12 outlook posted by NASSCOM is that the IT Services folks are still growing faster than the BPO and Engineering Services and Products players in spite of a much larger base. My own belief is that this will not change in the foresseable future. All of us who are significant players in services are embracing non-linear growth and creating IP as well as new platforms for Cloud and BPO which will enable us to maintain growth and profits and transform to true solutions companies.

Next year will be tougher though NASSCOM's 11- 13 percent growth outlook for Exports seems to be overly pessimistic in my opinion. We all will do better than that !

For the Product folks the challenges remain - finding the right niche, getting adequate access to capital and dominating the chosen market. This game is far from being played out !

Its a new world !

2012-02-03T18:05:00.000+05:30

In spite of all the doomsday forecasts for the global and Indian economy, the new year has started off reasonably well. The Stock markets are up, the rupee is the best performing currency in Jan and the outlook for the IT sector is fairly decent both for CY 12 and FY 13.

So relax folks, no need to worry ....yet!

Zensar Annual Excellence Awards

2011-12-15T19:46:00.000+05:30

Over 150 Zensarians got awards today and the exuberance in the audience was truly inspirational. India's future is with the youth and there is an abundance of that in our industry !

Business and life

2011-12-15T08:30:00.000+05:30

The rupee keeps hurtling to new depths and there is no sign of an immediate resolution to India and the world's economic crises. In this context the IT industry can heave a temporary sigh of relief at the strong dollar but needs to be wary about 2012.

Does anybody here have suggestions - for NASSCOM, companies or even IT leadership ?

The state of the industry today

2011-11-29T22:01:00.000+05:30

The Information Tecyhnology industry in India is again at the cross roads. Government support seems to be dwindling, the ugle specter of protectionism is rearing its head in key Western markets and input costs have been rising faster than pricing.

However the non-linear growth model adopted by many companies and the transition from a pure services to solutions based industry will serve us well in the years to come

What is missing is a comprehensive approach to build an eco-system of support for the products industry. That should be the next focus area - for the industry and for NASSCOM

New challenges for the Indian IT sector

2011-11-29T10:11:00.000+05:30

It never seems to end - the Euro crisis, continuing unemployment and a divisive election coming up in the US and of course disruptive Indian politics. The rupee seems to be the only factor in our favour. But this industry has a lot going for it and will prevail

Interesting times

2011-08-19T12:36:00.000+05:30

The Indian business scenario is getting increasingly murky. The decline and recessionary trends in the global economy are worrying enough and the weak growth of the capital goods sector in the country does not bode well for economic robustness. Add to that the complex Lokpal issue and the Anna Hazare stand-off and I do not see too much hope of a robust business environment anytime soon.

In all this the IT sector is committed to grow 20 percent this year. It will still happen and Zensar will grow 40 % !

Ganesh

New financial year, new challenges and opportunities

2011-05-19T12:32:00.000+05:30

Its been a mixed bag of results for the IT sector. Markets are recovering but slowly and it will need a differentiated value proposition for companies to grow substantially this year. And with rising costs, managing profits will be a challenge too

Zensar is targeting 40 % growth in this environment. Fortune favours the bold !

Ganesh

An exciting 2011 ahead for IT folks

2011-01-02T13:29:00.000+05:30

Happy New Year is a cliche but for 2011 it does seem that all the signals are good - the rampaging growth of the Indian economy and the revival of global markets seem to point to high teens or even twenty percent plus growth for the IT sector in 2001-12.

So what could go wrong to spoil the party ? We could miss key trends like cloud computing and be inadequately prepared for the structuarl changes that are expected to happen. We could unwittingly let competitors like China Philippines and Eastern Europe who are nipping at our heels take away some of the shine from our outsourcing leadership. Or we could just be stymied by the unrealistic expectations of our young associates who could drive salaries up the wall and make the industry uncompetitive ?

Do I think any of this can be a real dampener on industry fortuns ? Not really - many of us running companies have been through multiple cycles before and know what to do to steeer the corporate ships thru stormy waters. And some of the new initiatives that we have undertake at CII and NASSCOM -the Inclusive India agenda and the Aman ki Asha collaboration with Pakistani firms are just two of those - will strengthen our value proposition and expand the width and increase the depth of the industry in 2011

Its going to be an exciting journey in 2011 - enjoy the ride !

Ganesh

Industry Fortunes

2010-10-23T12:40:00.000+05:30

Folks

For all of us in IT it does look like happy days are here again - well almost !

The volume of business is increasing steadily from all markets but the decline of the dollar does not bode well for the future of the industry.

Its going to be an interesting three months in the third quarter !

Ganesh

Indian IT - At a crossroads

2010-08-29T12:41:00.001+05:30

Friends

We have been through a difficult month of August. The bill introduced by Senator Schumer and passed into law this month imposes an additional fee on every new visa and visa renewal application by companies who have less than fifty percent Americans in their workforce in the United States. By itself the additional financial burden does not make any significant dent on the profitability of Indian firms operating in the country, particularly when many of us have a predominantly offshore delivery model and are in the process of localizing the composition of our workforce, not just in the US but in every country in which we operate. However the discriminatory nature of this bill which drives a clear wedge between US multinationals and the Indian firms cannot be ignored and has caused alarm bells to ring! An article in one of the premier US newspapers has argued that this is a case of “no bad idea left behind”, since it will put in question the value of expanding operations in the US, resulting in the loss of potential jobs that were being created at a steady clip post the recession by all Indian companies !

The reality, as always lies between the rhetoric and the unpalatable option of total capitulation. Indian firms can and should continue their aggressive investments in the US – acquisitions, new offices and delivery centers and investments in technologies and methodologies that accelerate global sourcing capabilities. Firms should develop enhanced consulting capabilities in the domains of global customers to enable new enterprise solutions to be designed and delivered to all customer segments. However there is also a need to diversify the geographical footprint of the industry on an accelerated basis to ensure that random and often unpredictable acts of omission or commission that could come in the way of growth of the industry in a specific market does not cause doubts about the ongoing potential of this industry as it continues to champion the cause of global sourcing in the years to come. The rapid growth of China, Australia and South Africa as markets and development bases, the emergence of Brazil and Chile in Latin America and the potential of Saudi Arabia and other strong MENA territories – all these present new growth opportunities that need to be understood and tapped.

It is hoped that the Indian Government will use its proximity to the US Administration to educate everybody with the statistics on job creation and enhanced competitiveness of American multinationals and Silicon Valley startups that are the proven contributions of the Indian tech sector. Far from being “chop shops” or “body shops” or even “multinational temp agencies”, which were some of the allegations made in the US Senate, Indian firms, through the focus on quality and innovation are adding value to all firms, industries and states in the US that we are working with. The confidence that all of us have in the resurgence of the US economy and its ability to continue to contribute over thirty percent of global GDP will ensure that there is continuing investments in the US – let us hope for a suppportive environment

Ganesh

India shining ?

2010-06-01T12:43:00.000+05:30

Hi folks

A spectacular Jan-Mar quarter performance for the country and a growth rate for last year which has been higher than all expectations at 7.4 %. Is our country on a roll ?

Before we succumb to excessive hubris let us not forget that there is still a long way to go - in Education Skils Development and of course Infrastructure, before we can really feel good about our country !

And what of Indian IT and BPO ? The Euro is a worrying factor and the dangers of a double dip recession still exist. Time to be watchful !

Ganesh

The year that was and will be

2010-05-02T12:46:00.000+05:30

Hi friends,

So a year of turmoil ends - with a quiet optimism for most global economies and a sense of satisfaction for firms in the IT industry that we have weathered the storm well and strengthened our resolve and capabilities to achieve double digit growth numbers in the coming financial year.

All markets are opening up and the IT budgets of key clients are increasing with particular focus on offshore outsourcing - good news for most of the indian IT and BPO firms. Howvere we expect to see attrition rear its ugly head again and HR managers will have to be doubly charged up to attract enable and retain the right talent.

Do you have any suggestions for industry CEOs at this critical juncture ? Do write in with ideas

Ganesh