Nasscom 2003’s B2B Focus

The International Conference of Nasscom held recently in Mumbai was
noteworthy for its B2B focus. The feedback from delegates shows that the
conference, with its right focus, was effective in making Indian software and
services companies visible to more number of countries on the global map.

It was commendable that Nasscom dedicated one of the sessions to the
fast-growing area of embedded software. At a time when the role of
electro-mechanical parts is getting saturated, the embedded systems are growing
rapidly and offer newer opportunities to Indian companies.

In fact, software has begun to play a major role in every device that we use
today. So, OEMs are under pressure to build software competencies and deliver
products to suit the growing demands of consumers.

Given this context, Nasscom says that the embedded software and systems
market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16% in industries such as telecom/datacom,
consumer electronics, automotive and avionics. This is good news for Indian
organizations which have bountiful supply of fresh engineers who can be pressed
into service in this area.

The other segments which are yet to be explored to their fullest potential
include partnerships for offshore development of specialized software components
and products. Though the Indian experience in this area is not too satisfactory
so far, the scenario is changing to the country’s advantage because of the
ready availability of qualified manpower and the conducive environment that is
being created by majority of the states for foreign investment.

The other area where greater investments are expected in the coming days is
ITES-BPO and Nasscom 2003 had a separate track to tackle this fastest growing
field. Notwithstanding the legislation that is being brought about by some of
the states in the US to scuttle outsourcing of Government jobs, Nasscom believes
that the BPO market size would be $100 billion in 2008.

And the delegates at the conference were keen to know ways to grab a share of
this very large pie.

The delegates were told that customer care and administration were two of the
fastest growing segments in the ITES-BPO space, with a projected growth of 75%
during 2002-03. This growth is certain to come because the experienced
third-party vendors have scaled up their operations in recent times and more
number of captive players have entered the country.

Nasscom, for the first time, used a different ploy to share insights on BPO
to the delegates. It invited international CIOs to speak on their expectations
from Indian companies. This move was in line with the theme of the conference:
‘Leveraging knowledge capital for enabling growth’.

The CIO knowledge capital was eagerly lapped up by the delegates. For
medium-size software and services companies as well as those who want to venture
out into ITES-BPO segments, this was a rare opportunity to network personally
with the foreign CIOs.

The CIOs from abroad also spoke about the ITES-BPO opportunities in
engineering and design, GIS and animation areas. It is up to Indian companies
now to pitch in for contracts for R&D, product design and development,
engineering document management and analysis and carry forward the ITES-BPO
revolution.

sylvesterl@cmil.com