Contents - Connect-World

National Development
advantage in any market will always
move, like water, to the lowest-cost
resource. So the secret for long-term
success is not to aim for a low price,
but to deliver good value for money. If
the value proposition is right, the price
can rise and we all benefit.
From price to value
This was the course of the Indian IT
industry. It has built on its value-forthe-money
coding and added genuine,
world-class expertise in design and
consultancy, not least by anticipating
the needs of global businesses and
developing skills in advance.
A recent McKinsey Quarterly report
confirmed that, today, leading US
companies in the financial sector and
other industries create offshore partnerships
to achieve far more than
cost-reduction; they are taking advantage
of the distinctive skills and high
performance on offer. That is, they
are in search of value overall.
The report further quantifies the
nature of this competitive advantage:
"Most leading Indian IT outsourcing
firms operate at level five—the highest
degree of expertise—of the IT service
capability maturity model (CMM)."
Most internal IT departments, by contrast,
in the United States have
reached levels two and three.
As a result, according to the Ministry
of Communications and Information
Technology, the Indian IT and ITES
(Information Technology Enabled
Services) industries are expected to
achieve exports of US$13 billion in
2003/4. India, today, is the worlds
service provider. Its global market
share in off shore services stands at 24
per cent and the government
predicts revenues
of US$148 billion
by 2012, a staggering
figure. Can this be
achieved
Commitment to
change
Through a continuation
of the process,
which has driven the
educational structure
over the last 30 years it
can be achieved. That
is, by reaping the benefit
of Indias intellectual
capital. Indias colleges
and universities
produce three million
graduates a year, of
“The goal of education is
not to create individuals
who can reiterate
today’s knowledge, but
to empower them to
describe new solutions
to new challenges.”
who 520,000 qualify in IT subjects,
largely from educational institutions
rated very highly on a global standard.
That has not happened by accident;
educational authorities, at every level,
have responded to the calls of industry
and have adjusted curricula to developing
needs. Today, Indias education
system is adapting as rapidly as the
changing global business environment
— a process rarely matched by its competitors.
The companies that drive Indias IT
success demonstrate their commitment
to raising general education
standards by investing heavily to
recruit the right staff, but this is
enlightened self-interest.
Many Indian-based IT companies
staff, for example, include a high percentage
with masters degrees or doctorates,
19 per cent and two per cent
respectively, in my own companys
case.
Enlightened self-interest continues
after hiring. There are induction programmes,
ongoing training, personal
and leadership development and
active encouragement to add further
formal qualifications.
Figure 1: Ongoing education is a key element in the Indian sector.
A key element of this process is to
integrate the employee into the corporate
culture, thus building team work
and a strong sense of customer loyalty.
Programmes of this sort, naturally,
build on the strengths of the Indian
character, because this is at the core of
the Indian IT proposition. There is a
strong organisational/business focus
but, more broadly, the staff acquires
general interpersonal and behavioural
skills and all the other attributes necessary
to work globally.
Necessarily, since Indian IT today is
inherently outward facing, its software
exports represent no less than 79 per
cent of sales. Moreover, the critical
success factor in its move from
bodyshop to partner lies in comprehending
not only technical requirements
but also, across styles and cultures,
the way in which client companies
operate.
Active encouragement of education
and development continues throughout
the employees career. Most major
Indian IT companies, for example,
have formed alliances with leading
educational establishments around
the world.
Skills and value
This process is about far more than
formal qualifications. Indian IT has
won widespread international market
respect by reacting fast to changing
situations and developing human
resources to match.
Illustratively, the use of Siebel software
to create sophisticated customer
relationship management systems
emerged several years ago as a major
trend. It provides all the tools necessary
for leading edge
solutions. However, the
problem is, there is a
world shortage of consultants
with sufficient
knowledge in depth to
be able to specify, design
and implement such
systems. As demand
has soared, Indias neural
network has been
well placed to exploit the
opportunity.
This trend is paralleled
across the COTS
(Customised Off The
Shelf packages) sector,
as major telecommunications
customers seek
to changeover old legacy
and proprietary formats.
Other examples
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