Contents - Connect-World

National Development
Figure 2: Indian IT is a worldwide business.
of such rare COTS skill-sets include
Geneva, in billing and Clarify in CRM
and BEA. In each case, an opportunity
is created.
Education for life
In the West, lifetime education has
become a fashionable talking point.
Leading management writers have
waxed lyrical about aspects of the subject
from the learning organisation to
knowledge management. Still, success
is, as yet, comparatively rare. Yet
in India, it is a reality, fundamental to
corporate culture and embraced by
workforces.
Employee surveys across the IT industry
report routinely that staff place
such culture at the top of their
requirements, alongside more obvious
factors such as pay and rewards, and
the international opportunities afforded
by the IT world. It is often the educational
opportunity, which becomes
the critical decision-making factor.
This mutual commitment is reflected
in staff loyalty. The average rate of
employee attrition in the Indian IT
industry is about 15 per cent; in
Europe comparable employers expect
double the churn. The staff tell their
friends and family they are happy, too.
In fact, the buddy system is a primary
recruitment source. The policy of continuous
development of staff is
matched by a steady rise in corporate
standards. Most Indian IT companies
operating globally are certified to
international quality standards like
CMM and ISO 9000, a further testament
of seriousness.
are now prime contractors
for bluechip
businesses
worldwide. They
provide innovative
design skills as well
as cost-effective
coding. Rather
than just react, they
lead and benefit
from staff members
who are respected
at every level.
In December 2003,
the Ministry of
Communications
and Information
Technology reported
that,
"Maintaining Indias momentum and
share of this global opportunity will
depend on its ability to create and
make available a growing and appropriately
skilled pool of talent. While
India is well positioned today, high
growth aspirations demand that adequate
actions be taken to ensure that
supply-side constraints do not prevent
us from realising the potential of the
opportunity."
True, India cannot rest, but its opportunity
is great. Continuously higher
investment in its burgeoning neural
network benefits all — whether
employed in the IT industry or not.
A better developed workforce will
enable Indian IT to increase its penetration
of the world market, enhancing
financial returns for its companies,
their staff, and the wider community.
Then too, the benefit extends globally.
As Indias participation in, and contribution
to, the world economy grows
apace India is playing its own substantial
part in global growth. Collectively,
these represent rich dividends for
Indias commitment over the past two
decades and are a testament to the
strength of its neural network, but
this, perhaps, is only the beginning.
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Beyond bodyshopping
So Indian IT today is moving far
beyond its bodyshopping roots, to a
situation where its leading companies
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