India has helped redraw the world’s economic landscape in recent years. Our country is now home to a thriving consumer market and strong skills’ base. India also accounts for seven of the 91 emerging market multinationals listed on the Fortune Global 500 — a leading ranking of the world’s largest companies. Moreover, our country’s reputation has been bolstered by its leadership in the global IT (information technology) and IT-enabled service (ITeS) industries through two decades of robust economic growth.
Yet, resting on past laurels could prove dangerous. Today, cloud computing, mobile, sensors, analytics and social computing are reaching new levels of maturation — creating new forms of economic activity. A recent report published by Accenture, “From Global Connection to Global Orchestration: Future Business Models for High Performance Where Technology and the Multi-polar World Meet”, confirms this. For instance, new bridges are being built between producers and consumers, and individuals are participating in peer-to-peer networks for the cooperative production of goods and services, all underpinned by advances in IT.
All of this is challenging India’s position. When I look at high performance businesses around the world, I see that many are using IT to source ideas beyond company walls. Others are creating innovative business models intricately linked to IT. I also see outsourcing shifting to the next stage: B2B firms are harnessing technology to deliver increasingly specialised global services. India has yet to fully embrace the potential that this convergence of IT and globalisation affords.
Fortunately, India has the opportunity to build upon the past in order to prepare for the future. Just as IT has featured prominently in India’s growth story to date, so it needs to be at the heart of our country’s next push towards achieving the status of a high-performance nation. Using cloud computing technologies, India’s reputable ITeS sector has the potential to optimise service levels so that they operate more quickly and at variable cost. India can potentially become a “cloud computing hub” for South Asia—or even the world.
IT can also help Indian companies extend their market frontiers. One of India's leading private sector banks has seen great success by reaching the Indian diaspora through web-based and wireless platforms. Alternatively, technology can be used to transform Indian firms’ business models by fundamentally altering their key sources of revenue. For governments, critical public services—such as education and healthcare—can be delivered to more places at a lower cost.
Over the past two decades, India has enhanced global connectivity. We’ve developed outsourcing hubs that have brought businesses from all over the world closer together. Today, I see the opportunity to take this to the next level. It is the opportunity to push ahead, to act on the notion that significant change is taking place right now. As I stand back, I see the chance for India to move beyond connectivity into an era that allows Indian businesses to harness IT-enabled economic models and construct new ways of doing business—both within India and across the world.
(The author is vice-chairman, Nasscom)
