IT, ITeS must adopt Cloud and boost security, says Airtel Business

White paper says sector facing rising cyber threats, competition in Southeast Asia, and data deluge

India’s information technology (IT) & IT-enabled services (ITeS) sector must evolve from its current cost-arbitrage model to an innovation engine, Airtel Business said in a white paper.

 

It added that the sector must quickly migrate to Cloud systems and integrate advanced security into the network to ensure sustained growth.

 

Cornered by market trends like fast emerging technology, competition booming on evolving fronts and changing client demands, it is no longer feasible for the IT sector to depend simply on cost arbitrage and skilled resources available domestically, the white paper, reviewed by Business Standard, said.

 

The IT/ITeS sector currently contributes 7 per cent to the GDP, which is expected to rise to 10 per cent by 2026.

   

IT and ITeS companies support a plethora of organisations using multiple heterogeneous on-premises and Cloud environments.

 

However, 80 per cent of IT and ITeS companies in India are expected to migrate 90 per cent of their workload to the Cloud by 2027, the white paper said. It was brought out in collaboration with Think Teal, an analyst firm tracking the enterprise ICT market.

 

Increasing costs of public Cloud services are also pushing more companies to bring back data into private Cloud environments. This also allows greater control over the infrastructure.

 

But the process of integration of Cloud solutions with legacy systems remains resource-intensive, the white paper warned.

 

It has recommended the use of Cloud cost management tools, centralised Cloud governance platforms and public private Cloud setups.

 

However, this shift has brought key concerns, including data security and privacy, arising from possible breaches and unauthorised access.

 

Already, the IT and ITeS sector was targeted with 15 per cent of all cyberattacks in India in 2023, the paper flagged.

 

“Highly dynamic cyber threats and digital infrastructure have become increasingly diverse, resulting in potentially thousands of gaps in protection. More complex and innovative cyber attacks challenge the anticipation and defence of a possible cyber threat,” the whitepaper said.

 

Case in point, attacks through networked Internet of Things (IoT) devices increased compared to 5 years ago, it said.

 

“The transformation of India's IT/ITeS sector is not just about maintaining a competitive edge. It is about defining a new meaning for being a leader in the global technology services market. While cost-arbitrage will build the sector’s success, innovation will secure its future,” Sharat Sinha, chief executive officer (CEO), Airtel Business, told Business Standard in an interaction.

 

Key trends like Cloud system migrations and integrating security into network architecture can significantly contribute to sustained growth of the sector in the years to come, he added.

 

Managing data and customers

 

The paper also highlights the increasing need for advanced data centre services in India at a time of data deluge. Companies in the sector are projected to expand their data storage capacities by over 200 per cent in the next three years.

 

But they remain under pressure to scale infrastructure without dropping performance or increasing costs. They also have to align their data centre strategies with broader sustainability goals, it said.

 

Overall data centre capacity in India is predicted to be more than double to 1,700-1,800 Mw by 2025-26.

 

Meanwhile, the total colocation data centre capacity in the country currently stands at 1 Gw, more than double in just 18 months.

 

The paper has said adopting unified communication as services (UCaaS) is fundamental for companies to deal with changing customer engagement. Companies are increasingly using advanced communication solutions which unify various channels — voice, video, chat, and email.

 

But integrating these into a common platform has been difficult even as latency has emerged as a key problem, contributing to a 60 per cent increase in transaction failures for IT and ITeS firms, the paper said.

 

Airtel Business provides a wide gamut of end-to-end solutions spanning cellular IoT, connectivity, Cloud, data centre, cyber security and Cloud-based communications to customers across enterprises, governments, carriers and small and medium businesses. 

Need for change  

Security risk

• 7 out of 10 large IT enterprises facing ransomware attacks
• 40% of all IT businesses victims of phishing email attacks
• 45% of IT firms still reliant on outdated systems

Churn in jobs

• 25% of IT jobs could be automated by 2030; basic coding, data entry most at-risk
• 600,000 skilled professionals in shortage in IT sector
• 30-40% gap in availability of digital skills as a result

Source: Airtel Business whitepaper