Indian IT Sector Transforms into High-Value Buiz Catalyst

Reports say that the IT sector in India has transformed from a cheap IT service to the rest of the world to a highly valued business facilitator.

Convenor of the IT panel at the India IT Summit, V.K. Mathews said that India cannot rely solely on cost advantage, but it also needs to seek to offer value, reports The Economic Times.

Speaking at the India IT Summit, Mathews said the IT industry in India has made its presence known as a software exporting producer during the last nine years instead of a being an IT consumer. The IT sector in India has matured from system development/maintenance to an industry that offers strategic IT outsourcing.

The surfacing of large Indian IT firms, establishing huge offshore sites in India, and the thousands of graduates choosing to pursue a career in IT-related areas are some factors that have influenced the transformation of the tech industry in India.

Cost and scalability are major contributions of the Indian IT industry, while the key strengths of the sector are process competence and technology. It is apparent that the changing trends in the IT industry are demanding the role of IT change from a supporting role to one that transforms businesses. Customers are seeking to relate to IT as a value-based service. This has brought about a challenge for IT firms to discover how IT can assist in reducing the cost of business as well as manage growth in companies.

In Kerala state, located in Southern India, the government is planning to invest approximately $4.4 million in the period 2009-2011 for developing IT infrastructure. It is also inviting IT firms to come to and take part in the e-governance journey of Kerala, making it a success, said the Chief Minister of Kerala, V.S. Achuthananandan.

The state has also declared free and open source software as the software application of choice in Kerala and requested companies working in this domain to set up shop in Kerala.