Next year will be challenging for IT cos: TCS

The depreciation in rupee's value is likely to benefit software exporters, but the global macro economic situation will pose a challenge for the industry next year, a top official of IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said today.

"This year has gone very well and better than what we expected. Next year it will be some kind of stressful environment and every government will try to avoid the Lehman kind of situation," TCS Executive Director and CFO S Mahalingam told reporters on the sidelines of a CII event here.

The rupee movement has been very volatile and in the long-term, this depreciation is likely to benefit the IT industry (largely dependent on the US market) as a whole, he said.

"The rupee movement has been going like a 'yo yo'. It's a roller coaster ride. For longer term it might be good for my kind of industry."

This quarter (October-December) TCS hedged the rupee at 46.5 per dollar and next quarter it will be 47.5, but after that it is open, he said.

The global macro economic situation has been the major concern for the industry and it will continue to remain a challenge next year, he said.

"Agility is going to be a very important for the sector. Every passing year is more challenging than the coming year and most [companies] think to turn these challenges into opportunities," he added.