IT sector back on its feet, proclaims Nasscom

With 1,650 registered participants, the 18th edition of the Nasscom India Leadership Forum—the flagship event of Nasscom, the apex body of the information technology sector —clearly indicates the industry is back on its feet. These numbers are the highest for the forum since it started the annual event in 1990.

Other than the recession in the US, the Indian information technology (IT) industry also had to manage its image, with the Satyam scandal raising serious concerns on corporate governance. But, all that seems behind.

“This is the highest number of registered users for the Leadership Summit. The 2009 summit had 1,300 registered users and in 2008 there were 1,500 participants. There is a huge interest among the industry across regions. Clearly signalling the end of the recession,” says Sangeetha Gupta, vice-president, Nasscom.

With the industry set to achieve its $50 billion (Rs 2.3 lakh crore) target for software exports by 2009-10, Nasscom is now focusing on how the learnings of this slowdown can be best used to become a truly global industry.

Nasscom 2010 has three focus areas. First, to become a much bigger global player. This is evident in the number of foreign delegates. Close to 20 countries will be present. “We have always had foreign delegations, but this time there is an equal participation from developed and emerging markets. We have delegates from Germany, UK, Australia and Japan, as well as Latin America, Poland, Egypt and even Pakistan,” notes Gupta.

The second focus area is to look at India as a growing market. Especially the increased adoption of IT among government departments. “Our first session is ‘Homeward bound: why the government leads the way in a tight market’. And, finally, this year it is more about new opportunities, geographies and verticals. For instance, when we chose to showcase the new geographies, it is not just because there is an opportunity for Indian IT industry there but also because these countries have shown interest in the India IT services,” says Gupta.

She says that since the launch of the Perspective 2020 report last year, Nasscom has been working on implementing these recommendations. The IT story is beyond just the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sectors and the telecom industry, she adds.

“We (Nasscom) have incorporated segments like product engineering services. Besides, we collaborate with foreign firms, as well as small and the medium enterprises. Rather, we have been having internal discussion on how to address these segments together,” said Gupta.

Other than global heads of multinationals and world-renowned speakers, this year, Nasscom will also discuss emerging technology offerings like cloud computing, mobile applications, social media and ‘Green IT’.