IT sector needs to log in to innovation

The first day of Nasscom 2006 was proof that India is the hottest global destination for business today. Everybody, it seems, needs an India strategy.

Not just global corporations outsourcing to India, but also venture capitalists, private equity firms and best-selling authors.

There is no doubt that India now sits at the high table of technology, with countries like the UK hosting special sessions to increase investments by IT majors there to help extend and deepen their knowledge industries.

This increased two-way business and commercial traffic between India and the UK is also translating into a blending of cultures.

While the thousands of delegates used the occasion to extend their global networks using their RFID tags to boot, it was the big idea of fostering innovation and the need to create an atmosphere of constant learning that attracted the attention of most speakers on the first day.

Wednesday's speakers made it clear that to take the next big leap, Indian IT needs to create an innovation-led eco-system that includes not only industry and academia but government agencies and non-governmental organisations; an eco-system that is not confined to India alone but embraces the best practices from global institutions.

After all, Indian IT has always been about global standards and benchmarks and its success is largely due to its ability to work seamlessly with customers and partners across the world.

It is this spirit of cooperation that needs to be taken further by institutionalising collaboration, in order to leverage innovation across the entire IT eco-system.

Over the next three days, the best minds in India and abroad will discuss how to take the next big leap forward by encouraging innovation across this industry "� not only in the way we relate to our partners and customers but also create new generation of talented professionals for this industry.

In a fast-changing world where everything changes so quickly, the only constant as the master of the flat world Thomas Friedman said is "learning to learn is the only competency", breaking out of the vertical path of thought, embracing lateral thinking and using the right side of the brain as much.