'Demand signal is very high with generative AI', says Anant Maheshwari

The National Association of Software Services Companies (Nasscom) has announced the appointment of Anant Maheshwari, president & CEO, Microsoft India, as chairperson of the industry body for 2023-24. Maheshwari’s appointment is noteworthy as he doesn’t come from a pure software services firm and represents Microsoft, which has disrupted the technology landscape with its investment in OpenAI – the developer of ChatGPT. In an interview with Shivani Shinde, he talks about his focus areas at the industry body. Edited excerpts:

What’s your view on your elevation to this role, especially because you come from a technology solutions company -- Microsoft? Does this mean a shift in Nasscom’s focus?

It definitely is new to have a person from a platform/solutions company as Nasscom chairperson, but I see this as a measured shift that has not happened overnight but over time at Nasscom. The broader theme is to make India the very best in the tech ecosystem.

I have been part of the Nasscom executive council (EC) since 2017. If you look at the Nasscom EC members, the council has a balanced representation of Indian IT services, global products and tech firms, and GCCs (global captive centres). Over the past few years, we have had some of the leading digital natives of India like Flipkart, Snapdeal, and others becoming part of the EC.

What would be your and Nasscom’s focus areas over the next year?

There are four key areas of focus for Nasscom. First, tech services have been the core strength of India and this includes Indian IT services, GCCs, and global tech firms which have leveraged India's capabilities to serve global tech needs. An extension of that will be our focus on deep tech and establishing India as a trusted tech ecosystem for the planet.

Second, innovation with inclusive growth. We need to continue to work on our skills ecosystem, which has been India’s biggest strength. Even for the emerging world of AI, India has one of the largest pools of talent for AI. How we drive inclusion and focus on the skilled ecosystem will be crucial, including gender diversity, and expanding the talent ecosystem via smaller cities. Within this, another aspect will be to remove biases and drive ethical tech.

Third, broadly in line with the global economic landscape, the Western world may be going through recessionary trends, but India remains a bright spot. That gives us a natural advantage to invest and drive new capabilities. In addition, we have had a massive acceleration due to the implementation of digital public goods over the last five years. India is an apt example of how digital public goods can change the nature of the economy when tech is used properly.

Fourth, both – the aspects of the economy and the digital public goods ecosystem -- are great drivers of domestic demand, and also of solutions being created here and then exported globally. Exporting capabilities around digital public goods, ideas, and ready solutions to the world is a unique opportunity.

How do you see the rising use of generative AI impacting the industry and how does Nasscom look at the skills challenge arising because of this?

There has definitely been a significant wave over the past five months in the world and everybody has become aware of the opportunities around generative AI (GAI). In our EC meeting yesterday, where members come from diverse segments, one single thread of conversation was that the demand signal is very high with GAI. This is actually a good thing, especially for a tech ecosystem (India) that is trying to solve the demand at a global level. This is still early days… I would say the demand signal will continue to play out and it will take some time to really translate this demand into opportunities, new tech, and solutions. This year (CY & FY) will see a lot of new discoveries on what is possible via GAI.

On the supply side, it opens up tremendous opportunities for skilling. For the last couple of years, the industry has been looking for experienced talent. The AI capability will help support all the tech talent to be able to do more with less, and be more productive in less time. Nasscom is very clear that we should support the demand signal and also find innovative new solutions on the supply side.

It looks like the industry is heading for a slower growth rate. How does Nasscom see the macro environment impacting the industry?

If you look from a macro point of view, we are on an even trajectory. There are a few spikes that you see in growth rates every few years. But if history is any indicator, whenever there has been significant economic volatility in the world, the Indian tech ecosystem has benefitted. It may not be obvious in immediate terms but after a few years, we have seen the industry grow. Tech is the only deflationary force in an inflationary world. Everyone that we speak with realise that there are demand signals; we just need to harness those.