Delhi, India, February, 15, 2011- Looking back on India's SW industry, Som Mittal, President of National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) smiled revealing that he has already developed affection towards Korea after a few visits. India's SW industry has about 30 years of history, and while the first two decades were spent on building the foundation, the last 10 years saw huge development with over 30 percent growth. With over US$60 billion from overseas sales and US$15 billion from domestic sales, software has become one of India's pivotal industries that galvanize the fast growing economy. And now India's Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) takes up 65 percent of the global market.
President Mittal says, "Currently, 2.5 million people are working in the IT industry in India while indirect job creation in the software industry is about 8.2 million. Our association is planning to continue the collaboration with global companies as we are trying to develop software with countries that have advanced hardware and manufacturing technologies such as South Korea and Taiwan."65 percent of the clients for Indian SW come from the US, followed by UK, 18 percent, and the remaining European countries, 12 percent.
Clearly, the majority of the business has been conducted with English-speaking countries so far, but the trend is changing. "We are increasingly promoting marketing in non-English-speaking regions including Latin America, the Middle East, and China," Mr. Mittal explained showing great confidence, "The Indian SW industry's rich experience and know-how with many countries around the world will help to raise efficiency in new markets as well."
He is also anticipating more cooperation with South Korea in the near future. "The Korean government has noted the development of the domestic software industry as one of its main goals in 2011, which would undoubtedly bring about more opportunities for cooperation between Korea and India. I believe India can be very helpful for Korea to improve its competitiveness in the global market. Many Indian companies are already operating all over the world and we have comprehensive understanding of the overseas markets," said President Mittal.
To the question over the possible difficulties involved with the cooperation between South Korea and India, Mr. Mittal responded, "We had cultural and language barrier issues with France and Germany. However, we have successfully overcome those and now French and German markets are open to Indian SW companies. I am sure we can deal with the similar problems with Korea based on these experiences." He added, "I hope many Korean companies would make use of our products to increase work efficiency."
Whereas the clients used to seek cheap labor a decade ago and, subsequently, efficiency as well, now more and more of them are looking for "cheap labor, efficiency, and value." Indian SW industry has learned this by numerous business experiences with many global companies, establishing itself as one of the major suppliers for the world market. It is worth noting that India's SW industry now finds itself at the center of the transformation of global firms across the world. Providing a new business model and scores of advantages, Indian software is leading diversification and innovation of the industry.
NASSCOM is planning to continue supporting SW companies - especially those with little finance, yet brave innovation. The association's support programs will include various institutional aids for business activities both within and outside the country. India does not impose tax on exporting software products, and the businesses that operate within what is named the 'special zone' benefit from tax exemption for five years, which has substantially helped the development of the country's software industry.
Mr. Mittal believes there are three major factors that are essential for the development of the software industry: the first is 'people' as in well-trained workforce; second, a good tool with 'robust process' that facilitates maintenance of well-made software, and lastly, the thorough and precise understanding of the industry -"you need to understand about banking and manufacturing." However, even these fundamental elements should be honed by continuous training, he emphasized.
From the 8th to the 10th of February, in Mumbai, NASSCOM hosted the India Leadership Forum 2011 with the slogan "Drivers for this Decade," with about 15 hundred IT delegates from 32 countries gathered to forecast the future of the IT industry. Commenting on this successful event, Mr. Mittal explained that the increasing population of India will lead to the expansion of the India domestic market, which will consequently contribute to the growth of the Indian IT industry. The development of the Chinese and Indian market, he added, means increasing demand for variety in products and services, so Korean products will very likely benefit from this as well.
At the end of the interview, Mr. Mittal suggested that there should be more 'exchange' in many areas - exchange of people, bolstered tourism, Korea's proactive investment as well as institutional improvement for Indian companies to enter the Korean market. He is also planning to take part in the IT Forum that will be held on March 14, by the Indian Embassy in Korea.
