rahul_parab2006
Rahul Parab
Overview
Experts have recognized India as the one of the emerging economic superpowers; and rightly so. In 2006-2007, India’s GDP grew to 9.4% from of 9% during 2005-2006. In this, Information Technology (IT) has undoubtedly been one of the primary drivers. The Indian IT recorded revenues of US$ 39.6 billion in fiscal 2006-2007, registering a 31% growth. Additionally, according to the findings of NASSCOM’s (The National Association of Software Services Companies) Strategic Review 2008, software and services exports are expected to cross US$ 40 billion, while the domestic market is expected to touch US$ 23 billion in 2008.
Over the years, while successfully sustaining global competition, the industry within itself has matured in a big way. As a result, India has emerged as one of the fastest growing IT hubs in the world; its growth being dominated by IT software and services such as Custom Application Development and Maintenance (CADM), System Integration, IT Consulting, Application Management, Infrastructure Management Services, Software testing, service-oriented architecture and Web services. In the process, it has opened up numerous avenues at different levels for technical as well as non-technical job aspirants.
Structure
NASSCOM estimates the Indian IT industry to be worth approximately US$ 47.8 billion. The industry can be broadly divided into two markets:
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Domestic market - The domestic IT market is broadly divided into the following four segments: IT Services, Software segment which includes engineering and Research & Development (R&D) services, IT-enabled Services and Business Process Outsourcing (ITeS-BPO), and Hardware. While IT Services accounted for 34% of the total revenue generated by the domestic market in fiscal 2006, the Engineering Services, R&D and Software Products segments together accounted for 10% of the revenue. The ITeS-BPO segment, on the other hand, contributed 7%. Hardware is the dominant segment with a share of about 49%.
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Export market - The exports market constitutes the largest segment accounting for 75% of the total revenue generated by the entire Indian software industry. The exports market is dominated by the IT Services market holding a share of 56.4% in the Software and Services exports in the fiscal year 2006, followed by the ITeS-BPO segment with 26.7% share, and the Software Products and engineering services segment with 16.9% share.
The Indian hardware industry is at present estimated to be in the proportion of 30% domestic, 1.25% exports and the remaining being imports. The domestic market itself offers tremendous potential for hardware companies, thus having very few companies venturing into hardware exports. Imports of IT hardware which form a large component of the industry are mainly from Taiwan, China and Korea. Lately, however, MNCs in the hardware segment have been viewing India as a hub for setting up hardware manufacturing facilities, for instance Dell. [Source: D&B Industry Research Service]
Opportunities
There is a tremendous demand for trained personnel in IT sector. According to a NASSCOM report, National Association of Software and Services Companies, 'Strategic Review 2007’ direct employment is expected to exceed $1.6 million. Essentially, jobs in the Information Technology sector lie within one of four main career paths. The broad Computer Science Application group includes systems analysts, computer programmers, computer scientists, software engineers, and database/network administrators. The remaining positions fall within either the Management/Supervisory group (e.g., project or technical managers), in Customer Service and Support (computer support specialists), or in Sales/Relationship Management (sales engineers)/ While the visible faces of the IT sector are the ‘techies’ or programmers, the sales force also plays a very important part.
The IT industry is currently facing a dearth of talent. Engineers are in high demand in the sector as most of the jobs require extensive mathematical skills as well as logical and analytical abilities. However, most technical people lack good soft skills, and verbal and written communication skills. An aspirant in the industry who has a combination of both these sets of skills can find himself or herself in an advantageous position even at entry level.
Salary
The pay scale for the programming jobs range from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 25,000 per month at starting level. Software consultants can earn around Rs. 50,000 plus per month. At the Management level the pay scales varies from over Rs.1,00,000 per month. According to Dataquest’s 2007 salary survey, Indian software professionals got an average salary increase of 18.7% in 2007 and this number is one of the highest in the world. The Dataquest survey revealed that foreign multi national corporations (MNCs) pay higher salaries. And among MNCs, those engaged in Research and Development pay the highest. Infosys is the best paymaster where Indian IT companies are concerned and even offer ESOP options. Bonuses are an integral part of the sector.
Future
The Indian IT sector is expected to grow in a big way in the near future. Today, it already finds itself in a position where Indian IT companies have already established their superiority in terms of cost advantage, availability of skilled manpower and the quality of services across the world. Moreover, they have been continuously enhancing their global service delivery capabilities through a combination of organic and inorganic growth initiatives. Global giants such as Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, and Lenovo have already established their captive centres in India. These companies recognise the advantage India offers, as compared to other competing countries such as China or South Korea, and also the fact that it is among the fastest growing IT markets in the Asia-Pacific region. The number of job opportunities in the sector is only expected to grow further.