"Miles to travel before we rest

The Indian IT industry has given India a place on the world map due to the wonderful work done by dozens of Indian companies; namely the likes of the TCS veterans Mr. F C Kohli, Mr. S. Ramadorai and the Infy veterans like N. R. Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani and also the likes of Phaneesh Murthy, the folks from Wipro, HCL etc. This list is endless and I'm sure that I have missed out on lots of other people. We owe all these people who created the Indian IT industry big time. If they did not have the vision, endeavor and guts to kickstart the offshoring revolution, we in India would have a lot of issues such as unemployability and foreign debt. Of late we are suddenly experiencing turbulence in our growth journey and it also seems that somewhere down the road, we probably lost the plot. This is keeping in mind that expectations from the Indian IT industry have always been sky high. Indian IT Industry Challenges:

Newer economies are in the race and are aping what Indian IT has done and at cheaper rates. The government has taken credit for all the good times but not really been supportive during critical times. A recession in the major world economies from where bulk of the business comes from. Problems with the new generation coming into IT with higher salary expectations. Plethora of new technologies like Cloud, Analytics, Big Data on which we are necessarily not prime movers. Most of the thought-leadership around the future of technology is coming in from the West. Changing Our Thinking There is an old adage which goes, When the going gets tough, the tough get going and I think that this is apt for all of us to make Indian IT the centre stage of the technology business. All this has to be achieved with hard work, sweat and blood to make India the destination for all IT outsourcing. It has also

to be accompanied with strong leadership and also have all stakeholders treat this as a DO or DIE for us. We have to get all our thinking, innovative skills, leadership skills and all that we have in our arsenal, combined by team spirit to make India the leader of outsourcing worldwide. The wars of today are not the ones which are fought in the conventional ways using artillery, bullets etc but ones that are fought using economy, technology and market share. Being Paranoid Andy Grove from Intel, famously said that "Only The Paranoid Survive". We have to be "paranoid" in our journey to make India stand out and be the leader in technology. This also calls for a nationwide strategy wherein we all in the IT industry, academia, government and citizens unite to make Indian IT the best. The world has been watching the Indian IT industry with hope and also envy. We need to alleviate the pain of the recession which the developed economies are going through. This calls for "Outsourcong 2.0" wherein we make our customers achieve efficiencies, innovation, nimbleness and restore their faith back in Indian IT. To conclude, we should think about these 4 lines from the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep!

Lalit Kathpalia is Director, Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research and Head of Symbiosis Test Secretariat. He is an IT professional with 25 years of experience both in India and abroad in software development, training, program management and project management. Prior to joining Symbiosis, he was the Chief Delivery Officer for CELTEM Knowledge Solutions and Delivery Anchor for the Banking Unit, APAC of Infosys. He started his career in IT with Bennett Coleman and then worked in several companies including Infosys, Cambridge Technology Partners, Larsen & Toubro, HSBC and Computer Horizons.