I attended the Nasscom showcase conference in Mumbai a couple of weeks ago. I did so with two goals in mind a) to assess whether the average Siliconindia reader would benefit from the next conference – given the investment in time, travel and money and b) to see if Nasscom has evolved from the “club” that founding fathers like Kohli and Murthy had set up. When I collected my thoughts after the conference, I was surprised at the diversity of themes I heard – from public policy to mergers and acquisitions to staff attrition issues. Here is a montage of views – mine and from some of the attendees I spoke to at the conference.

Realism
I had expected a buoyant, cheerleading kind of attitude given how well things have been going for Indian software and services companies. Jerry Rao, the Chairman of Nasscom, however set the stage in his opening comments with a realistic assessment of milestones achieved, but with the mountains still to be climbed. In my January column, I had suggested that Indian vendors stay “hungry and humble”. I definitely saw signs of that.

What I did not see was an open discussion around political and public policy issues in the West. Angst over job losses and the continuing racial tension – the PR, HR issues were mostly discussed in whispers at the conference.

Industry leadership
In a country where politicians and film stars surround themselves with chamchas, it was refreshing for anyone to walk up to a Premji or a Murthy or a Ramdorai and shake hands at the conference. Their accessibility is commendable. Frankly, CEOs of US vendors like Larry Ellison or Scott McNealy are tougher to access at conferences. It was easy, however, to forget that these leaders continue to be competitors to most of the attendees. As one executive told me, Infosys hires in a month what others do in the whole year.

Given that lens, I found some of Murthy’s prepared comments unhelpful to the industry. He was talking more as an Infosys representative, than as an industry icon. He predicted that voice recognition would largely make call centers redundant in a few years. In a single statement he maligned the biggest portion of India’s BPO offering. (For the record, my view is voice recognition technology will be used to better route calls to appropriate handlers, not completely eliminate them. Most customers ask for a live “agent” to bypass the tedious voice recognition menus currently being experimented with by American Airlines and others). He also exhorted attendees to start delivering revenue metrics approaching Western firms like Accenture. If that happens, I can almost guarantee the entire Indian industry, not just call centers, will die in the next few years. Western buyers are just not ready to buy Indian products at premium pricing.

Buyer representatives
I am spoilt. Most conferences I attend (Gartner, Oracle Application User Group etc) have a disproportionate amount of buyer representatives and I like the realism and commerce that flows from that. The Nasscom conference was disappointing on this front. While they had a few CIOs, the majority of attendees were vendors. I hope next year, Nasscom encourages its members to charter planes and bring their best customers and prospects. The aviation business closes a lot of business at the Paris Air Show. I know a number of western SIs cement deals at SAP conferences. It is an opportunity to showcase India’s best and brightest to a new generation of buyers – and to thank the early adopters (and close even more business with them).

Vendor diversity
India today has at least 6 distinct segments in its software and services economy – the large IT services firms, the small to mid-sized IT service firms, Western IT firms, the BPO providers, product development/software companies and the captives of industrial companies. While there were session tracks to cover many of these and executives from GECIS, Veritas, 24x7 and others spoke, the first category got the bulk of the sessions (let’s face it, they were the bulk of the sponsors).

Allowing the newer categories to present case studies and corporate pitches should expose some of the exciting work they are doing. They could also describe their own unique challenges in selling in the West, in running India operations or dealing with their Western parents. I was fascinated to hear, over a drink, Biren Ghose describe his BPO company, Animation Bridge – so different from the IT pitches I am used to hearing. It would be nice for Nasscom to give such entrepreneurs more of a forum next year.

China
There were a number of sessions and conversations at lunches and dinners that touched on China. Not sure why. For the average Nasscom member, IBM and ADP and Accenture continue to be the real competitors. I heard a refreshing view from Padmaja Krishnan, Director of Marketing and Business Development for Xansa. Her suggestion - instead of treating China as a threat we need to seek out places for collaboration. One could be around non-English speaking markets. Sub-contract to them on manufacturing, reverse course around white-collar opportunities. I agree with her – let’s leave the China “threat” to the policy wonks. In short term, they represent a partnering opportunity, not competition.

McKinsey, Gartner, Forrester
Given the absence of buyers, the content from McKinsey and the industry analysts would be much more useful if they reflected a composite of buying trends and patterns. I saw a number of opinions, not enough detailed, quantitative analysis. Also if Nasscom wants to showcase that the “global delivery model” can work in other knowledge areas, why not let Indian strategy consultants present in addition to the McKinsey view? Ditto with local market and financial analysts.

Logistics
In general, the events logistics were impressive. Even the buses which took attendees through Mumbai’s clogged streets to evening events worked fine. The evening shows were top notch. The hotel could have used more seating areas for networking between sessions or even during meals, but overall I thought the event was well run. Also, the vendor booth area was unappealing.
Okay, so after all that – should the average Silicon India reader go to next year’s session?

It’s not cheap (Rs 20,000 before any discounts for member firms), it is 3 + days with travel (more if you are traveling from abroad) and then there is the travel costs. If you want to network with your peers, it is an excellent forum. If you want to learn about how newer segments of BPO or product development companies are evolving (and find new jobs!), I believe it will get better next year. If you want to meet prospects or just hear first hand from buyers, I hope Nasscom improves that mix. One piece of advice if you decide to go – there were not enough hotel rooms – my Hyatt Platinum status was no good in getting me a room - so book early.

Vinnie Mirchandani is CEO of Deal Architect, Inc, which helps technology buyers procure offshore, and other technology contracts. It also works with technology vendors and investors on strategy and merger transactions. Mr. Mirchandani was previously a Gartner analyst and an executive with PwC (now part of IBM). He can be reached at contact@dealarchitect.com.