India stealing Israeli thunder in IT industry

By siliconindia staff writer   |   Thursday, 24 June 2004, 19:30 IST
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JERUSALEM: India is emerging as the new hotspot for hi-tech industry 'stealing' the top position from Israel by 'eating away' its income in the industry, a report released by an international consultation company has said. According to the latest report of Gartner, which deals extensively with the expanding hi-tech sector, India has emerged as the new favourite destination for multinational companies like CA and Intel which have not expanded their operations in Israel for over three years, the Ma'ariv reported. Israeli companies themselves employ about 3,000 workers in India, it said, adding that the whole phenomenon is threatening the Israeli service market in the Information Technology industry. Gartner reportedly explained the trend by saying, "Israel is no longer unique in its ability to provide quality and advanced services in the IT industry. India is stealing much of this potential income from Israel." According to the report, the international IT service market grew by 6.2 per cent in 2003 and reached $569 billion as opposed to $536 billion in 2002. While Israel experiencing a decline, Indian companies grew by a whopping 29 per cent and already make up 1.4 per cent of the market share. Nearly all Indian income in this industry is said to be from outsourced services with 92 per cent of it coming from clients based outside India. However, the consultancy company predicts that the Israeli market will move in tune with the international markets for the rest of 2004 and will experience similar growth patterns.