Thursday, November 13, 2008
India is a unique country, with dualism deeply rooted in every aspect of its makeup. On one hand, it is considered an IT superpower. On the other, it is perceived as a source of cheap labor where it is easy to get noncritical software development and support functions executed.
A few years ago, even multinational corporations of great reputation dumped tasks such as graphical user interface development, system modification, data entry functions, and product experimentation on their Indian shops. More serious design and development of core functions with domain content happened elsewhere. Even today, when MNCs first set up shop in India, a significant portion of investment centers on outsourcing of non-core functions with a “test the waters” attitude. Recently, India has seen this phenomenon in areas like medical transcription, call center management (CCM) and implementation support services.
The Indian IT industry must be willing to accept such work because it is highly improbable that core functions will ever be executed in a “domain expertise-starved” territory. And there is no debate about the lack of quality standards imposed on workers with so-called “expertise.” Anybody who can spell “C” without using an “S” can become a C-language expert! Maybe “the source of cheap labor” reputation is India's own fault because software development outfits grab opportunities without evaluating the merits of the business vis-à-vis their established core competencies. In other words, India has not learned to walk away from the wrong business.
In fact, this flawed thinking begins at the very birth of companies. The articles of association of any Indian IT enterprise reveal the problem: corporate focus is diluted right from the start.
There are also shortages of almost everything to deal with. Recently, for example, we've been hearing about the talent shortage. When shortages are viewed in management terms, there appears to be a problem either with underutilization and underdevelopment of available resources or with mistakes in planning.
While working in South Korea on a process re-engineering initiative, I realized that lack of planning is rooted in lack of foresight and an inability to “adapt imaginatively, borrow shamelessly and imitate creatively” -- the hallmarks of a learning environment.
The most important bane of the Indian IT industry is that it operates in a noncreative, nonlearning-oriented environment, bogged down with menial work like coding or programming, which is fun only for a while. The solution? The IT industry in India needs more quality time to spend on learning and mopping up the domain so that the IT industry can get imaginative and creative with technical solutions.
IT Industry Boons
Now for the boons, and how to leverage them. India has excellent educational institutions and systems, some of which are comparable to the best in the world, at least through the undergraduate level. The quality of education and the reach of quality technical programs seems to deteriorate after the bachelor's level. Again, it is a shortage issue. India has numerous mechanisms to get the “raw talent” trained quickly on the menial stuff like programming.
And that is a definite strength. If the country can leverage this strength by being able to provide exposure to and training on the different domains with which IT applications deal, then the dream of India as an IT superpower can be realized. India's IT industry has willingly and readily adopted software quality paradigms and management programs such as Software and People Capability Maturity Models (CMM). India has the largest number of Level 5 Software CMM companies in the world.
Recently, People CMM has gained immense popularity simply because of its orientation toward building organizational core competencies. Indian IT infrastructure is also highly exposed to these frameworks. It should not appear to the world that these levels of mastery - definitely a positive for the country - are on the menial competencies. Thinking out of this box will be a challenge if Indian IT is not able to keep its vision focused on core competencies and excellence. India's quest for excellence will remain only a dream if we don't translate it into building a learning environment.
Raghav S. Nandyal is the founder & CEO of Sitara Networks Private Ltd., Hyderabad.
