Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The relevance of the IT segment in India and the Syntel Case

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Comprising a population of 47 million people with access to the internet, 500 million mobile phones and an average urban per capita income of USD3000, India is one of the major markets for business involving technology. The country is a reference primarily in the Field of Information Technology.

This potential is furthered by the contribution posed by a favourable economic environment and the ample availability of qualified labour: there are 2 million graduates per annum in India, 500 thousand of who are engineers. Thus, there is a combination of resources (skilled people, support and investment), infrastructure (telecommunications, transport, power and financial structure) and a favourable environment (fiscal incentives, economic and political stability). So that one might grasp the standing of India´s services sector, this segment currently contributes with 55% of the nation´s GNP, wherein the leading fields are: telecommunications, banking and IT.

Since the 70´s, a remarkable evolution took place in the IT sector, special emphasis being accredited to the period between 1994-98, when training in IT picked up and knowledge in the field, widespread throughout India. New projects to qualify and promote ERP systems at enterprises were developed between 1999 and 2001. Currently, the country develops low cost, high scale, innovative and aligned technologies, which address businesses and corporate strategies. Future outcomes foresee full outsourcing and the creation of joint value between contractors and IT suppliers.
During the Executive MBA´s trip, we were granted the opportunity to meet and talk to Syntel executives. This IT company was founded in 1980 in India and currently counts on 12.500 employees, headquarters in Michigan, 10 centres in India and 3 in USA. Service lines include IT application and maintenance, corporate solutions and business operations.

During the company tour we were to verify great concern involving collaborator training whether in the form of in-house programs, training in partnership with customers or with large specialized companies. Special attention allocated to quality and customer satisfaction, likewise was evidenced, posing a case of an Indian technology company that not only competes for lower costs, but seeks to offer customized solutions that address all customer requirements. In this joint effort all stakeholder expectations are taken into account, process automation with views to increasing productivity and change process management resulting from the adoption of new technologies and systems.

This visit brings to light the IT sector´s potential, the importance of Indian companies to the segment and most of all, the sophistication of it´s management systems and customer relationships that go far beyond cost reductions!

Renata Giovinazzo Spers, Teacher and Assisting Coordenator of Projects at FIA – Profuturo and International MBA. Participated in January/2010 of study trips to India and South Africa by joining the International Executive MBA group. (renatag@fia.com.br)

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