BANGALORE,INDIA: We bid adieu to 2008, of course, with bad memories than the good ones. From economic disaster to terrorism, everything acted as a great equalizer for the corporates worldwide and dampened many a dream.

But, despite all the odds, one would like to dream of a brighter time ahead. After all, there should be light at the end of the tunnel!

“This is a challenging time for economies across the globe. We in India too are not insulated or immune to the challenges. This is a time to adopt suitable measures to ensure we manage this downturn, remain competitive and emerge stronger,” says Kris Gopalakrishnan, CEO, Infosys Technologies.

“Even in the current challenging environment, there are various opportunities - we have to recognize these opportunities and use them to grow,” Kris is optimistic.

“If we manage the next 12-18 months, we should emerge stronger.”

It is the same optimism that Rajan Anandan, managing director, Microsoft India, shares.

“At 6 to 7 per cent growth in GDP, India’s economic framework is stronger than many others around the world today,” he says.

“While the economic scenario in 2009 across the globe looks challenging, I think the situation can be viewed as an opportunity for IT to evolve and contribute towards cost effectiveness and enhanced productivity,” adds Rajan Anandan.

As Sameer Garde, country manager of Dell India observes, companies everywhere are looking at how to best meet the coming year with a strong and competitive plan to maintain what they’ve got and grow where they can.

According to him, cloud computing and green IT, arguably the most talked about trends in 2008, will hit mainstream audiences in 2009 as companies look to the pair to help cut costs and increase efficiency.

But, in the time of global economic slowdown and challenging macro economic situation companies look for ways to trim spending and improve the bottom line, as Naresh Wadhwa, president and country manager, India and SAARC, Cisco, points out.

This would naturally affect the spending on IT. But still there is hope.

“I would like to see new, interesting and cost-effective applications of collaborative technologies that enable enterprises to reach out to consumers in rural India,” says Wadhwa.

He opines that we should work to make Internet a utility that is easily accessible, build a stronger infrastructural backbone so the larger population can also reap the benefits of our technology revolution.

In the opinion of Krishan Dhawan, managing director, Oracle India, the developments in the economic environment have brought about a paradigm shift in the way organizations operate, and it has opened up new vistas for organizations looking to harness the power of IT to save costs like never before.

“The year ahead will be a turning point for enterprise technology, as more and more companies look at adopting best IT practices to save cost, retain talent and enhance productivity,” he says.

“New technology initiatives like virtualization, shared or hosted services, consolidation among others will come to the forefront.”

Interestingly, as they are passing through bad times, most of the IT companies are becoming more and more 'green' conscious and that is proving to be a boon for the world that is on the verge of an environmental disaster.

Sure, one disaster help us think of saving the world from another – be it economic or environmental.

And the India Inc asks: If winter comes, can spring be far behind?