Flavour of the Month: A tip to remember

PUNE, INDIA: Even amidst the exigencies of battling a slowdown and the unexpected US financial problems, there's a lot that Indian industry could and should do. That will ensure that it only survives the present challenge but also milk this seemingly impossible bear.

It's high time now for the Indian players to re-look at their business models. This should have happened much before this lull but now it's time to reconsider their bread-and-butter components.

"More so as margins are thinning in application and maintenance and there is heavy competition too. Resources are also getting expensive and infrastructure costs in India are getting higher which is affecting bottomlines," Arup Roy, senior research analyst, Gartner advises.

In fact, the new opportunity areas that some have already embarked upon like RIM (Remote Infrastructure Management) and consultancy are the right ones to nurture, he adds. "They are not completely dependent on the head count model and would also deliver benefits in the times we are now." Roy feels.

Pricing is another area that he feels worth a re-look.

"We have seen time-and-material based pricing but moving forward would be the way for utility-based payments where customer pays per use, SaaS and HaaS are the right models ahead."

In the opinion of Kaustubh Dhavse, deputy director, ICT Practice, Frost and Sullivan, South Asia and Middle East, there would be an opportunity for new focus on the domestic market. "It would add to topline but bottomline will not that attractive. The cost structure and revenue model however would have to be considered accordingly."

Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, deputy chairman and managing director of Zensar feels that this is the time when Indian service providers should really engage with the customers at a very deeper level and add as much value as they can.

As Pari Natarajan, CEO of Zinnov Management Consultancy notes, it would be tough to compete for companies that operate on headcount only. "They have to provide value and move up to areas like IP, frameworks and solutions. "The focus on particular niche areas is the need of the hour."