BANGALORE, INDIA: As we start the year 2010, it is important that we re-look at 2009; on how had businesses shaped up and what are the key takeaways. 2009 has been a year of major changes in the IT landscape.

It has re-defined how business will happen in the years to come. Most of the changes are permanent and good for the health of business, customers and channel partners. The shift of Indian IT growth from equipment to services was expected to drive momentum in 2012 onwards. This cycle has come forward to 2009 and in that sense it has been a landmark year.

Finally corporate India is warming up to Green technologies for business competitiveness and cost efficiency and we have seen significant steps towards this primarily driven by cost reduction needs in all segment of companies. Vendors who have enabled genuine cost efficiency solutions to customers have gained momentum in the market.

Economic Outlook

Indian Economy will witness healthy growth trajectory in 2010 and there is no doubt that Indian economy will grow faster than most other economies. There are clear factors that will drive the GDP in India. The inclusion of the next 70Mn (the first wave 2003-2008 benefited the first 70mn people) through better rural governance and development schemes by the government will be instrumental in driving new demand.

Market Outlook

IT market will see the biggest swing in Domestic services contracts. Turnkey projects and services will drive the growth in both Government and Private enterprise. The bottom of the pyramid of all IT hardware sales (PC, Laptops, printers, MFP, OS, peripherals) will continue to be stagnant at best or might even decline 5-10 per cent.

IT distribution will be strengthened by the role of Telecom products, Security solutions and digital consumer products. Overall the revenue stream will grow 8-10 per cent for the IT industry but with a much higher mix of Domestic services revenue. Services revenue will grow by over 50 per cent and will account for majority of the growth in 2010.

Customers are clearly going to make buying decision on three key criteria: TCO, Business efficiency, Green technologies. This means that the hardware specification in itself will become less relevant in all purchase decisions.

Key trends in technologies in 2010

* Green Technologies with better cost efficiency and less of carbon deposits will be the most visible   technology shift in 2010 . More and more companies and customers are looking ahead towards products that consume less power and are easy to recycle at end of life. This not only adds on to their productivity but also builds on their responsibility towards the environment and sustainability.

* Security solutions are also likely to create a buzz in 2010 and are the single biggest opportunity in the
   market today. India will invest heavily both on the consumer and commercial side to build an online/Digital
   security solution.

* Business Efficiency Solutions and Asset & Infrastructure consolidation will make business more
   competitive and would be other important areas for businesses to thrive in 2010.

The author is director, Office Business Group for Xerox India Limited