Focus on BPO, to increase SW pie

New Delhi: The three-day IndiaSoft 2004 exhibition and international conference, which concluded on February 12 in Delhi, closed with the mandate to increase India’s global software pie and put impetus on BPO segment. The program was targeted at countries which are presently not high in the list of India’s export of software and IT enabled services but offer immense scope in the future.

Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) ED, DK Sareen said, "To tap the emerging markets for software development, is a strategy for developing alternate markets and to reduce the dependency on a few markets for our software exports and IT enabled services (ITES)." He added that ESC has identified three regions, such as Latin America, Africa and CIS countries, where the growth of the IT industry will be significant in the coming years.


From these regions, around 90 IT professionals have been carefully chosen to participate at the IndiaSoft 2004.

Minister of State for IT and Communications Su Thirunanavukkasar said "We enjoy advantage of extensive skill sets, competitive cost, and our main asset is over one billion population with the average age of IT workers at just 26 years. With all this, our global market share in IT is just two percent while the target is to achieve five per cent by 2008." He also said that a major area of concern is that more than 60 percent of the software exports are destined to the US.


ESC chairman PK Sandell said that BPO represents a thrust area of growth for software industries. "To leverage on the BPO wave, IT SMEs from various countries can join hands for strategic positioning. It is a win-win situation for all," he added. He also promoted the cooperation amongst Asian countries with the ‘Look East’ policy of India.

On the last day of the conference, various delegates from 40 countries and other participants lauded the proactive approach of the IndiaSoft forum and ended on a note to garner newer areas amongst the nations.

CIOL Bureau