IT-enabled services has grown by 70%: Nasscom survey

BANGALORE: A recent Nasscom survey on the performance of IT-enabled services
sector in India during 2000-2001 revealed that the sector had grown by over 70
per cent from Rs 2,400 crore in 1999-2000 to Rs 4,100 crore in 2000-2001.
Nasscom has now planned a convention with particular focus on this sector in
Chennai. The convention will also aim at creating one million jobs in this
segment.

Customer Interaction Services, including call centers and customer support
centers, continued to be the highest growth segment within this sector,
recording a growth of 112 per cent, with revenues touching Rs 850 crore in
2000-01 from Rs 400 crore during 1999-2000. Back office operations revenues
grew by 42.1 per cent from Rs 950 crore to Rs 1,350 crore in 2000-01.

The survey also revealed that the number of people employed in this sector had
touched almost 70,000 exceeding employment projections for 2000-01. These
results were announced while declaring the plan to host Nasscom's India IT
Enabled Services 2001, India’s largest annual national convention on IT
Enabled Services (ITES). The event is to be held during May 30 and May 31 at
Chennai. The theme of this year’s event is "Generating one million jobs
by 2008."

Announcing Nasscom’s plans to host India’s largest IT-enabled services
conference, the association’s chairman, Phiroz Vandrevala said "IT
enabled services have steadily increased their share in the total revenue of
India’s IT software and services industry from 6.5 per cent in 1998-99 to
almost 10.6 per cent in 2000-01. As per the Nasscom­Mckinsey report,
IT-enabled services will account for over 20 per cent of the total revenue of
the IT software and services industry by 2008."

According to program committee chairman Arun Seth, Nasscom’s India IT
Enabled Services 2001, said "The IT Enabled Services Industry has come of
age in India and acquired critical mass by consistently exceeding projected
growth rates and reaching an annual revenue figure of Rs 4,100 crore. However,
in order to sustain this growth and achieve the next level, the industry will
have to focus on critical issues such as quality standards, infrastructure,
marketing strategies and government policies. Therefore, we have decided to
bring together leading Indian and international experts at India IT Enabled
Services 2001, to discuss and help provide a roadmap for making this sector
the biggest success story ever."

The conference will showcase a mix of leading international and national
experts from the IT-enabled services sector. This year’s list of
distinguished speakers includes Ramesh Venkatraman, Simon Roncoroni, Roy
Marshall, Cliff Moore, Tony Hales, and Fritz D’ silva, Rick Pfeiffer among
others.

The conference is aimed at addressing international marketing strategies,
infrastructure and manpower issues, quality, service delivery, government
policies and funding strategies. The conference will also facilitate
networking at the highest levels (VCs, Fund, Managers/Bankers and key industry
and government representatives) for executives/entrepreneurs.