While skimming through the headlines, I got upon this particular article from Infoworld. Makes an interesting read and one that echoes what had been running in my mind ever since I joined one of those (All said and done, my employer is still perceived as an outsourcer only- though many might not agree). I have been seeing many business managers (both from my Senior batch and my batch) joining IT companies- the lure of money, the opportunities, the general "Oh, you are an IT Guy" might have been reasons for the same.

I can very well testify that there had been movements other way too, but they pale in comparison with the movement towards IT. As the later portion of the article points out,

Indian IT spending is growing at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.8 percent, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, to over $36 billion by 2009, Gartner said. This increase comes from rising expectations from businesses for IT to play a larger role in growth, efficiency and competitive advantage, it added.

When we have such a big IT spender in our midst, seems like we are blissfully unaware of the market or we are blatantly ignoring them, for want of quick bucks. I am sure Indian IT companies can subsidise their Indian operations for a couple of years, so that they can gain a foothold in a fast emerging market. Consider the spate of industrial growth that has been triggered in India- take for example the retail industry alone. There are other auxiliary industries like Logistics, Packaging and Supply Chain Management etc that would grow as retail grows. If we are able to concentrate on those for the time being- I am not saying that we leave the lucrative operations in NA and Europe for India...If we can just put in some effort and are willing to wait for results in a couple of years time,we might just crack the potential here.

I understand there are issues here like Margins, Credit, Pricing etc. I would assume the same issues with any client. After all, any client would be tight on his wallet. I know we can't expect the same margin as with our European and American clients- after all, we would have to negotiate in terms of Rupees and not in Dollars :)- but that's the part of the business. I am afraid, because, if we loose out on this now, it might just be too late, later.

There might be other concerns. What would be the result of such an approach on the Psyche of the employees. Take it or not, the option of an On-site is a big factor "for" an IT job. Would it still matter if I know for sure, I wouldn't have that option as an employee with a company concentrating on domestic market and still find it luring enough? Would that lead to an increase in wages- what would happen in such a scenario, where there is already pressure on the margins and also on the expenditure? Would that be a good enough scenario for Indian companies to work in and survive? Can their overseas market subsidise domestic market for long?

These questions, I assume are being asked at the relevant offices and I hope, we see atleast a spark of an activity in this area.