The Hindu Business Line : `M&As are new biz models in IT sector'

The ubiquitous nature and soaring salary structure are proving to be major impediments for IT development in the country, Mr Venki Sundaresan, Director, IT Group of Cypress Semiconductors, said.

Speaking at `IT India: From cost advantage to strategic partnerships', the annual IT Management Seminar organised by IIM-Kozhikode, he referred to new concepts like Neo-IT that encourages people to be imaginers - those who imagine and engineer innovations and thus solve problems.

The seminar was sponsored by Cognizant, HCL and IBM and had Nasscom as knowledge partner and The Hindu Business Line as media partner.

In his keynote address, Mr Manish Gupta, Chief Technical Officer, IBM, underscored the changing profile of Indian IT towards the higher-end of the value chain. He emphasised the role played by Indian engineers in developing Blue Gene/L, the fastest supercomputer to highlight the new growth trajectory.

"Technology is just an enabler," Mr Ramamoorthy, Director of Corporate Marketing, Cognizant Technology Solutions, said.

Talking about the paradigm shift in the business models adopted by Indian IT companies in the recent years, he said alliances and acquisitions had emerged as new business models. There is an emerging need for organisations to provide quality customer experience and differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Talking about the motive behind mergers and acquisitions, Mr Mahadevan Narayanmony, Senior Manager, Corporate Advisory Services, Grant Thornton, stressed the importance of proper evaluation to avoid potential failure.

Pointing to the recent trend of Indian IT companies acquiring foreign companies, he said M&As should help IT companies move up the value chain through partnership - either by delivering advantages to them or by helping them grow faster.

Boosting supply chain

Mr K. Harishankar, Chief Information Officer of Hindustan Lever Ltd, spoke on how IT has been used to radically improve HLL's supply chain. He explained how in-house and third-party enterprise resource planning systems had been used to centralise planning, improve forecasting and achieve execution excellence in the company's supply chain, with even field sales being IT-enabled.

HLL considers the growth of modern retail an opportunity rather than a challenge, since collaboration through IT-based systems is easier with more tech-savvy channel partners.

Consultant's role

A consultant is an agent of change, who must develop flexible, easy-to-implement ideas and solutions that add value to a business, Mr Somick Goswami, Head PwC TAS, said.

Consultants have to become trusted advisers who are able to bridge the gap between business-needs and technological solutions.

The event also features two-case study competitions, Cognizant Sys-o-Mania and the HCL Challenge, which have 23 of the top B-Schools in India, including the IIMs, vying for the top honours.

More Stories on : Mergers & Acquisitions | Business Models | Software

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
BPL case: Essar not to act on termination notice

Cybermate to hike capital

FSS solution for Colombo bank

Oracle to make open offer for 20 pc in i-flex

`M&As are new biz models in IT sector'

TRAI seeks more powers

Pvt equity firms bullish on financial services sector

Product firms taking organic route to grow

Visa spend of top 4 cos in Q1 at over $40 m