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IT job opportunities knock Indian doors through outsourcing
Along with an
impact on business models and the economy, a shift to an outsourcing model
will have real implications on the IT industry. Instead of the migration of
Indian professionals in droves to foreign shores, we will see a
reverse-movement of opportunities from foreign markets to India, says
MOHAN BABU
The IT
industry is currently going through a transitory phase, where companies are
slowly consolidating their positions and are trying to differentiate
themselves by constantly upgrading their product lines. I was trying to
analyse the path in which a typical Indian IT professional’s career
trajectory is headed. The rates at which different technologies have been
emerging still do not cease to amaze me. Professionals and consultants in
the industry are expected to keep pace with the changing scenario or they
would lag behind. Along with the change in technologies, IT professionals in
India and abroad are grappling with a “strategic inflexion point”—the
outburst of industrial-grade outsourcing projects.
A few
previous columns of mine talked about outsourcing of software, services and
business processes and how it is a win-win business model both for Indians,
who get to do some high-end work, and for the outsourcers who benefit from
the low costs. The outsourcing model fascinates me, and actually has
attracted the attention of a number of entrepreneurs and professionals. In
the truest sense of globalisation, outsourcing moves work to locations where
it can be done cheaper, and in a more efficient manner.
Having worked
in the IT industry for nearly eight years, and experiencing the work culture
in India, UK and the US, I think the industry is undergoing a major
transformation. There is little doubt that outsourcing of IT systems is
leading to a shift in management thinking. Along with an impact on business
models and the economy, a shift to an outsourcing model will have real
implications for Indian IT professionals. For once, instead of the migration
of Indian professionals in droves to foreign shores, we will see a
reverse-movement of opportunities from foreign markets to India.
I consider
myself fortunate to be in a vantage point to observe the happenings in the
industry both in India and the US. One of the ways by which I keep myself
updated on the happenings in the Industry in India is via regular mails from
readers of this column. The mails stimulate me and prompt me to explore
ideas that I might otherwise not have thought of.
I was
corresponding with a reader in India who has experience of about two years
in the IT industry. He works for a large Indian software powerhouse (name
and location withheld). He wrote to me asking about opportunities in the US,
and sounded desperate to “get a break and fly to the US” just like his
cousins did three years ago. He wanted me to try and land him a job here.
“Any job, anywhere in the US”, he wrote. Firstly, even if I wanted, I could
not provide a job to anyone because I do not run a
headhunting
consultancy. Although I could empathize with him, I find it hard to explain
to such enthusiastic youngsters that times have changed and a lot has
happened between the time his cousin flew to the US (three years ago) and
now. The Y2K mania passed us by. The global economy has started slipping
into a downturn. And of course, the incidents of September 11th have lead to
a tightening of American immigration laws. Along with all this, there is
also a gradual shift in the job market place taking place. The tide has
changed: instead of Indian professionals flying out, jobs are flying in (or
rather being transmitted in through high-speed connections). The net result
is still the same, Indians (or Indian companies) are getting high paying
technical jobs. They are working on cool technologies and systems right at
home without leaving for the Silicon Valley or Singapore.
Young
professionals who bet their focus of education and career on going abroad to
make a “quick buck” are fast finding it hard to fathom the change in the
market. Some of them perhaps invested a good part of their parents’ savings
to attend courses at technical/computer academies and are finding that it
will be difficult to immediately recoup the investment. The reality is that
a good percentage of Indian IT professionals will still be able to earn “big
bucks” in Indian rupees. However, they will not be earning forty, fifty or
sixty thousand dollars (pounds or yen). While those trying to ape their
cousins may find the going tough, others who think outside the box and are
willing to pursue a career with globalised Indian companies will find
opportunities knocking.
The
bottom-line: there are still IT jobs and programmers who can code, and
analysts who can design and direct systems are still going to be needed.
Most reports in the trade press suggest that the demand for skilled
professionals is on the rise. IT outsourcing companies that set up two
thousand or five thousand seat facilities will need to staff them with as
many professionals. Instead of working for I2, GE, Microsoft, Sun or IBM in
Santa Clara, Redmond or Poughkeepsie, Indian professionals may well be
working in Chennai, Bangalore or Gurgaon. Who said we don’t live in a
dynamic world?
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