One of the consistent discussions that kept on cropping up while I was at the India Leadership Forum in Mumbai this month was over smaller companies. How can smaller companies find business if they don’t have overseas sales offices, and how can they be found when a potential client is actively looking for a smaller partner – probably because they are themselves fairly small and might not be considered very important by the big suppliers. more

President Obama’s State of the Union address yesterday included some chilling words for the offshore outsourcing community: more

Thinking Allowed is a weekly BBC Radio 4 programme focused on sociology. It’s a very interesting insight into how society works and opens up current academic thinking by presenting it in a way that is approachable and interesting. more

New times, new ideas, new directions. That’s the theme for the NILF this year. more

After successfully running the flagship event for 17 years in a row, it is given, that during those three days of February in Mumbai, NILF becomes a mini globe of sorts. The last edition boasted of participation from 25 countries, across the world, even as this year promises to be more.  The IT industry of Germany, estimated to be the third largest after US & Japan, really represents one end of the spectrum characterised by high levels of growth and opportunity. On the other hand we have Bhutan, which is at a nascent stage of making its presence felt in the IT roadmap. The other delegations which have confirmed till date are UK, China, France, Australia, Philippines, Jordan, Poland, Egypt, Brazil and Columbia. more

1. Brand Positioning – Onsite Branding, Collateral Branding, Website branding, Mailers, Newspaper advertisements, Post event DVD
2. Media Coverage – International Publications like Financial Times, Business Week and The Economist
3. Networking – Opportunity to network before, during and post event through NASSCOM Connect; un-conference and social evenings. Meet with key industry speakers from across the globe
4. Global Touch – Global Leadership Awards/ Gain overview of Global IT BPO market, Delegations from across the globe
5. Speaker – Wide spectrum of speakers. Hear analysts, government, Industry & Non Industry, Global Heads
6. Business Promotion – Building Alliance
7. Value for Money – Reach out to 1500 people, 800 companies under one roof

For further information click here to download the NASSCOM 2010 Presentation more

The last one year has been a transformational one for the IT-BPO industry, having ridden the severe downturn and now showing early signs of recovery. Unarguably, it was a rather trying period as time tested strategies and professional reputations took a beating, even as we witnessed the mighty fall and fail, not hitherto seen in the past 80 years. Less than a year back, in the last edition of NASSCOM 2009 in Mumbai, there were questions in the minds of participants, on issues like security, downturn and market volatility as we witnessing unforeseen challenges. Most were gearing up for a long drawn battle with enthusiasm and positivity in their hearts. Of course, it would be too ambitious to say that we have overcome all challenges, but surely these times have taught us to think differently. For years on end, managers apt at handling double digit growth were suddenly faced with an alien situation where even negative growth was a reality. Ideas which worked so well for decades, were simply put on the backburner as mere survival superseded all other goals, for many. more

The most awaited leadership conference in Asia, would have sessions around the following themes: more

The UK government formed a cross-party parliamentary committee last week while we were all enjoying the hospitality at the NASSCOM NILF. This new committee has been charged with developing an improved trade relationship with India. Given the present and (particularly) future importance of the Indian economy that seems like a sensible strategy. more

Day 3 comes to a close as I write, and culiminates into a great ending of a wonderfully organised event. All credits to the organisers at NASSCOM for arranging an array of global leaders and speakers, spread over these 3 days. Particularly impressive was Shashi Tharoors speech today (read a wonderful account by David Appasamy), and how he impressed upon the audience with his perspectives. more