When companies across the globe were moving their bases to a certain country named India just to attain cost advantage, there were companies trying to innovate and eliminate various redundancies presented by the industry. Upcoming zones like near-shores also started filling the void.

To battle the issue of time zones in APAC with clients residing in developed countries like USA, the concept of near-shores took birth within the industry which not only gave the cost advantage but also took care of time zones. The only factor considered in favour of the southern peninsular nation is English language proficiency. But with the birth of near-shores, the outsourcing firms in India have been sent a wave of caution which if ignored will soon witness the demise of such an enigmatic yet volatile industry.

One innovation to take care of support was the invention of humanoids - brain child of ironically Indian-origin Chetan Dube CEO Ipsoft Inc. who prides in showcasing his 13 year old researched product to the world thus eliminating the need to outsource support projects to India when the same accuracy in lesser timewill be attained by the humanoids at one-fourth the price. The innovation has crept in so deep that clients working with MNCs like Infosys, TCS have started negotiating by stating a clause that one-third of your team should consist of humanoids and with no other way to go ahead, companies are budging to this need of clients thereby resulting in massive lay-offs and tensed job markets in India. The notion of “get in TCS by hook-or-crook, you can think of retiring right away” has found its way to the abyss of one’s thinking nowhere to be found.

Outsourcing often looked at as an option to reduce costs by following the experience pyramid (as defined by NASSCOM) has found criticism knocking its doors by various evangelists around the world.

Trying to shed this tag of outsourcing, companies in India have now started to invest more in R&D and provide a platform for employees to nudge their brains and create something spectacular. The birth of innovative start-ups in India is a testament to this fact and helps understand the ecosystem better. However the start-ups are being acquired by larger firms only to affirm the fact that these start-ups were doing something really innovative.

With all these challenges, the IT industry still looks to be evolving with every passing year. The inception of cloud computing in 1997, the year which started putting India on the global map, has made companies think harder and encouraged people to go ahead with their concepts not thinking too much about investments burning the wallet.

My Reflections:

Outsourcing has been ironically redefined with the innovation of cloud and looks to go beyond just‘another flash in the pan’ and create something so big that it becomes imperative to follow and enjoy the ride of evolution.

As they say “Change is the only thing that is permanent”, the ones who change with time are the ones who are going to let alone survive but also thrive in the future.

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