A rising tide lifts all boats, but some tides rise higher than others. BSA this week is holding its annual Global Strategy Summit in New Delhi because, in the global software and IT markets, India has the potential to be an especially powerful tide.
India’s economy, now the tenth-largest in the world, has been growing at an annual rate of 8 percent. That’s thanks in no small part to the country’s thriving ICT sector, which accounts for 6.4 percent of all products and services and drives a quarter of all merchandise exports while employing upwards of 2.5 million people.
The roots of India’s strength in information technology are well known. They include dynamic human capital, robust research and development, and an improving business and legal environment. Those things — especially the first two — propelled India as it advanced a remarkable 10 ranking positions in two years to reach 34th place out of the 66 countries in the 2011 edition of the IT Industry Competitiveness Index that BSA released in September.
But even beyond its impressive market fundamentals, there are other reasons why BSA believes India is poised to have an outsized influence on the global software and IT markets. For one thing, India aspires to become a knowledge economy with a global role — and Indian government is eager to work with industry to bring its plans to fruition. For another, Indian industry itself is well organized and highly attuned to the global marketplace.
I will delve into the significance of both of those dynamics in subsequent blog posts this week, because we will have a great deal to report. Nearly two dozen executives from BSA member companies have made the trip to New Delhi for a series of meetings with top officials in India’s ministries of State Commerce and Industry; Communications and Information Technology; Finance; and Law and Justice. There also will be public events with policymakers, business leaders, and Indian media.
On Wednesday, BSA and India’s Department of Information Technology will unveil the details of a working partnership to strengthen India’s IT ecosystem by promoting cutting-edge practices for enterprises to manage the software tools they use to run their operations. On Thursday morning, we will hold a briefing for industry on BSA’s new certification program for organizations implementing software asset management programs that align with international standards, known as CSS(O). And later in the day BSA will join the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for a discussion about steps India can take to further accelerate IT competitiveness.
It promises to be an eventful week. Please check back here for more updates.
