The Compliance Challenge

The last year has been a year of dawning self realization for the Indian IT industry. The paradox of a global IT superpower juxtaposed with the abysmally low adoption of IT at the domestic level has registered strongly and at multiple levels, the clarion call for providing affordable computing solutions and initiatives for digital inclusion has been sounded. There has been an increased focus in the year to achieve widespread application of IT, especially at the bottom of the pyramid.

India today is at a tipping point and which way we tip will determine the country’s progress and development. How every citizen and especially business leaders engage with a set of national issues - especially around governance and sustainable & inclusive development – thus assumes immense significance. The challenges facing us are huge - education, IT literacy, information access for rural India, bridging the digital divide – to name just a few. For the Indian IT industry this has therefore meant a paradigm shift. Today as an industry, it has to create and add value to sustain growth, facilitate infrastructure and technology for masses to develop in the long term and stimulate internal demand and IT uptake.

The Indian Government’s target of ‘IT for all by 2008’, has ushered in a spate of affordable computing solutions and technologies - the introduction of several models of sub 10K PCs as well as Microsoft’s Windows Starter Edition to cite a few. Microsoft is now piloting yet another initiative around pay as you go computing, whereby consumers can avail of a low entry price and then pay for actual usage.

Harnessing the benefits of IT for uplift of the rural masses is also a key area of focus, and development of relevant applications to foster a self sustaining IT entrepreneurial model remains a key priority. Towards this end Microsoft has launched several initiatives - Project Saksham addresses the key challenges of affordability, accessibility and relevance to provide a sustainable rural kiosk business model to boost the spawning of rural IT entrepreneurs, while under Project Jyoti the focus is on ICT as a catalyst for socio economic development of rural communities. Project Shiksha embodies our long-term commitment towards integration of IT in the overall education process and under Project Bhasha the focus is on localization initiatives.

Notwithstanding the above initiatives at the grassroot level, the deployment of IT to enhance our lifestyle has also assumed greater dimensions. Over the past year a pronounced trend has been on merging the digital workstyle with the digital lifestyle leading to the introduction of a plethora of gadgets and gizmos to achieve this. This is yet another manifestation of the increasing role of IT in our daily lives and the need for integrated communication devices. With experience computing becoming the buzzword, leveraging technology to provide ubiquitous access and interconnectivity between all forms of networks becomes imperative. The world is increasingly looking at deriving work functionality and entertainment value from the same set of devices. Microsoft’s MediaCentre PC is a befitting example and with the forthcoming launch of the Xbox 360, a new genre in digital entertainment is set to assume centre stage.

One of the definite focus areas that has led to huge consumer demand is Mobile or on the go computing – Microsoft Windows Mobile an initiative in this direction was recently announced. As eighty million people armed with handsets want to be entertained when they are travelling, waiting or simply living, this trend will only gain in strength. As that happens, the evidence that the mobile phone will become another media platform, just like direct-to-home (DTH) or cable or the Internet, is mounting.

Going forward, at another level we have the opportunity to build further on India’s global equity as an IT hub. To capitalize on the burgeoning products opportunity, it is imperative for India to foster an IPR friendly environment that spurs innovation and creativity within the domestic market. This will not only incentivise domestic companies to create IP and provide a compelling environment for IT R&D, but also help create a robust and vibrant IT ecosystem in India. A reorientation of our laws to encompass cyber security, IPR, privacy protection will thus be necessary to accommodate the challenges of the information age.

Given the enhanced public private participation models that are increasingly coming into play, the growing awareness of the need to leverage IT for domestic growth and the credibility of India’s software prowess in the global arena, I believe we stand today on the threshold of a promising new era in Indian history.