“There is a fundamental and complete shift in the way technology is moving today. Hitherto, everyone believed that technology in the corporate sector was better than home. But today, we find that technology is better at home and the corporate sector is fast catching up with this shift,” said Mr T. Sridhar, Executive Vice-President, Cognizant Technology Solutions.
Delivering the keynote address at the 12th edition of Connect Coimbatore, a flagship initiative of CII, Coimbatore, at the Le Meridien here, Mr Sridhar said: “IT has moved from backend to the forefront. So many changes are happening today. We always believed that technology in the corporate sector is better than the ones at home, but now, we find that technology at home is better and the corporate sector is fast catching up,” he said referring to the use of iPods and iPhones, laptops and smart phones by the younger generation.
Reiterating that IT has become a global phenomenon and expansion of IT in the healthcare and insurance space threw immense opportunities, Mr Sridhar urged the SMB's in this region to look at creating a niche in the IT space. “You don't have to be in mainstream IT that large companies offer”, he said, adding “IT is no longer a back office, but an efficient platform to do everything effectively.”
Mr Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, President, Dell India and Managing Director, Dell International Services, highlighted the revolutionary changes that technology could bring about citing some examples.
The Senior Executive Director of National Securities and Depository Limited, Mr Rajesh Doshi, said that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was becoming the key; backbone in all the projects that NSDL was engaged in. It is no longer a cost cutter, rather efficiency builder. It redefines success and holds tremendous potential for inclusive growth.
Delivering the theme address, Mr Prashant of Quadra Solutions pointed out that Coimbatore's IT exports over the past decade zoomed from 2 digits to four and currently was in excess of Rs 1,500 cr.