IT will bounce back in 2004: Connell

The New Indian Express, 24 January 2004 - IT@ weekend by Kamal Gopinath

Connell Veigas is the CEO of RM Education Solutions India Pvt Ltd, the India wing of RM Plc, one of the leading players in educational software in the Europe.

Where do you see IT headed for in 2004?

The year 2004 will see the IT industry in India bouncing back. The industry having learnt from past mistakes will be cautious in its growth and outlook.

How is the current BPO resistance going to play out and what are the options before the Indian entrepreneur as well as the professional?

Connell Viegas, CEO

The BPO resisance in the west is a phase and will pass. The outsourcing will not stop due to any resistance. Economics will overrule emotions. The challenge will be to capture most of the business and here, both the Indian entrepreneur and the professional have a role to play. The entrepreneur will have to be more professional, build relationships and deliver. Not over-committing and setting customer expectations right will be the challenge. The professional will have to show more commitment and dedication. Hard work and sincerity is the only route to success.

What is your forecast for Kerala in particular and India in general?

I would like to put India first. This decade 2000-2010 belongs to India. It is up to us to ‘make’ or ‘break’ it. If we make it there is no looking back and if we break it we will never recover. The next 2 to 3 years are very crucial and if all stake holders play their respective roles I don’t see any reason why India cannot be number 1 in the IT services industry. As for Kerala, the state can easily join the rest of the country or fall back. This is left in the hands of every single citizen living in Kerala. The State has all the resources required to be the number one state in IT. The people have to realise this and start working. The frequent strikes leading to loss of production will not help the cause at all.

What initiatives would you like to see in professional education and what should be done by the Government for aiding the growth of the Industry?

It is all good to have many engineering or professional colleges in Kerala. Sheer numbers are not enough. The basic attitude of students passing out of these institutions has to change. They should be hungry for success and have the right attitude to fit in to the global environment. Any initiative taken in this direction will be welcome. My guess is that this change will have to start at the school level and go upwards. The industry does not require any more benefits from the government. However, the government should concentrate on maintaining law and order and ensure that not a single day of production is lost. Ensuring this will help the industry grow and maybe even catch up with other states.

Should there be a focus on the hardware sector to ensure that the potential revenue generated by the perceived growth in the IT segment at the social level remains within the country? And if so, how?

Yes; there should be a focus on the hardware sector. The recent duty cuts announced by the Central Govt will help the cause. India has a lot to offer in the hardware business. India can be a great place for global companies to set up manufacturing and hardware testing facilities. Some companies are already doing this.

What are RM’s strengths, achievements of 2003, thrust for 2004, and the plan for the years ahead?

RM’s strengths are its people. Each and every person I have met in RM truly believes that he or she is helping to shape the future of kids in the UK and thereby the country. We are trying to instil the same in our staff here. We started operations in May 2003. In this short time we have recruited 60 professionals, set up the infrastructure, processes and started projects. Achievements that I would like to highlight is the setting up of the online support team, the testing and packaging of applications and the development of UK’s first online examination. For the year 2004, we have two important things to achieve – ISO certification and expand our operations in Technopark. Both these have already started. We will add another 200 professionals this year. In addition, we will start to pay back society in our own small way. Going forward RM ESI will be the CoC for certain products of RM. RM ESI will also provide support services including remote management of networks.