Mohua Sengupta EVP and Global Head of Services,
3i Infotech
The information technology-enabled services/business process management (ITeS/BPM) industry has been leveraging information and communication technology (ICT) solutions such as video-conferencing and cloud to enhance business efficiency. Being early adopters of technology, enterprises in the ITeS/BPM industry are now experimenting with big data, artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), etc. to streamline business processes and automate operations. They are looking forward to interesting times with many of these technologies set for mainstream adoption. Leading enterprises in the ITeS/BPM industry discuss their IT roadmap, the technology trends and key challenges in implementing new technologies….
How have telecom and IT solutions helped in increasing business efficiency in the ITeS/ BPM industry?
With a tectonic evolution in social, mobility, analytics and cloud (SMAC), Indian IT companies are rapidly scaling up their businesses to deliver digital solutions to global clients. Disruptive technologies, business exigencies and customer demands together shape the business strategy for delivering digital solutions along with traditional IT services. According to industry estimates, the export of digital solutions, which was pegged at 4 per cent of the total IT-BPM exports in 2013-14, has spiked to 14 per cent in 2016-17. The key drivers for this massive jump include the increasing demand for quality of experience, innovation in client business models, personalised customer services and improved operational efficiency. By 2020, the IT-BPM industry revenue is expected to rise to $200 billion-$225 billion and to $350-400 billion by 2025. By 2025, the ratio of digital to traditional IT solutions would be 60:40, with global IT-BPM revenue expanding to $4 trillion.
What is your company’s telecom and IT/ICT roadmap? How are the ICT initiatives implemented by the company benefiting the organisation?
Given the mature ecosystem created by the Indian IT industry over the past 25 years, the emphasis on innovative software products development and IP creation will drive further growth in the IT/ITeS/ ESDM sector. The increasing adoption of disruptive technologies including AI, IoT, VR, AR, cloud, robotics and machine learning by global companies for rapid automation will undoubtedly create huge opportunities.
Over the years, 3i Infotech has successfully transformed its customers’ business operations globally, with a comprehensive set of IP-based software solutions and a wide range of IT services to address the dynamic requirements of the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector. Our offerings will cater to all levels of the mobility maturity curve, covering consulting, design and development, data testing, support, data intelligence and co-innovation. Mobility, together with new-age technologies, will form the bedrock for enterprises seeking a digital transformation.
The company helps enterprises move towards digital transformation with hybrid cloud, through its HybridNxT offering. It also invests in the areas of TaaS (telecommunications as a service), DevOps (development and operations), agile and CT (continuous testing) framework to meet the demands of enterprises.
What are the some of the challenges faced by the industry when implementing new ICT technologies?
A key challenge faced by the industry, especially by small and medium enterprises, while implementing new ICT technologies in the country is that companies often lack the human technological resources needed for ICT implementation. Lack of awareness, uncertainty of ICT benefits, set-up costs, pricing issues and security concerns are the most visible barriers to ICT adoption.
From a technological perspective, any firm should have at least someone within it who has a reasonable amount of knowledge of technology in general. Therefore, without internal technological capabilities, utilisation of ICT applications may be difficult and sometimes dangerous in terms of system maintenance and failures. Enterprises need to entirely reshape existing systems because ICT adoption projects are complex in nature. In many cases, managers’ decision-making process is rather intuitive, based on instinctive decisions and is less dependent on formal models of decision-making.
What are the key technology trends that will shape the industry in the next few years?
Cloud and big data are the two big technology trends that will continue to grow in the coming years. Analysts say that one of the more effective techniques to improve business processes is intelligent business operations (IBO). Converging process and real-time analytics will set in motion a perpetuating cycle of enterprise process improvement. A BPM suite can combine its sophisticated tool set with real-time data to streamline and optimise business processes. Huge investments are being made to develop solutions that cater to the new market requirements through the use of AI, robotics and automation.
The primary trend that will shape the BPM/ITeS industry in the next few years is robotic process automation and AI. The biggest revenue maker of the ITeS industry, the manned call centre of today, will soon become extinct. The smart call centre is already here and will slowly encroach on the share of manned call centres. Most of us will start talking to robots instead of real human beings. Similarly, a lot of other repetitive jobs that are done by low-level employees today will get done by machines rather than by people. This is the biggest shift that will soon completely transform the ITeS industry
“By 2025, the ratio of digital to traditional IT solutions would be 60:40, with global IT-BPM revenue expanding to $4 trillion.” Mohua Sengupta
