Nasscom pegs IT export growth at 7-8% in FY18

India's IT-BPM industry is expected to grow at 10-11 per cent in the current financial year (2017-18), even as IT exports are expected to be lower at 7-8 per cent as global headwinds, especially protectionist US policies under the Trump administration, limits markets, says industry association Nasscom.

Exports of information technology products from the country is estimated to grow at a rate of 7-8 per cent to reach $124-125 billion, against the 8-10 per cent growth estimated for 2016-17.

Nasscom cited an increase in requirement for integrated digital capabilities and automation based projects from customers, which were key investment areas for the industry.

The Nasscom report also discounts fears of job losses in the sector, saying the industry is expected to see net hiring of 1.3-1.5 lakh during the year.

The report highlights the industry's position as a net hirer with the demand for technology skilled professionals growing in the sector and across other sectors as well.

The industry body stated that it was, however, imperative for new and existing talent to reskill themselves to prepare for emerging job roles which

required new skill sets. The fiscal year will see growth driven by the modernisation of operations for client firms and the adoption of new technologies such as SaaS applications, cloud platforms, BI, cognitive and embedded analytics as enterprise customers scale digital projects.

Speaking on the industry growth outlook Raman Roy, Chairman, Nasscom, said, ''The IT-BPM industry in India continues to demonstrate a sustained growth index. The industry has continuously reinvented itself and its performance in FY 2017 showcases how the industry has focused on building its digital solution offerings through a combination of business model changes and investment in products and platforms.''

R Chandrashekhar, President, Nasscom, said, ''Manoeuvring through an uncertain phase over the past year, the industry has maintained its status as a key net hirer in the country and global technology and services hub. Considering the evolution that the industry is undergoing due to the adoption of new technologies, it is imperative that we as an industry drive the skilling and reskilling of new and existing talent, so as to ensure the requirement that will be created in the form of new job roles can be fulfilled appropriately and in time, helping us prepare for the future opportunities.''

The domestic market is expected to grow faster than the export market in FY 2018 driven by this trend. Nasscom highlighted the vision of the 1 trillion digital economy in India by 2022 and the need for enabling policies and key projects to fast track this over the next five years.

As the industry business models change, Nasscom also highlighted the need to look at more broadbased KPIs for the sector that will demonstrate how the industry is investing for the future and how the outcomes could be measured.

Business growth is expected in areas like SaaS applications, cloud platforms, BI, cognitive, embedded analytics.

Nasscom said evolving geographies like Africa, China, Japan, Middle East, Germany should yield more revenues.

Helped by government policies, Nasscom expects domestic IT-BPM industry to evolve into a $1 trillion digital business.

An estimate of the enterprises driving the digital agenda shows that about 2/3rd of private banks and 20-30 per cent of public banks are expected to adopt digital technologies in the 2-5 years.

India's internet economy is seen growing to 432 mn-strong with the world's second-largest internet subscriber base after China, including 300mn smartphone users, and an expected pick-up in IT spending in 2018 as forecast by industry analysts.

Nasscom also stated some key initiatives that the apex body has been actively building to help accelrate the digital opportunity in the export and domestic market. As part of its outreach, Nasscom has curated focused programs to build India as digital and innovation hub, showcasing examples of how capabilities are getting built across the board. Also, with a renewed focus on new technologies, the industry body is setting up CoEs across India towards enhancing cyber security, IOT, design and data sciences capabilities. With India making strides in the entrepreneurship domain, Nasscom 10,000 start-ups initiatives is also further enhancing its offerings by connecting entrepreneurs with large companies to leverage innovation. Outreach to newer markets too will be a top most priority, with a focus on showcasing digital solutions in geographies like Japan, Germany, China, Middle East and Africa.