Challenges for ITThe election is over, the results are declared and the clear winner is information technology. The formation of the IT Ministry, the sweeping victory of the IT beacon Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra and the continuity of stalwarts like Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and, of course, the pro-IT Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee have all built a new confidence in the industry. The time has come to set a new agenda and direction for IT in the country.The IT Task Force that was constituted by the prime minister with many luminaries and many committees that were set up thereafter to set specific goals for various aspects of IT have submitted many proposals that are essential to make the $ 50 billion dream a reality. Any dream that involves a ten-fold multiplication of global revenues in 10 years or less will take a lot of will power and many steps in the right direction.The global opportunity in software exports is actually looking less than rosy with the Y2K bug seen more on Indiantelevision screens than in the balance sheets of the software industry and the e-commerce pot of gold just beginning to shimmer at the end of a long rainbow.The ERP opportunity that seemed to be the beginning of a great new gravy train a couple of years ago has all but evaporated in the minds of the industry watchers with scores of trained SAP and BAAN enthusiasts struggling to find a place in the fast-changing software industry. And the paucity of quality manpower for executing multi-person-year projects for discerning national and international customers continues to be a matter of concern. And the user industry is at a crossroads attracted by the lure of the internet and e-commerce possibilities, stuck with under-performing legacy systems and unable to find the kind of talent that is so essential to make the migration to new systems possible.Where then is the proverbial silver lining or the light at the end of the tunnel? The silver lining is the creation of the enabling environment that thiselection has made possible in India, but the light at the end of the tunnel will be real only if strong proactive steps are taken by the government, the software industry and every user of IT. The presence of a strong and vibrant domestic IT industry would boost Indian capabilities in overseas markets and would also provide enough incentives for dollar hungry Indian software professionals.The government and the new IT ministry need to take action on long-awaited initiatives to build infrastructure and confidence among the industry chieftains as well as the Indian youth seeking to emulate their countrymen in America. A strong venture capital industry, attractive stock option plans for Indian and overseas employees of software firms and further opening up of the telecom and internet sectors (to enable the private sector to play a major role in enabling software capabilities to move into smaller cities) are some of the first steps that are needed.The user organisations need to recognise IT as a strategicweapon in their fight for market and opportunity share in the global market place and allocate large percentages of their annual revenues to their IT initiatives. New rewards and incentive plans for key information architects and e-commerce specialists will be essential if there is to be any motivation for competent professionals to join and stay in user firms. And both the central and state governments need to put some ``skin in the game'' by having significant budgets for e-governance initiatives and building an IT-enabled work force.The author is managing director of Aptech Limited
