Exclusive Video Interview with Sharath Srinivasamurthy, Research Director, Enterprise Solutions & ICT Practice, IDC India

In this video:
Here is an Exclusive Video Interview with Sharath Srinivasamurthy, Research Director, Enterprise Solutions & ICT Practice, IDC India. The chat was hosted by Sandhya Michu, Principal Correspondent, Express Computer. During the discussion, Sharath talked about IT spending in 2022, lessons learned, and key recommendations for CIOs.

Below are key highlights of the video interview.

Digital Transformation Accelerates: Indian enterprises are accelerating the digital transformation journey and their IT spending and this provides immense opportunities for Indian IT service providers to make a mark. Unlike the previous crisis for example the .com bubble burst or the subprime crisis, where we saw a dip in IT spending. In this particular crisis, we are seeing an increase in IT spending, the reason being enterprises are realising the importance of adopting digital technologies, not only to handle the crisis but also to grow. The war for digital talent in 2022 is going to intensify as clients accelerate their digital transformation initiatives.

This is going to put a lot of pressure on the margin for the IT firms, so there has to be a lot of focus on reskilling existing employees on digital technologies. IT companies have been doing that, and they will continue to do so in 2022 as well. Another important thing that we should note is the discussions related to IT are not just related to technology they have got converted into business discussions. IT companies are forced to demonstrate the business value of the IT investments their clients are making.

A significant shift from CAPEX to OPEX model. The IT industry has to align their offerings to pay as you go kind of a model, to ensure the customer’s s needs are taken care of.

Another important thing that we are seeing and is going to see in 2022 is customers want to experience before they make a buying decision. So, proof of concept and working prototypes become extremely critical to demonstrate how the solution works.

And there is also an increased focus on sustainability and we feel that in 2022, we will see more focus coming into this particular area. This is increasingly becoming a focus area, both for the IT vendors, as well as enterprises.

Key Recommendations for CIOs:

Digital transformation is a journey: We’re glad to see CIOs have embarked on this journey in the last couple of years. It’s proven that those organisations who are ahead in terms of their digital journey were able to handle the crisis better, and this is going to continue as we move forward as well. Do not stop the digital transformation you have embarked on and continuously focus on adopting new technologies in your organisation.

Innovation is critical: Innovate your products, innovate on your services, the way you engage with customers, the way you manage your operations. A lot of technology advancements that are happening will help you drive innovation in your organisation.

Culture of Agility: It’s extremely difficult for traditional enterprises to become agile but it’s a journey and over a period of time, you need to imbibe that culture of agility across the organisation top-down, to make sure you’re ready to become a future enterprise.