Friday, October 06, 2006

India's Foray Into Engineering Business Outsourcing

For going up a ladder, always one has to take the first step. India's success story in IT industry began 25 years back almost in this way. At that time, India lacked skill and brand name for which she had to start with low-value business. Slowly getting a foothold, the It sector established its credibility and carved out a niche in international outsourcing of software jobs. Then came Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). From call centres to managing clients' data bases, it was a struggle for getting shares of high-value business. Soon engineering and management graduates were drawn to Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO).
As IT industry conquered more sophisticated outsourcing jobs, a new opportunity has opened up for jobs demanding even higher skills in the field of manufacturing lines of telecom, aerospace, automotive and construction sectors. This specialised new business has been given a separate identity - Engineering Process Outsourcing (EPO) which entails a high-value, high-margin and system engineering market. The international market size is believed to be $10-$15 billion and is expected to grow to $150-$200 billion by 2020. There are already several competitors - Israel, Canada, China and Mexico to name a few.India has a strong technical base. But it needs to be strengthened on the lines of ESO requirements which demand a good knowledge of engineering fundamentals in manufacturing. To achieve this, the software watchdog NASSOCHAM, the IT companies and the premier IT educational institutes must interact closely and freely instead of working individually behind closed doors.
We are confident that IT industry can meet such a challenge. What about you?

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