NASSCOM and BCG to undertake a joint study on ‘Developing an Innovation Ecosystem for the Indian IT Industry’

NASSCOM, the premier trade body and voice of the software and services industry in India and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) today announced that they are conducting a joint study titled ‘Developing an Innovation Ecosystem in the Indian IT Industry’. The study is aimed at addressing some gaps that exist in the Indian ecosystem for making innovation flourish and realize its true potential. A series of workshops and roundtables involving stakeholders of an Indian innovation ecosystem are being conducted during the course of the study to iterate findings and take inputs from the various stakeholders before publishing the final set of recommendations. The first workshop of this series is being conducted on February 8, 2007 on the sidelines of the NASSCOM 2007 India Leadership Forum.

Emphasizing the need for innovation ecosystem, Mr Kiran Karnik, President, NASSCOM, said, “Innovation has become a key focus area for the Indian IT industry as indeed for India as a nation. Innovation does not thrive in isolated silos and needs an enabling environment at the national/regional/industry level to foster innovation. At the moment, while there is increased awareness on the need to innovate, there is relatively little knowledge in India of what differentiates successful innovative firms from others and more critically, what are the constituents of a mature innovation ecosystem? This NASSCOM-BCG initiative will seek to provide linkages among the various innovation stakeholders including inventors, VCs & angel investors, patent experts, entrepreneurs, firms, academia and researchers to encourage typical innovation ecosystem.”

Survival in today’s intensely dynamic and competitive business environment is no longer about quality products and solutions at an affordable price. Instead, it is increasingly about creating new products, markets, applications and services that not just enhance quality of work and life, but provide a radically different experience for the consumer. Firms which innovate will be the firms that survive and grow.

“Innovation does not have to have anything to do with technology[1]’’. Instead, it is about understanding untapped user needs that need to be addressed through products and solutions in an ingenuous and innovative manner. Simply put, it is innovation at every stage of a product or service development and release cycle, through to pricing, support and value addition to the customer. And managing innovation is fast becoming the number one priority in a global business environment where technology is increasingly standardized and highly available.

Talking about the study, Mr. Arun Maira, Chairman, BCG India, said, "India promises more opportunities for innovative technology firms, both Indian and international, than any other country perhaps. On one hand, there is a huge unfulfilled market in India's billion plus population for many products and services, including healthcare, education, financial services, retail, e-governance etc that is beyond the capabilities of most firms. It can be opened only by low cost products and services delivered in innovative formats. IT and telecom technologies will be keys to provide the breakthroughs as some pioneering ventures have shown. On the other hand, India also has within itself many of the resources required to create and deliver these innovations. IT industries in India can tap into enormous talent, and India also has depth in many industries- healthcare, pharmaceutical, education, telecom, etc. Firms that have the ambition to grab the opportunities by developing innovative business ideas, and that tune up their cultures and systems for innovation will reap huge benefits."

The NASSCOM-BCG study on ‘Developing an Innovation Ecosystem in the Indian IT industry’ will:

Identify the behavioural & organisational characteristics required by Indian IT firms to develop an innovation capability
Benchmark the current level of innovation process maturity in Indian IT firms versus MNC firms
Identify best practices of firms with successful track-record of innovation
Develop a process framework for innovation management
Identify constituents and best practices of successful innovation system in India as also overseas
Identify the role of each stakeholder of the ecosystem
Recommend ways to develop an IT innovation ecosystem in India

The study methodology will involve both primary & secondary research. The primary research will involve a cross-section of the Indian IT industry representing IT services, BPO, Product firms. BCG is an acknowledged leader on the subject of innovation and has conducted extensive research on the subject of innovation across industries globally and will harness this body of knowledge during this study.

[1] Vijay Govindarajan, professor, Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business and author of ``Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators: From Idea to Execution’’