The similarities between T20 cricket and IT firms don't end here. As we all know, the course of an IPL game is predictable in its unpredictability. IT companies are no different
We are in the middle of one more exciting IPL season, which always starts with low viewership but builds up excitement as the games progress and likely winners manage to emerge. The IT Services industry follows pretty much the same course during each quarter with the excitement peaking after the first company, typically Infosys and TCS announcing its financial numbers and then moving back to "business as usual" as the top three and the next ten report their numbers and get back to business.
The similarities between T20 cricket and IT firms don't end here. As we all know, the course of an IPL game is predictable in its unpredictability. When the team batting first manages to reach fifty for the loss of two wickets in six overs or less, the supporters sense victory only to fall into a slough of despond when the star batsman gets out. Finally what happens in the game is any body's guess and the truth for India has always been that when a Kohli is batting with Dhoni still to come, the hope of victory surges constantly in our minds.
IT companies are no different. Having come off the leadership role in Zensar recently after a wonderful ride of 15 years and more, I find it amusing to think of the number of times a big deal or success in a growth area like Digital Commerce has kept industry watchers happy even when the numbers were somewhat weak in traditional areas. Today every company is talking up their "Digital Transformation" story with the full realisation that this area of our work is the 'Virat Kohli' of our team portfolio and if that continues to fire, the target of consistent ten percent annual organic growth in our revenues is very achievable.
Today every company is talking up their "Digital Transformation" story with the full realisation that this area of our work is the 'Virat Kohli' of our team portfolio and if that continues to fire, the target of consistent 10 percent annual organic growth in our revenues is very achievable
One reason why one can expect this heavy hitter called Digital Transformation to enable a turnaround in industry fortunes next year and set is back on a 12 to 14 percent growth track is quite simply, the complete alignment of customer needs in singling economies with the hunger of service providers to offer a new range of services and garner new revenues. On the demand side, companies particularly those who directly serve the end customer, are all looking for technologies and processes to get even closer to the customer. A case in point is retailers who are using Geo-positioning on mobile phones to track potential customers even when they drive within a few miles of the store and entice them to the store with offers based on their previous buying history and even their preferences discerned from their Twitter and Facebook behavior. The availability of omni-channel marketing methods coupled with deep analytics to discern spending patterns all combine to make digital capabilities in mobility. Social listening and big data truly critical in the arsenal of the chief marketing officer. Add to this the new capabilities coming through artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality, beacons and sensors n the shop floor and it is easy to realise why the world of the marketer will never be the same again.
For the IT service provider, this has meant a clear need to move from the traditional systems of record where the load on the computer was primarily around record keeping and reporting to systems of insight and systems of engagement. Increasingly, IT services firms are developing user experience and customer experience capabilities and integrating digital interactive agency skills in their value propositions. For a company like Zensar, which has seen the digital component of its revenues grow from single digit to over 25 percent in two years, this has meant a transformation of marketing, execution and even skills to meet the demands of newer and more discerning customers. The narrative of most of the companies in this month has shown that the move to digital transformation is now an inexorable trend across the industry
Coming back to our cricketing metaphor what does this mean to the team that is playing the game, namely the IT Company and the watchers, typically the industry analysts who keep peering through their binoculars to see the game closer and find the next boundary that the industry will hit? The obvious first step is for the coach or CEO to ensure that the whole team is digital ready. In the future, it will not just be a few creative designers or data scientists who will set the stadium on fire, but the entire engagement team, at the client site as well as in offshore campuses in Indian IT cities who will have to demonstrate the skills to talk and deliver digital in every stadium in every part of the world. The good news for traditional Test cricketers unused to the quick pace of IPL has been that they can always wait to play another day but for the new age IT warrior every day will be a digital day and it is essential to understand the rules of this new game and play it well !
By Ganesh Natarajan
