IndiaSoft 2017: connecting Indian IT with global buyers

Sneha Gilada 

Hyderabad witnessed the inaugural of the seventeenth edition of Indiasoft on February 13, 2017. IndiaSoft is an initiative of the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), meant to connect the Indian IT industry to global buyers and potential clients. 

The two-day event has an overwhelming global participation of over 400 delegates from 75 countries, making it an irresistible scouting ground for the thriving Indian mid-scale IT companies. The exhibit showcased innovative solutions in the field of big data, outsourcing, cloud computing, SAAS, e-governance, mobile app and website development. As many as 50 IT startups from all over the country exhibited their core competencies at the event, which was supported and funded by the Government of India.

At the inaugural ceremony, Chief Guest Y.S. Chowdary, Union Minister of  Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, asserted the importance of integrating research with the development needs of the country. Citing tremendous R&D and lab facilities under his ministry, he said that technologies which are confined to shelves must be commercialised by entrepreneurs, especially for the benefit of rural areas. He credited the IT industry with most employment generation and B2B dependence.

Esteemed guest Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary, IT Department, Telangana, in his address, encouraged the small IT players and startups to adapt to the changing industry dynamics and fill in the holes that the big corporations aren't agile enough to cater to. He applauded the match-making efforts that ESC has made via IndiaSoft, and spoke of Indian IT's image transformation from low-cost service providers to value providers at competitive pricing. Talking about emerging areas for innovation, he said that startups have a lot to explore in the existing geography. 

"For the first time in 33 years of the history of Infosys, it has experienced a negative employment growth this year," he said, explaining the gradual shift of job growth from routine software development to emerging areas like machine learning, big data, data analysis, information security etc, a breeding ground for the next generation IT companies. 

With the integration of technology in every industry becoming inevitable, the fortunes of IT industry are intact for many years to come. A wide range of opportunities and unexplored areas makes IT the most attractive sector to modern day entrepreneurs. Numerous new IT ventures were spotted at Indiasoft 2017.

The exhibition, after its inauguration, was bustling with activity. Many out-of-the-box ideas were on display and new generation entrepreneurs were actively demonstrating their products and services to visitors. The exhibition had an impressive lineup of new ideas. 

Some notable companies/products among a host of ventures that have set up stalls at Indiasoft 2017 are: POPin, a corporate version of facebook; Mowbly, an ERP software provider; Neosoft, a leading outsourcing venture; Sales Winnr, a smart salesforce training solution; bootstrap, a digital marketing and research platform; TestYourWings, a facilitator of e-learning; Cyrrup, a smart automobile control provider; CSM Tech, developer of e-governance solutions; NextGen, provider of customised interactive screens; Busy, a business accounting software. IT and Electronics Dept from the Government of West Bengal was also among the exhibitors, marketing its IT Parks which provide state-of-the-art infrastructure at subsidised prices to startups.