GIM MIG2015 - Vincent08small

The Challenges & Opportunities for IT Majors in GoaVincent ToscanoHCM Cloud Practice Manager, Infosys Limited, Pune, India

Make in Goa conferenceGoa Institute of Management, Ribandar, Goa, India 22-Mar-2015

The Challenges & Opportunities For IT Majors In Goa [2]

Notes• All information in this presentation (including the Infosys

illustrations) has been derived from public sources wherever available with the rest being my imagination from my own experiences. No official information available to me as an Infosys employee has been used here.

• Ideas and views presented here are my very own and do not represent those of my employer nor the institution/platform where this presentation is delivered.

• The content of this presentation is open to further enhancement/correction/re-alignment as new information surfaces and based on reader’s feedback.

• Do feel free to openly critique this presentation as the greater goal here is to evolve the ideas to the point of successful implementation in the real world.

• Let our actionable zeal for our homeland exceed our petty egos.


AbstractOver past few decades the Indian IT industry has established itself as a global powerhouse with 50%+ share of the market. This has been powered by many Indian towns and even unknown villages that have metamorphosed into congested cities in the process.

Goa has been missing on this scene despite being the most literate, developed and socially stable state of India. This paper looks at the challenges that confront IT Majors in setting up shop in Goa as a result of which Goans have been deprived of modern and premium employment opportunities locally leading to many ills.

Could some of these challenges be myths or manmade?

What are potential solutions to the real challenges, and are we failing to notice hidden opportunities among these?

What would it take Goa and Goans to make themselves relevant and potentially even deliver a revolutionary opportunity to the Indian IT industry for its continued global dominance despite growing competition from other low-cost IT destinations?


Goa and …

Tourism Pharma Mining

Fishing Real Estate…

Information Technology?? 30 years late!!!• Government

• Bureaucracy

• Institutions

• Local Private Sector

• We, the People

• Indian IT Majors?


Goa for Indian IT Majors• Opportunities

• Nascent IT startup ecosystem

• High English literacy plus close familiarity with European culture

• Ideal locale for Green Sustainability-focused development centers

• (Semi-)Urban infrastructure across most of the state

• 1000+ engineering graduate output p.a. from 5 local colleges

• ~8000 non-engineering graduate output p.a. from 40+ colleges

• Challenges• Scarce and expensive space/land

• Relatively poor local talent quality, volume and concentration

• Half-baked, passive approach to IT industry by all Goa governments so far

• Goa’s comprehensive IT Policy loooooooong overdue

• Ill-informed local opposition and susegad (lacking hunger) work ethic

• General perception that Goa is an all-fun-no-work place

• Why come to Goa with all these hassles when other larger states and even Developing Countries are serving on a silver platter?


DEAD-END No hopes for large-scale IT industry in Goa!


How about changing the game and creating a radical differentiator for Goa at the national level?


FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHIT = Only large-scale modern industry where work can be

taken to people’s doorstep. No need to inefficiently drag people to workplace.

Fundamental IT Pre-requisites

[1] Young Ignited MindsAttitude, Aptitude, Basic English

Qualifications/Degrees

[2] TrainingStructured Logical Thinking Computer Programming

3-6 months

[3] Computer

[4] Electricity

[5] Hi-speed Broadband


AMUL-ified Indian IT ► Bharat IT• Do with rural human intellect what AMUL did with rural cow’s

milk 40 years ago! • Jobs@Doorstep: Reduced migration to ease urban saturation

• Supplement urban mega-campuses (or IT Hubs) by a network of locally sustainable and no-frills Micro Development Centers (MicroDCs) in village clusters across rural India.

• Do more IT than ITeS work from villages for greater local growth of intellectual wealth leading to a “thinking” and progressive rural citizenry

• Atleast 1 million Generic IT jobs today could be shipped from Urban to Rural India with the freed-up Urban IT engineers available for Advanced IT and research work resulting in higher revenue generation.

• Profit sharing (not charity/CSR) with local stakeholders for greater local buy-in, ownership towards success of Bharat IT and all round upliftment of Bharat.

• Preservation of local identity and culture by tying scale to locally sustainable levels

• Eco-friendly ultra-light carbon footprint compared to Urban IT


A Necessity or A Fancy?Indian IT

• Growing competition from low cost global IT destinations

• Cost arbitrage from incremental shift to Tier2/3 towns short-lived (e.g. Pune)

• 2/3rd Indian IT is generic not requiring engineers to do it

• Rural IT costs less than 50% of Indian Urban IT costs

• 58% of all Indian IT employees originally from towns and villages. Hence potential for reverse brain drain from cities to villages like from West to India in recent years.

• Governmental/infra challenges far simpler today than 30 years ago

India• Cities reaching point of un-sustainable saturation

Bharat• Intellectually depleted from perennial brain drain to cities

• Increasingly worrying urban-rural divide a national risk

• Rural India much faster to adopt new technology than even the West


Revolutionizing Indian IT…

0 1 3 6

National Super-Network

for IT Services10

Year


Imagine…

… just 5% Indian villages enabled for IT work

in next 10 years

with each village contributing just 40 employees

1.2 million strong Rural IT workforce

generating 7BUSD+ annually

boosting Indian IT competitiveness by 22%!

India becomes a Developed “Village Nation”

with an unprecedented Sustainable economic model.

Mahatma Gandhi’s dream comes true!


Where To Start? Goa??

Kerala Tamil Nadu

Maharashtra

Uttaranchal

Himachal Pradesh

Goa

Tripura

Mizoram

Manipur

Chandigarh

Bhubaneswar

Hyderabad

Mangalore

Trivandrum

Pune

BangaloreChennai

Infosys DCs (example)

Radial Travel (6-10hr)

Bharat IT Readiness Parameter

Pre-requisite

Rationale Goa

Electricity stability >80% Essentials. Shortfall managedthrough generators/UPS, greenpower, wireless broadband andother innovative solutions.

Telecom, broadband stability

>80%

English literacy Level

>70%For efficient IT training,communications, discussionsand competitiveness

Nearest town or Bharat IT hub

1-2 hours away

Quick interventions for infraissues and routine maintenance

Parent DC distance6-10 hours

awayOvernight physical interventionfor major issues at local MicroDC

Village Cluster student output

>40 per annum

Min. 20% as annual addition toRural IT workforce forsustainability

Local school administration

Pro-active, supportive

To improve local educationstandards with modern learningmethods

Political classProgressive,

enablersNecessary for successful launchof local Bharat IT and its longterm success

Social stability

Progressive, peaceful

Illustrative Readiness Checklist

Most Literate States(Census 2001)

>80%

75-80%

70-75%


But what about Goa IT Readiness?

Parameter Sub-Parameter Standard Indian IT Bharat IT Time to

Mitigate Rating & Criticality [●] Rating & Criticality [●]

Geography

Landmass ●●●● –

Population Size ●● ●

Landscape ●●● ●

Population Distribution ●●●● ●

Density per Population Node ●●●● ●

(Sub-)Urban vs Rural ●●●● ●

Workspace

Plug-n-play work space ● –

Blank floor space / buildings ●●● ●●●

Developed Land Plots ●●●● ●●●

Workforce

English Literacy ●●●●● ●●●●●

Educational Output & Quality ●●●●● ●●●●●

BPM ●●●● ●●●●

Voice Services ●●●● ●●●●

Generic IT ●●●●● ●●●●●

Specialized IT ●●●● ●●

Advanced IT ●●● –

Electricity Mainstream ●●●●● ●●●●●

Alternate Energy ●●● ●●●●

ICT Public sector ●●●●● ●●●●●

Private sector ●●●●● ●●●●●

NOTE: In “Time to Mitigate”, each = 1 year of the time needed to address a concern area or overcome a weakness.


But what about Goa IT Readiness? contd…

Parameter Sub-Parameter Standard Indian IT Bharat IT Time to

Mitigate Rating & Criticality [●] Rating & Criticality [●]

Logistical

Connectivity

Intra-state ●●●● ●●● –

Inter-state ●●● ●●●● –

International ●●●● ●●

Enablers

Political Maturity – State ●●●●● ●●●●●

Political Maturity – Village ●●● ●●●●●

Govt. Framework for IT ●●●●● ●●●●●

Govt. Machinery for IT ●●●●● ●●●●●

Local Business Houses ●● ●●●●

Local IT Startup Ecosystem ●●●● ●●●●

Industry Bodies ●●● ●●●●●

Voluntary Bodies ●● ●●●●

Others

Operational Support System ●●● ●

Cost of Living ●●● ● –

Recreation/Leisure ●●● – –

Social Stability ●●●●● ●●●●●

Local Work Ethic ●●●●● ●●●●●

General External Perception ●●●● ●●●●

No serious weaknesses holding back Goa IT. Even the worst manmade ones can be fixed within 1-3 years max if there is a WILL.


Goa IT Readiness +

Goan IT Workforce (Local + Exiled)

Goa in unique position for hybrid

Urban+Rural IT

Goa IT Hub a MUST!


But…IT needs lot of land. Really?!

25000 employees 5 star resort-like green campus

enhancing original natural features 1000 room employee hostel Back-up power plant Full-size cricket ground, mini

football field etc. plus world-class indoor sports & fitness facilities

Multi-level 2000 car and 1000 two-wheeler parking

Bus station with 70+ bus capacity Area: 114 acres

Natural Lake integrated into campus design

5000 seats per building

INFOSYS HINJEWADI PHASE2, PUNE


But…Goan terrain unfavorable. Really?!

INFOSYS MANGALORE SEZ

5500 employees Bio park for self-sustaining campus

75,000 indigenous trees planted 7 lakes created for rainwater harvesting Buildings along the hillside Area: 325 acres


Infosys Mangalore SEZ – Up the hill!


So Goa IT Hub where...in interiors?

xSufficient government/ community land available but from where will the 1000s of employees come to staff the IT Hub?

►MicroDC suitable

for the interiors and villages


So Goa IT Hub where...next to engineering college?

xSufficient land available but can the college and its vicinity supply 1000s of employees to staff an IT Hub?

►MicroDCCluster could be

considered here to create a symbiotic ecosystem alaStanford Univ. and Silicon Valley in San Francisco, USA


So Goa IT Hub where...vicinity of a major city?

►Most viable location for Goa IT

Hub given the urban population and infrastructure in vicinity► Does an abundantly beautiful place like Goa need to spend land on 5-star resort-like campuses?► Presence of multiple IT majors essential for a healthy IT employment market


So Goa IT Hub where...vicinity of a major city?

►Compact IT Hub with essential – not

extravagant – amenities would suffice to get started► Each building could seat up to 5000 employees► How many multiples of 5000 can Goa supply towards an IT workforce right away?► Lets be realistic, start small, grow over time with local sustainability.

5000 +5000

+5000

+5000 + ?

GOA►Unique place and people►Unique IT Industry Model

leveraging global IT best practices adapted to local Goan realities for need (not greed) driven Indian IT sustainability.


Goa2020 IT Model: Hub + MicroDC Network with Clusters


Goa2020 IT Model: Next Steps…• SWAT Team: Sweat, not Wait!

• Ministry of IT

• IPB, GCCI, GITIC

• Nasscom, CII

• Relevant NGOs and GITP

• IT Policy, Framework < 6 months

• Re-brand Goa as IT destination

• Bharat IT Readiness Assessment

• Schools, colleges ► Structured Analytical thinking + Computers

• Brain-drain reversal measures

• Call to GIM Students & Faculty:• Goa IT SWOT Analysis

• Goa IT case studies (success stories)

• Dedicated conference on Goa IT

245

7798

63

172

156 161 *282

69

80

47

NOTES:• Approx. taluka population in 1000s• Dharbandora population unavailable


Goa2020 for Indian IT Majors – revisited

• Opportunities ▲• Vibrant IT startup ecosystem

• High English literacy plus close familiarity with European culture

• Ideal locale for Green Sustainability-focused development centers

• (Semi-)Urban infrastructure across most of the state

• 1000+ engineering, ~8000 non-engineering graduate IT-ready output p.a.

• 10,000 IT professionals in exile PLUS sizeable Rural/Bharat IT workforce

• Sufficient land for real IT industry needs, not political/corporate greed

• A visionary state government, self-driven to make Goa…• A role model of sustainable IT

• The best Indian state to start/do business…benchmarked on global standards

• Challenges ▼• Scarce and expensive space/land

• Relatively poor local talent quality, volume and concentration

• Half-baked, passive approach to IT industry by all Goa governments so far

• Goa’s comprehensive IT Policy loooooooong overdue

• Ill-informed local opposition and susegad (lacking hunger) work ethic

• General perception that Goa is an all-fun-no-work place


Goa2020!

GOAThe lighthouse of locally sustainable, grassroots-level and outrageously green Bharat IT revolution for rest of India to emulate!


Let’s work TOGETHER to make it happen

and many others…

Thank You!


Appendix – Bharat IT


Business Model: The Ecosystem

Governmentpolicy, enabler, moderator, mediator

Rural India

Glo

bal

Clie

nts $$$

Consistent quality, cheaper delivery

Consistent quality,

cheapest delivery

Indian IT Major

Top-notch IT Work

complex, confidential, latest tech

Generic IT Work

commoditized, old tech, low-end

Local Bodies, Schools,

Villagers, ...

Bharat ITUrban IT The Village

Governance Mechanismtransparent, objective, responsibility-to-reward, online

Rs.

infra, education,

funds, …


Business Model: The Ecosystem continued

• Unique model involving close partnership between state government, village bodies and Indian IT Major tied together through an online transparent and objective responsibility-to-benefit governance mechanism to Assess-Identify-Develop-Productionise-Reassess a state’s MicroDC network.

• State Government: Crucial facilitator for Bharat IT success. Defines, implements and monitors Bharat IT Policy, rural infra & education modernization, and, the supporting machinery. Tracks village-wise progress against templatized Bharat IT development plans, oversees the governance mechanism and creates sustainable economic climate in the state for Bharat IT.

• Village Bodies (mainly Panchayats, and Comunidade/Gaunkary in Goa): Drive local awareness & support for Bharat IT; potential investor into development, security, maintenance and growth of MicroDC campus. Benefits from profit sharing and value-add to villagers from the MicroDC Knowledge Center.

• Indian IT Major: Brings the business, organizational rigor thru systems, processes and discipline adapted for rural IT, to provide the required structural strength for consistent quality IT service delivery to end clients. Benefits mainly from a large low-cost generic IT workforce and higher sustainability score.

33


Operational Model: MicroDC Defined• Villages within 7-8 km grouped into Village Clusters with the MicroDC located

in the most suitable village and in vicinity of a local school.

• Average headcount of 200 per MicroDC

• Simple, secure and energy efficient building with the allocated land sufficient for projected future growth considering local sustainability.

• Floor layout highly configurable to accommodate varied customer security and confidentiality requirements.

• Each MicroDC driven by trained locals mentored and initially supported by the urban Parent DCs through controlled deputations of external experts

• Campus with a distinct local theme and serves as the local Knowledge Centre.

• Administration of MicroDCs within a district handled by a designated, and typically the largest, MicroDC which in turn reports into Parent DC.

34


Challenges and SolutionsChallenge Solution

Most rural India unviable for IT

• Start with those few small states/regions which are ready on fundamentals, others will scale up

• Only industry that can run from anywhere on 2 cables and a human mind with no material movement

Dispersed pockets of workforce

• Latest ICT for an effective virtual enterprise – collaboration, project/service delivery

Poor quality of local IT skills

• Stringent selection and periodic review criteria for village clusters and employees• Collaborate to improve local education quality• Leverage ICT learning, training, certifications

Trained/experienced workforce loss to urban IT for higher pay

• Local workforce of non-Engineering grads and non-grads…focus on aptitude-n-attitude,not degrees

• Ship commoditized/outdated/low-end technologies/services to Bharat IT freeing up urban ITengineers

Local maturity to handle sensitive data and complex work

• Controlled timebound deputations (plus voluntary reverse brain drain) from Parent DC to MicroDC

• Predefine type of work and data suitable for rural handling. Work structures, processes and systems.

MicroDC safety and security concerns

• Latest ICT/CCTV for physical security control• Remote network controls from Parent DC• Local stake in MicroDC setup


Challenges and Solutions continued

Challenge Solution

Loss of cost arbitrage over time

• MicroDC capped to locally sustainable levels to prevent villages turning into imbalanced pseudo-cities

• Take jobs to people, not vice versa – possible only in IT!

Rural bench and compensation

• Variable compensation, T&M, Pay per Job/Milestone, ….creative approach to compensation

• Use bench to train/coach local school children

Governmental Inhibitors

• Central-state government to define policy and operational framework for Bharat IT• Bharat IT incentivized with perpetual zero income tax for employer and employees

considering long-term rural upliftment• Pilot test with most willing state to establish a success story and baseline

policy/framework

Local politicalcomplications

• Create awareness on long-term vision, wealth creation, local identity preservation• Stake in MicroDC setup from local religio-social bodies for moral moderator role

General apprehensions,cynicism

• Was it easier 30yrs ago to offshore work from the West to India than it is today from India to Bharat?

36

The woods are lovely, dark and deepBut we have promises to keepAnd miles to go before we sleep

Care to preserve Goan identity, environment and yet be progressive? Wake up and let’s…

JUST DO I.T.

– Robert Frost

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GIM MIG2015 - Vincent08small