Indian IT: Bull’s leg shaking after the run

“This is all to do with big and rich people. We never get affected by major financial policy decisions and fluctuations in share markets” said my grandfather and would repeat it time and again whenever I would curiously ask about any financial news while we watched news together.
That was the time of government jobs and what mattered the most in news was political news. That was early nineties and the benefits of opened Indian market were yet to be seen.
India has changed a lot over last couple of decades and so has the topographies of each individual’s family. Single earning joint families have transformed into each working nuclear families (at least the middle class is moving in this direction). Working not in any government department but private firms and growth of these private firms are closely (or better call it directly) related to major financial policy decisions and fluctuations in share markets, a clear contrast to what had been my grandpa’s time.
Last week’s development in financial circle shook US and aftermath was felt in India and each IT professional’s heart. Rising Dollar had already put Indian IT firms on back foot and developments of last week made the situation worse. The fall of esteemed Leman Brothers, acquisition of Merrill Lynch and problems in AIG coupled with credit crisis in US is expected to hit Indian IT firms hard. Banking and Financial services constitute on an average 40% of their business and US market dependence is also close to staggering 45% (which has reduce over a period of time due to corrective actions taken by these firms after slowdown in 2002-03).

So what is the future now? I take the positive out of this situation. It had been a bull’s run for last couple of years, uncontrolled hiring and uneven growth. Its time to sit for a while and consolidate upon whatever we have gained over a period of time. It’s an opportunity to plan for the future and fix any loop holes that could have crept in our systems and processes. Re-iterate each individual’s responsibility, slow down the hiring, create opportunities in Asian markets which has largely been left untouched by IT surge( though the margins are going to be low ). Indian firms and government departments (central and state) remain untouchable to best practices followed all over the world and IT. Indian IT firms by working with most reputed of organisations all over the world have expertise to transform Indian industries by providing consultancy as well as IT services.

If these firms could stand 2002-03 debacles, there is no point to think that they would not swim this tide also. I am a little sceptical but also optimistic and confident.
“It affects us” I said looking up to the heaven, hoping my grandpa would hear it.