The growth and evolution of India's software industry

Reviewer: Dominik Strzalka

When the development of computer science and engineering started in the middle of the 20th century, no one expected that it would be so great a challenge and that it would influence our future so much. Around 1980, it was clear that computer engineering, together with electronic engineering, was the key to success and fast development. The first country to realize this was probably the US, but there were also some smaller countries such as South Korea and Singapore. Now we know that each country that relates its feature to new computer technologies will win. India is a country with big potential, not only related to its huge population but to its strong historical background. If we study, for instance, the history of math's development, we can easily see that Indians were probably the first to have a big impact on our reality expressed in mathematical terms. Now we can see some kind of continuation of this history: India is a vital member of the computer software industry. The reviewed article tells the story of India's software industry's big success. It wasn't done in one step; several stages are shown. Stage 1 is the pre-2000 era, when India's information technology (IT) industry was mostly focused on exports. Stage 2 is the decade from 2000 to 2010, when some global companies started increasing their presence in India. Stage 3, from 2011 to the present, is when Indian software companies started building and managing very complex IT systems for global enterprises. This success obviously has a serious impact on India itself. We can see, for instance, the growth of exports, development and employment creation for the middle class, female empowerment, the startup ecosystem, the huge expansion of digital infrastructure, and a change in the global perception of India. On the other hand, we should also note the impact this change has on our world. We should emphasize that, thanks to the development of IT companies in India, "a poor and impoverished country ... has emerged as a software powerhouse serving the world," giving us new challenges based on cost optimization together with quality global delivery models and innovations in digital transformation. Now the Indian IT (software) industry has worldwide impact: many computer codes for different systems (industrial products, enterprise software solutions, consumer electronics, banking systems, and so on) were written by Indians; Indian systems developers are involved in many international projects; IT companies from India have research and development (R&D) centers in many countries around the world; and more than "1000 companies develop global products from their centers in India." How was such a big success possible It was not only the hard work of talented people, but also other conditions: minimal government involvement; education focused on talent and skills development; the Indian software industry's focus on process orientation; the IT sector had the ability to bring companies together to develop a new type of industry; and a concerted effort to promote, cultivate, celebrate, and create an ecosystem for entrepreneurs. This is a short story about a huge success in IT. If you are looking for your own way, please follow India.