IT Industry globally is witnessing menace of increasing protectionism, data flow restraints and dynamic technological shifts. On the other hand, the Indian IT industry is aspiring for the new year with huge investment strategies in automation and AI sector.

Talking about trade association NASSCOM, the passing year had been the year of 'Digital at Scale'. IT companies are centered at influencing new technologies and generating innovative skills, strategies and alliances. Nasscom president Debjani Ghosh said – "The year ahead is "punctuated with several transformative opportunities," 

NASSCOM has envisaged the exports to grow about 7 to 9 percent for 2018-19 which is almost similar to the previous fiscal. Whereas domestic revenue is likely to grow faster at 10 to 12 percent that may lead to new transformative year with overseas financing.

Aiding clients in optimizing operations to stand strong in competition, the industry has promoted itself from back office of the globe to the forefront of innovative shifts.

As strict work visa rules and regulations in countries like the US, UK or Australia are becoming prominent, Indian IT companies are striking the counter to the situation. Indian firms are uplifting their existence by hiring locals.

Nasscom president Debjani Ghosh asserted, "Rising protectionism continues to be an irritant and the anti-immigration rhetoric discriminatorily targets Indian companies and challenges the level-playing field for business delivery."

Cyient executive chairman BVR Mohan Reddy said, "Indian technology industry's business model has moved away from cost-arbitrage to solution provisioning and value creation." Further emanating confidence, he said that visa issues will not be a concern for sustained industry growth.

Mindtree CEO Rostow Ravanan said that his company is keenly looking into international issues and is all set to tackle this dynamic scenario through local hiring and various other measures. Further, he added "Our approach would be locating tasks in the geography based on best interests of our clients, Mindtree is also focussed on "imagining what is 'Beyond Digital' and making investments to prepare for the future."

Implementation of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in the European Union in May, is considered as massive development in 2018 and for some, it has been foreseen as an opportunity. The norms of GDPR will not only strengthen and protect data of individuals in the region but also designate heavy penalties for non-compliance by firms.

Microsoft India president Anant Maheshwari affirmed, "This gives India an opportunity to build expertise and capabilities, create new lines of advisory and consulting businesses, develop a market differentiator and be a source of competitiveness for customers in the European Union."

Meanwhile, India is generating its own constituted data protection rules that will deal in the definition of personal and sensitive data, consent, possible exemptions, the base for processing data, storage limitation for personal data, individual rights and right to be forgotten. Other than penalties, scheduled norms also restrict the cross-border transfer of personal data.

An HCL Technologies spokesperson said "The GDPR roll out and other such regulations have had global enterprises rushing to assess their compliance. Escalating threat landscape with a spate of high-profile breaches and increase focus on regulations have ensured that the cybersecurity and governance risk and compliance services are much sought after."

Milestones of IT Companies

•   This year the big milestone was Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) crossing the $100 billion market valuation mark.

•   Bengaluru-based tech firm Infosys experienced a year of stabilization after a long upheaval.

•   Reportedly, Infosys CEO Salil Parekh has crafted a three-year transformation plan out of which one year will be dedicated towards the stabilizing of the company and the next two years will focus on reaping momentum and escalating growth.

•   Additionally, the company plans to hire around 10,000 locals in the US and expects fields such as AI, IoT, Blockchain and Cybersecurity to be decisive trends for the coming.

TeamLease's recent survey reveals that the IT industry is all set to generate around 2,50,000 new jobs in 2019. Robotics, AI and Automation will play a major role in renovating workplace and workforce with highest pay advancements in AI development, Machine Learning and Big Data Analytics.

Genpact chief human resources officer Piyush Mehta said "With bots taking up more mundane tasks, employees are pushed to think 'value' even more – and this has given rise to skill sets that are required in business as of today." Further, he quoted the example of AI ethicist which is accelerating fast but did not exist five years back.

BVR Mohan Reddy said "AI may take over few jobs in short term but it has very high potential to create new one."

Piyush Mehta added "There is also a massive untapped workforce in non-IT sectors such as healthcare, banking or manufacturing. According to Nasscom, over 1,200 new advanced technology start-ups got added to the ecosystem in 2018, with data analytics being the largest contributor."

Instead of some serious debates and discussions on whether the new technological shift will replace the workforce or create new opportunities, the IT industry is optimistic about big investments in futuristic deals, growth and margins ahead of the new year.