Recently, NASSCOM had reiterated that the Indian IT industry would grow by 16-18 per cent this year. In FY2009, the industry had grown in single digits. In FY2010, as the recovery started, the growth rate picked up and industry clocked a growth of about 18-19 per cent.

This shows that Indian IT industry has matured and is able to withstand downturns in the overall economy. The industry continues to recruit in large numbers and is one of the largest job creators in India and around the world.

In the short term, there is uncertainty and volatility in the environment and hence the industry will also get affected to some extent. But in the medium to long term, the industry should show strong growth due to several factors.

First, Global Delivery Model (GDM) has become the de-facto model for delivery of IT services and India is the number one destination for providing IT services. India has mature, strong, world-class companies and strong delivery capabilities. The industry has the ability to educate and create the work force necessary to fuel this growth. Cost advantages of the industry will continue for the next few years.

Second, the industry can expand its markets into new geographies, new industry segments and new service lines. Third, the industry is expanding its addressable market by adding new services like Cloud based platform solutions, knowledge services, business analytics etc.

Fourth, industry is increasing its investments into R&D creating new Intellectual Property (IP) based solutions and products. Start-up activity is increasing and new businesses are being created.

Lastly, technology itself is evolving rapidly. Cloud, mobile, social and big data are some of the technologies that are spurring additional IT investments. These technologies can increase productivity, efficiency, usability and provide flexibility to the user and hence the investments.

In the future, we will see increased investments into technologies like pervasive computing and Internet of things where all kinds of devices and appliances will have intelligence built into them and will be connected to the Internet. Investment into IT by Indian Industry will also increase. Globally, investment into IT is growing at around 4-5% annually, slightly above the GDP growth rate. In India, the investment into IT is growing at around 15-17% annually.

This is because we are under invested in IT and there is a need to catch up. Indian Industry is investing smartly, adopting newer technologies and newer business models or engagement models faster. Many of the engagements in India today are based on pay-for-use or subscription based models.

India is also leveraging mobile technology to reach the rural population and creating access to the benefits of technology for all.

By, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Executive Co-Chairman of Infosys