Mr. Ramesh Loganathan
VP – Products and Managing Director
Progress Software-India
IT industry came into 2010 just out of the recession hit 2009, with some signs of recovery. Through 2010, while the recovery was slow, it did pick up some steam in the second half of 2010. In India, the IT industry is tightly interlinked with the prospects of the majors all over the world that are clients for the services provided by the Indian IT industry. While the business expansion and hiring was guarded initially, in the latter half the industry did pick up some momentum. The domestic spend of IT though was completely independent of the overall outlook worldwide.
For Progress, both worldwide and in India, the new product strategy enabling enterprises to be Operational Responsive has been receiving good traction. The Responsive Process Management (RPM) suite is the primary product offering which enables businesses to monitor all relevant business events as they occur, wherever they occur, internally or externally. And, analyze these events in real time, using prescribed business criteria to identify opportunities, inefficiencies, and risks. The increased interest from the markets on the RPM suite has helped us do better in the fourth quarter.
In our India operations, the product development and R&D investments have significantly increased and plans are on to double our engineering headcount in 2011. The Hyderabad development center is driving most of the major engineering initiative to build common technology and frameworks that will be the base for all Progress products worldwide.
On the whole we are poised very well for 2011 and expect 2011 to be a good year both in India and elsewhere.
Mr. Debasis Chatterji
CEO
Netxcell Limited
Recap of 2010
2010 overall had been a year with many upheavals on all fronts be it politics or industry. As far as telecom sector is concerned, 2010 has been quite challenging as we saw the launch of many new operators, new services were launched and all this leading to stiff tariff war. But there have been many positive and growth oriented incidents as well – the brighter side of 2010 includes launch of 3G in Indian market and Mobile Number Portability (MNP) which would not only offer the latest technology to the mobile subscribers but will also give liberty to switch over incase the subscriber is not satisfied with the existing service provider. So I can say that the key highlight of 2010 was that it made the subscriber the King with wide array of choices being available.
Expectations from 2011
With such massive developments in 2010, the telecom service providers will now need to be highly proactive in 2011 to meet the market dynamics. Overall as far as 2011 is concerned, it will be time to wait & watch not just for telecom companies but also on the political front at the state and central level. Though, as an industry representative, I would certainly hope for more stability in the business and political ecosystem so that 2011 can be a year of growth for all.
Mr. Suman Reddy
Managing Director
Pegasystems India
Round up of 2010
After the 2008-2009 recession, the IT Industry fared above average in the past 11 months. The growth of the IT industry appeared to be a bit slow in Hyderabad in comparison to Chennai and Bangalore however the pace seems to have picked up over the last 5 months. Access to a wide talent pool in Hyderabad is one of the key reasons for Pegasystems to set up its office in Hyderabad.
No doubt that due to all the unrest in the city in 2010, the investor community’s confidence has been shaken for the time being and some of them are evaluating other regions to diversify their investment. In fact a lot of companies that are expected to come to Hyderabad in the near future would have come earlier had there been no unrest in the city in my opinion. However I also believe this is a temporary phase and I am confident that Hyderabad will regain and maintain its leadership position.
Expectations from 2011
As we have seen many turbulent phases in the last 3 years, I would surely expect 2011 to bring some respite for everyone. The industry is already on the recovery path and I expect 2011 to bring cheer to all the segments specially IT. On the local front also, I would expect 2011 to be far more stable for the state from both business and political aspects. At Pegasystems India, we are growing substantially in the country and hope to continue the momentum in the New Year as well. We are expected to expand further in India in 2011 both on business and people front.
Mr. V Rajanna
Vice President
ITsAP (IT & ITES Industry Association of Andhra Pradesh)
There is a Chinese saying that every crisis offers an opportunity; the Indian IT Industry once again demonstrated its leadership in leveraging the recession to its advantage through focus on operational efficiencies in execution, emerging market focus, diversification in terms of new service lines, and innovative business models. Despite of recession, there was a positive growth FY 09-10 for Indian IT Industry and the growth is expected to be a double digit FY 10-11. The growth is a substantiation of solid maturity and execution capability of Indian IT Industry. There is an increase in demand and many companies have announced and commenced their hiring plans this year and the numbers are much higher than previous year; having said that one has to closely watch the macro economic conditions as always.
Andhra Pradesh (AP) has registered an export turnover of INR 32,000 CR, an annual growth of 25% FY 08-09 in IT exports, making significant contribution of 15% to Nation’s IT exports. AP is the fourth largest IT exporter in the country with an employee base of over 2,50,000. AP is among the first in announcing IT & ITES industry as an essential service and also preferential policies for small-medium companies in 2010.
The state is yet to realize its full potential in IT and ITES sectors because of superb talent available in the state and the investments made to create world class Infrastructure.
Mr. Satyakalyan Yerramsetti
CEO & Founder
SMSCountry
Recap of 2010
2010 was great for the mobile marketing industry. The UCC regulation was released by TRAI to control the unsolicited calls from tele marketers and spam SMS messages. This is good for the industry as it will help mobile marketing grow rapidly. Another remarkable triumph was allocation of 3G license and spectrum. This will allow the growth of data rich applications and mobile internet apps. 2010 also marked the launch of android based phones in India and other smart phones which will contribute to the growth of VAS and mobile marketing industries. Overall 2010 was a land mark year which will be remembered in history as the year where the seeds of growth for the industry have been sown.
For SMS Country, expansion has been the key motto in the year 2010. From a company which had about 100 employees and just a couple of branches in the country we have expanded to a total of about 600 employees, 27 physical offices across India. As expanded geographical reach was very important to us, we have successfully established offices in two tier cities and reaching out to every small and medium enterprise. 2010 has given us lots of visibility in terms of conferences, international presence and expansion in terms of understanding the geography and the mobile marketing industry.
Expectations from 2011
In 2011, we expect new regulations and strategy to capture the international market. A lot of consolidation may take place in the VAS industry, the market will become more regulated and also the true potential of the mobile medium will come into existence. Thus there will be a potential for millions of new jobs created in this industry
Anuradha Ch.
Director
Anoo’s – South India’s premier name in salon and clinical services
Round up of 2010
One of the few industries which did not melt during the global meltdown, the year after the recession has even been more exciting for the Beauty Industry. The overall beauty and wellness market, which includes beauty services, is currently slated at $2.68 billion (as per International Trade Administration, U.S). Major Global brands have come into India this year with the confidence of doing well in this vast ground of opportunity called the ‘Indian Beauty Industry’.
At Anoo’s has expanded to tier 2 cities in AP. The year also saw us launching our hair and skin care products in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu thus reaching out to a wider audience.
Expectations from 2011
With a stable growth of 15% -20 % each year, the industry is only getting better and stronger! And there is definitely tremendous potential to excel and progress in this industry. Amidst new brands and existing global brands entering the country which, iam sure, will boost the industry, my hope for the year 2011 is for more young men and women who have a dream of being involved in the industry to open themselves up to the humongous opportunity that lies ahead.
The Beauty Industry is no longer a part time or a ‘time pass’ option but a distinct career option – there is a demand and need for professionally trained technicians. And only when we keep producing well trained technicians, will we be able to say ‘we have arrived’.
Mr. Rajiv Nair
Business Head – General Merchandise
Hypercity Retail (India) Ltd.
“As the first decade of this century has come to an end, it has been noted that Customer’s awareness has tremendously increased due to modern media connectivity like mobile phones & the internet. In terms of the Retail industry, big box & large format retail have grown to become more convenient consumer choice. This could be credited to the growth of international retailing and sheer number of brands, growing within the country, especially in the specialty segment (apparel, accessories, and electronics).
As far as upcoming shopping trends in 2011 are concerned, the above trend will continue to grow stronger. The top categories of products that we think will sell the most and show significant volume penetration in 2011 will include Food & Grocery, Consumer Electronics & Apparel. The Consumers shopping preferences, will include conveniences like “one stop shopping”, usage of the internet to shop or find information/ compare prices, features , store location, continued focus on quality at a good price, sms based campaigns, customized marketing based on customer type etc.”
Mr. Tadato Kimura
General Manager – Marketing
Sony India
“The year 2010 has been extremely positive for the consumer durables industry and we expect the trend to remain progressive in the coming year. In the first half of FY10, Sony India registered phenomenal sales of Rs. 2600 crore, which was a growth of 46% over corresponding period last year. The key growth drivers for Sony, BRAVIA LCD TVs, VAIO Notebooks and Digital Imaging (Cyber-shot & Handycam) achieved a highly progressive growth rate of 65%, 160% & 20% respectively in the 1st half of FY2010.
Sony introduced very innovative products in the Indian market this year. The launch of 3D products witnessed an overwhelming response from the consumers. We also launched new range of BRAVIA TVs with the iconic Monolithic design philosophy. ‘GO VIVID’ campaign with Brand Ambassador, Kareena Kapoor, was launched for VAIO E series which made helped VAIO move off the shelf in no time. Sony took a major step in introducing Blu-ray technology in Indian market by launching Blu-ray audio-visual products at a starting price of Rs. 9,990 which include Blu-ray Disc players & Home Theatre systems. Finally, in a major initiative to provide the best quality Digital Imaging to Indian consumers, Sony introduced the World’s Smallest and Lightest Interchangeable Lens Digital Cameras – the 
NEX-5 and NEX-3. Compact & light weight, NEX-5 and NEX-3 allow users to effortlessly capture stunning, DSLR quality photos.
Sony is highly optimistic about the coming year and the first major initiative would be the associating itself as a co-presenting ‘on air’ sponsor for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. We will carry out extensive marketing activities this season including ATL and BTL promotions to reach out to our target audiences and augment their celebrations this cricketing season. This year, India has got the opportunity to co-host the biggest cricketing event and by associating with it, we plan to bank on the excitement and energy that the event is expected to create in the country.”
Mr. A. Mahendran
Managing Director
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.
Looking back
· 2010 was a robust year for the FMCG industry as a whole. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL) reported strong revenue and profit growth. Our 3 core categories – toilet soap, hair colors and household insecticides have shown healthy growth combined with encouraging improvement in market share. We are the second largest soap player in the country with three strong brands, namely Godrej No. 1, Cinthol and Fairglow. In hair colors, we have consistently been market leaders. In this category, we have a range of offerings including Godrej Powder Hair Dye, Godrej Expert Powder and Liquid Hair Colours, Renew and Nupur. Our household insecticides business with brand such as GoodKnight, HIT, Jet and Banish has been witnessing phenomenal growth.
· We continued our aggressive inorganic growth with two acquisitions in Latin America, one in Africa, one in Indonesia and one in India in line with our global 3 by 3 strategy.
· Demand for FMCG products continued to be strong inspite of high food inflation in the first half of the year which is now showing signs of cooling. However commodity prices have been steadily rising which is putting pressure on the margins of all players in the industry.
· The governments renewed focus on the aam-aadmi through schemes like NREGA, Bharat Nirman, Woman’s Reservation Bill etc… is putting more money in the pockets of the consumer thereby boosting demand for products and services. The biggest miss in my opinion was the delay in the introduction of the GST which would have given a big fillip to commerce by ensuring the unfettered movement of goods across the country.
Outlook for the year ahead…
· 2011 is likely to be a very positive year for the FMCG industry. I also think 2011 is going to be a year of increased media spending with brands becoming increasingly competitive on all forms of media especially in the rural markets, which will grow faster than urban ones.
· With the recent acquisitions, we are also evaluating the potential of bringing products from Indonesia to India and leveraging hair technology from Argentina for the Indian market. So the opportunities for cross border sharing and synergies are tremendous.
· Consumer sentiment is strong clearly indicating an action-packed 2011.
· Progressive legislative changes such as the GST will put the Indian business environment on par with the rest of the world. This will also help reduce consumption costs for the ultimate consumer. I only hope that the uncertainty around its implementation is resolved soon and GST actually sees the light of day in 2011 itself.
· A rise in GDP will naturally lead to an increased propensity to consume which must be catered to. In a growth economy, consumption is a measure of well being at the individual level. The government should work towards increasing overall consumption levels by improving credit flow, increasing social security for the less privileged and creating supply chain efficiencies because it is only with sustained improvements in domestic consumption that our economy grow sustainable.