Reinventing the Talent Capability Matrix - on the DoT

The recent DoT relaxation guidelines that enable IT-BPM talent to work from a remote environment permanently, is a major step-up to ease of doing business. What was initiated in March (temporarily, the understanding at that time), enabled 90% of the IT-BPM workforce (4.4 million) to work from a remote location to ensure business continuity for their end clients. 

The 38 billion USD BPM industry (FY20) growing at 8.4% and employing 1.3 million people (approximately 30% of the IT-BPM workforce) is a major value creator for the nation. While remaining focused on Digital-first and Platformization approach, India leads the global outsourcing market particularly in BFSI, Lifesciences & healthcare, and also emerging very strongly in retail & utilities. While companies have invested heavily in creating world-class campuses to position India as a trusted digital transformational partner, there’s also a pressing need to tap into the prospective workforce which is just as passionate but constricted because of mobility challenges. If we don’t reach out to this segment, we essentially leave out very talented people who can make a substantial difference to growth.

In pre-COVID times, WFH arrangements came with onerous clauses such as mandatory registration of OSPs with the DoT, 1 cr security deposit per office location that was availing WFH, remote connectivity through Provider Provisioned Virtual Private Networks (PPVPN), and frequent reporting obligations to do with network diagrams and other technical standards. In March, these restrictions were relaxed to enable a quick transition for millions of knowledge workers. And to the government’s credit, the time horizon kept getting extended as remote working became the new norm.  

Now, these clauses have been removed – registration restrictions, security deposit, PPVPN connectivity, and frequent reporting obligations. It paves the way for WFH & Work From Anywhere as a permanent solution. Users can connect with the enterprise servers through secure VPNs which makes it faster & easier. DoT has also eased regulations around international OSPs that carry voice traffic from foreign locations to India.

The pandemic has opened up new opportunities due to massively increased digital adoption across industries, and companies will need to be nimble and agile to stay relevant. Now that talent can work from anywhere, companies will also not be compelled to invest heavily in on-premise infrastructure – both digital & physical. Sattelite offices even for large companies may become a reality. This could also be the proverbial 10X moment for cloud computing. It’s a market that is already growing at 30% and this move is likely to induce many more users to leverage cloud computing, and for the existing users to go deeper – particularly the SMBs. Accessing cutting-edge technologies should be a lot easier, especially from an investment standpoint.

Global Capability Centers have a massive base in India. Some of the top American & European companies (particularly BFSI & ER&D) have their largest operations in India outside of their origin country while leveraging Indian talent. Some of the most innovative solutions are being developed out of Indian shores and remote working flexibility will open up the niche talent pool. 

Among other massive gains, it opens up a whole new talent pool which may not have been accessible earlier – a greater percentage of women can now join the workforce, people permanently stationed in Tier 2/3 locations, people with disabilities, and others who may choose to work part-time such as retired professionals. Through deeptech, particularly AI, the nation can unlock economic value worth 500 billion in the next 4 – 5 years and we require more than 3.5 million people trained in Futureskills to make it happen – that’s nearly 3 times the numbers we have now. Access to an expanded talent pool couldn’t have been better timed. This is also a major boost for the gig economy which has been there for a long time. The initial hesitation that companies have shown to engage with gig workers may soon be a thing of the past.   

This new way of working will not be without its challenges, of course. Our industry serves mission-critical & highly regulated processes right across the planet and we need to factor in many unforeseen circumstances that may arise due to the greatly enhanced need for cybersecurity and addressing a regulatory framework that allows access to sensitive data from a remote location.

It’ll also be interesting to observe how companies address the onboarding of fresh talent and imbibe organizational culture when in-person contact is limited. The collaborative tools’ market opportunity is huge and we have a slew of offerings; as we go long we are likely to see many more innovative ideas take shape to address customized needs. 

The 191 billion dollar IT industry was built on the offshore model and with this announcement, I am confident that we can reach higher grounds and be the global hub for digital talent.

Think India think digital, the vision, just got closer!