A new association for software product companies
Times of India reports that 30 companies have broken free from Nasscom, the software lobbying body to form a new association for software product firms. The initiative has several well known names: Sharad Sharma, Yahoo India’s ex R&D head who was closely associated with Nasscom Product Forum, Bharat Goenka of Tally Solutions, Naveen Tewari of InMobi. They will have their first meeting today.
It’s easy to see why the product companies want to have their own body. They are different from IT services companies. The gestation period is longer, the risks are higher. They demand a different profile of employees and a different culture. The systems and processes that work in a software services firm will not work in a software product firm. That’s why some of the top IT companies with rock solid reputation for execution have found it very difficult to crack the products market. Independent products companies, on the other hand, hold big promise. But they are small. Together, they make less than $2 billion in revenues compared to software services companies with over $70 billion in revenues. The voice of product companies is probably getting lost in the din made by elephants all around.
A bigger question though is whether having an exclusive association will help. The answers are not so clear. If it’s to bring companies together – by organising events, by creating networking opportunities etc – being a separate entity will not bring any additional advantages. If it’s to lobby with the governments, being a part of a bigger body (and having more influence in its board) might actually be better.
The future of Indian software products itself depends not on the collective action but on what individual companies driven by visionary entrepreneurs do.
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