IT industries in India have played an important role as they contributed the largest in India’s GDP from 1.2% to 7.7% in 2017. The Indian sector is the largest exporter of IT. The IT industry has been the hallmark of Indian growth since the 1980s. The IT growth was shaped because of various application modernization developed by small-medium enterprises or software startups, the government initiative for data localization. The Indian IT sector directly or indirectly employs around 4 million people from which 2-3% of employees get impacted due to performance-related issues. According to the facts, Corona took away nearly 200,000 jobs of IT employees. International Data Corporation reported that the IT sector was expected to grow annually by 6.8% by December 2020 amid the covid19 lockdown.
The ongoing pandemic covid19 has forced the Indian government to impose a countrywide lockdown due to which many enterprises have to implement work from home policies for the first time which has proven both an advantage and disadvantage for the IT industry in India. This work from the home situation has provided an opportunity for the companies to experiment with remote work. But now many companies have thought of continuing work from home policy even after the pandemic gets over. One of India’s largest IT industry Tata Consultancy Services has announced that they are now going to change their 20-year-old work model from work from the office to work from home.
Advantages of COVID-19 for the IT Industry
IT industry has gained immensely and efficiently through the increase in the productivity of the employees. Many businesses have realized that they do not need 25% of the workforce for 100% productivity. WFH is cost-effective and time-saving that can lead to more increase in productivity.
There are other advantages of covid19 in the IT industry such as:
- Online shift increased the demand: The only industry which has gained profits after lockdown is IT companies. During the lockdown, as people have shifted to online services, therefore, the demand for new applications, models, etc has increased. Every business is working online and connected through a web of networks and that’s where the work of the IT industry starts as they develop new software and codes, etc.
- More innovation and experimentation: As the demand increases for new technology to connect more people or to bring the whole office on the computer. The IT industry has evolved and invented new technologies and experimented with their coding skills. The IT industry has filled the gap of innovation and technology talent during the crisis.
- Better cost management and budget-friendly: The shift from work from the office to work from home has saved companies costs at many levels such as equipment, electricity, rental fees, and many others. This cost now can be used for other investments like in technology advancement or business-oriented ideas.
- More productivity and higher revenue: With the reduction of external disturbances of the workplace have reduced the stress from the employees. The employees of the IT industry are working efficiently from home as they are in the comfort zones that allow them to work faster with fewer inaccuracies. An increase in productivity means an increase in revenue for the company.
Disadvantages of COVID-19 for the IT Industry in India:
Despite having multiple advantages of Covid19 in the IT industry there are disadvantages like it’s difficult to handle too many projects at a time or not technically feasible or available to complete tasks from remote locations.
The other challenges that the IT industry have been facing due to the pandemic are:
- Miscommunications: For the IT industry it is essential for software developers to communicate effectively for innovation and any miscommunication can heavily lead to waste of money and time. Due to technical problems or lack of proper internet service can lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings among employees.
- Lack of technical knowledge: There are a number of employees in the IT industry who do not know how to work online or handle multiple software at the same time and for that companies have to give them proper training about technical knowledge.
- Redesign supply chain: This lockdown has reshaped people’s mood, taste, likes, and dislikes and they ensure double protection. So, to meet the new demands of consumers, companies have to redesign their way of working.
- Lack of advanced technology: It’s time for the IT industry in India to bring new advanced analytics technology or applications that can help reduce bias, or help in growth opportunities for the industry.
- WFH is not compatible for everyone: Not every employee has the perfect place to work and they are not able to arrange a working setup at home. To remove any error, software developers have to do proper discussion with other team members which is not possible from home as there will be constant disturbances.
Conclusion –
These are some points that prove the COVID-19 has brought benefits as well as some drawbacks for the IT industry and its employees. Despite the negative impact of corona on the Indian economy, many international organizations have said that this pandemic has created other extraordinary opportunities that were never known before to run the world’s biggest ever workplace environment.