They are calling it Great Depression 2, some of the vocabulary not much heard of like Pink Slips to lay off are doing the rounds in India. While its happening across industries, people and the media always have a fancy to the IT industry. The rumor mills are agog that it has started happening in IT too! The signs are obvious-while the core industries go in on a recessionary mode, how can they spend on IT? The year 2009 looks gloomy for the IT industry with enterprises expected to cut their IT spend. This is really bad news and if we look at the first half of the Fiscal 2008-09, many IT companies just manged to post a top line growth and profitability is taking a hit..and here is where this layoff thing starts.
The latest Satyam Computer episode has shocked everybody in the IT industry and it unravels the true visage of some of the companies which everybody thought is ethical and has high values. Today Satyam is barred by World Bank and facing a top management crises and reports say that Satyam employees are very upset about this...
With IT and the BPO sector being the biggest employer, the slowdown is really a concern for many employed in the industry. The biggest question on everybody's mind is how long it will last. Some say there will be a rebound by end of 2009 but it all depends on Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 when financial year comes to a close..if the companies have sustained their profitability, that itself is a big achievement. The IT companies with Financial services focus will be hit hard...but at the same time there is an element of optimism too, some say the very recession will enable organizations to invest more on IT to operate more effectively..but there is a sense of wide spread gloom across the world with the economy going for a spin.
Lets hope 2009, would give us all the strength to face the adversities both professional and personal and at the end of the next year as we look back,...may be we can say that "It was not really that bad at all, as sometime they say our worst fears are always unwanted".
Happy and a realistic New Year! The dictum wud be Work Hard-Save Hard!
Shrikanth
