THE HINDU

IT has changed perceptions about women: Kiran Karnik

Kiran Karnik

IT industry has been at the forefront in bringing many positive changes in the Indian society, including shaping a favourable change in the perception about women as contributors to the economy, and their improved importance in the family and society, said Kiran Karnik, former President of NASSCOM.

Delivering the third Foundation Day Lecture of the ICFAI University on “Information Technology: India’s Tomorrow for Business and the Economy”, he said the IT sector was also instrumental in creating a highly confident and hopeful generation of Indian youth” said Mr. Karnik.

He recalled several instances where the Indian IT industry has withstood the challenges and continued its successful journey as a major provider of IT services in the world by reinventing itself constantly. It has successfully moved from the stage when the application, development and maintenance business formed the bread and butter, to a stage where it has embraced innovation as a source of differentiation.

New competitors

For IT professionals, he said, keeping abreast of the changing technologies and remaining relevant in the job market is an important challenge. For organisations, he identified several trends which could pose a challenge. These include the emergence of new competitors like China for IT outsourcing, emergence of new technologies like cloud computing, and automation of software development, which demands the organizations to restructure their approach to business.

In memory of the ICFAI Founder, late N.J. Yasaswy a book titled Maneeshi was released and a special photography exhibition also was organised depicting the pictures of various stages of his journey towards fulfilling his dream in setting up world-class universities in the countr
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