Backyard labs serving global businesses
Indian corporations have a big advantage in adopting digital technologies at a faster pace and cost-effectively, given that most of the globally applicable innovations and solutions are coming out of labs based in the country.
These backyard-based labs, serving the world’s leading business houses, will offer the Indians cost-effective innovations and solutions, on the next-door delivery basis, said Dr Rajiv Aserkar, of SP Jain School of Global Management here today.
But as of now, the Indian corporations are slower in adopting digitization for lack of infrastructure, he pointed out.
India is well placed to manage disruptive technologies with its talented youths showing innovations and new ideas through start-ups, observed Cyrille Witjas, managing director of Accenture Strategy, which has a Centre of Excellence in Bangalore.
India’s “demographic dividend” is not just about more number of workers but about a massive pool of highly skilled, capable and educated workforce entering the active workforce.
“This will be the critical driver supporting the global digital industry and will serve India Inc. very well in times to come,” added Kumud Jha, also a senior executive at Accenture Strategy.
Aserkar, Witjas and Kumud shared their insights on digitization in Southeast Asia and India following the recent release of a joint research study on Digital Supply Chain by SP Jain and Accenture Strategy.
“Though we note the slower pace of digitization technologies by Indian corporations, most of these innovations and solutions are being developed in India are available in their backyards,” Aserkar pointed out during media interaction on 30 July 2018.
Almost all international organizations have set up technology labs in India.
“It is a case of innovative solutions being developed in India while the users are elsewhere in the world,” said Aserkar, who is SP Jain’s Professor of logistics & supply chain management at the Singapore campus.
“Indian corporations need the support of a robust infrastructure – airports, railway network and roads – to adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT),” Aserkar stressed.
Witjas expressed his confidence, saying India is well placed to manage disruptive technologies with its talented youths exhibiting new innovations and new ideas through start-ups on almost daily basis.
“It is the enthusiasm and motivation backed by good quality education,” observed Witjas especially from a wide range of products and innovations being presented by startups at Accenture Strategy’s Centre for Excellence in Bangalore.
Pointing to the digital disruption and fast changing technologies spread across all industries, he stressed on the importance of good education for managing the process of working in the future.
This is where young IT engineers and professionals will have to manage new technologies, he said, adding that technologies will not be taking over every job as it is being widely assumed about future employment prospects.
There would be bigger demand for soft-skill, especially to put together talented teams in managing future jobs, which will be based on Artificial Learning, Machine Learning, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, said Witjas.
“Whatever your profession be, you will have to manage and sell technology,” he said, stressing that human interaction will be required, starting from classroom, even though there is propagation of virtual classroom, to the market place.
The six-month study, “Measuring Digital Supply Chain Maturity”, was based on responses from top management of over 130 companies and launched on 29 June 2018 in Singapore. fiinews.com
