The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : ‘India producing only hi-tech coolies’

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Sunday, Jan 20, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

‘India producing only hi-tech coolies’

Photo: S. Siva Saravanan

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“In India we have been manufacturing only hi-tech coolies but not good engineers who can produce own IT products,” N. Ram Subramani, Founder President of the Maples Essem Technologies Pvt. Ltd, laments. An alumnus of Suburban Higher Secondary School, Ramnagar, Coimbatore, he has the enterprising spirit to establish this institution, which promises ‘complete IT solutions’.

He explains to G. Satyamurty why his company has chosen the task of providing “high-end IT training services” after inaugurating the 12th branch of his institution at Coimbatore recently.

“This IT infrastructure and applications solutions consultancy company is born out of the dire necessity that India faces thanks to our worthless curriculum,” he laments.

He points out the ‘priority’ accorded to RIM (Remote Infrastructure Management) by top 50 companies in the world. RIM deals with operating systems, data base network, IT security and storage management and could be even described as “data system management”. Using RIM it would be easy to manage companies across the world as it would help attend to specialised and critical jobs . “Interdependence of the three (operating systems, data base network, security and storage management) becomes business critical” for which companies are prepared to go all out.

This particular sphere alone, which deals mainly with the critical functions, has 55 billion dollar worth opportunities as against our total software industry earning 50 billion dollar in 2007 which is expected to go up to 70 billion dollars in 2008. Mr. Ram Subramani lays a road map for the rosy path that is ahead if Indians are ready to go in for RIM whole hog.

He explains how. “As far as this sphere is concerned, there is no end date (as in the case of software development projects). Hence it is an annuity business which means once I win a customer contract, I keep on working.”

While this ‘annuity model’ could prove a boon lifelong, integration of all the sectors of the IT applications matters a lot. According to him, the ‘bench cost’ (workers waiting for assignment of projects) even in the top Indian companies could prove a killer as “applications software has reached a plateau. I regret to see that the companies that have been charging $ 35 per hour are prepared to undertake the work even for $ nine an hour because of the huge bench cost.”

He points out that some of the Indian IT companies that have understood the importance of RIM (which is nothing but Global Technical Support services) have improved their earning in this sphere, which might cross one billion dollars by April this year. From applications, the industry is now moving on to ‘virtualisation’ for which a “multi-focussed operating systems is a must and our company is at it.”

He asserts “RIM and virtualisation is the future” and a global level company has introduced “service-oriented architecture” which will help virtualisation. Though RIM could employ as much as four lakh people, colleges, universities and even the AICTE have no idea how to prepare their wards in this regard. Their awareness regarding RIM is very low and whatever infrastructure we have in the portals of education are very obsolete.

“They should invest in infrastructure (which is a costly affair).”

Explaining the importance given to adequate infrastructure in the US, he says that otherwise they would not get the licence there. His main worry is that Indian engineers are not becoming ‘market ready’. “None teaches them enterprise-based computing (E-computing) in this country and that is the saddest part. All that we do is PC-based computing. You spend at least Rs. 4 lakh for your engineering education here and is it not possible for these institutions to impart E-computing?”

Among the Fortune 500 companies at least 95 per cent have E-computing.

Hence, all the Indian companies have to go in for training their staff which adds to their cost. Mr. Subramani regrets that we are not creating our own products because our technology is only basic PC computing and none is taught at E-level.

He pleads for giving as much importance to “systems management” as given to “application programs” at present.

Explaining why even global companies recruit Indians, he says, “It is because we are brilliant at working level whereas the engineers from countries like the US are brilliant at designing level. However our skill level is comparatively poor in designing .”

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