Covid-19 accelerated a digital transformation which was already underway. Experiencing constant investment growth in its IT sector, the technologically savvy and properly educated Indian workforce is pulling its weight.
Retailers Need to Plan Ahead
Many businesses were caught off guard by the coronavirus pandemic and went unprepared into the first lockdown of Spring 2020. Physical distancing merely meant, for others, that they had to speed up their digital transformation, shifting almost completely their revenue-generating operations online.
This, for the top global retail chains and some of the most recognisable brands, translates to increased tech presence behind the scenes, big investment and lots of job creation into their tech arms. US companies lead the way, with Target doubling its Bengaluru operations to over 6,000 personnel, while Walmart passed 5,000. Other notable brands include JCPenney, Victoria’s Secret and Lowe’s, with their tech support departments offering numerous new positions in marketing, technology and in-house engineering, as well as finance, marketing and supply chain. Retailers are also hunting for talent in real-time analytics and demand forecasting, among others.
Nasscom, the national software association, reports currently around 70 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) all over India employing over 70,000 people. Many were added this year, including Ikea and H&M. Others, such as PepsiCo or Wells Fargo, expanded significantly. Cumulative investment in GCCs is reported at nearly USD 2 billion.
The country looks like it will be able to capitalise on the sustainable and rapid digitisation trend, becoming one of the big global beneficiaries of technology works this requires.
Media and Entertainment Already Online
Other economic sectors – such as Entertainment and Media outlets – had already made this step, mostly in the past couple of years. Yet, they also need to strengthen their operational capacity, as demand for quality entertainment content keeps rising, while India has passed half a billion active internet users.
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Global OTT streaming giants Netflix and Amazon Prime Video were joined by newcomers in the niche which became rapidly popular, such as Watch2gether and Alt Balaji. Search volumes show that demand for such digital content has roughly doubled, making their back-office support teams ever more important and in need of expansion.
Digital Giants Line Up
Indeed, US tech giants seem to have started quickly and efficiently filling the void left by their Chinese counterparts. While Amazon kicked-off the year with a “modest” USD 1 billion investment in small and medium businesses as a support for their capacity to sell and operate online, Jeff Bezos was vocal in defining the 21st Century the “Indian Century”.
Outdoor events and entertainment have dried up, physical retail outlets have been open only intermittently. However, giants such as Google, Facebook, Intel, Qualcomm and Netflix have already invested more than USD 20 billion in the flourishing Indian tech-support market. Google has made Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries its main 4G and 5G phone development partner in India, buying into Jio Platforms with USD 4.5 billion.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is not alone in this drive. India’s workforce is praised for its wide array of skills in AI, Machine Learning and data sciences, enabling efficient technological and product management support at all levels. If investor faith is something to go by, it should not be long before the Indian economy gets that feeling of an actual revival.
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