SOFTWARE BOUND: SIs Find A New Cash Cow

System Integrator's traditional job has been that of a facilitator that
fulfills the requirements of technical environs. This traditional equation of
being just a fulfillment agency is set to change in these times. Reasons are
ample and they substantiate this new wave of becoming not only the fulfillment
agency but becoming a service provider that adds on the value to the solutions
delivered.

NO DELIBERATE MOVES

While speaking to various SIs who have started their own software
development divisions, it comes across that this decision is not a deliberate
one. Just that some projects require software integration, and for fulfilling
this requirement, they jump into software development. This seems like a general
trend. Get into software development, if the clients require some software
strings to be developed and then mature into a software developer that can give
competition to the best of the software vendors. This can be a very intuitive
mode of working for these SIs, who are hard pressed to provide service level
differentials from other SIs.

SOFTWARE SWING

So, does it mean that becoming a software developer gives you an edge over
other SIs who have chosen to stick to their traditional mode of working. Not
always. Perhaps, this depends upon the project requirement which could be
different for every customer.

What could perhaps explain the genesis of this software swing is the recent
trend of EAI (Enterprise Application Integration). With companies trying to get
various applications working amongst themselves, SIs have a new role of not only
interconnecting the hardware but also making the various applications interact
between themselves. This new trend has made SIs to have software development
teams that makes this interaction possible.

According to a leading SI, having a software team to produce proprietary
software is not the aim for an SI. It begins with a small step to give the
customer a 360-degree service. And then the production of software that can be
sold individually. Some industry experts might call it a general trend, but when
the total IT industry in India will have about 40-30% SI driven market,
stretching the pie further can be a good exercise for them.

LEADING THE PACK

The SI segment is also rising to the new face of technology that is changing
faster than one can change or gain knowledge on these fronts. Most of the newer
gadgets are also plug-n-play, thus, conventional market place is shrinking. For
SIs, the business models are also coming of ages. They are finding their niche
that provides them with greater value and not to mention differentiation with
the new breed of resellers who are teaming up to be in the SI category.

SHWETA KHANNA