05-11-2012, 03:59 PM
Software Industry in India
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The software industry has become the driving force in the IT industry. It is ideally suited to India as it demands highly skilled manpower, it has no undesirable environmental side effects, it has grown rapidly and unlike "capital intensive and low skilled industries", investment in this industry is not easily displaceable.
It was in the 70's that the computer as a productivity tool started proliferating in the Indian industries scene. But it was only by mid 80's that the forecasters, analysts and Indian government policy planners began to understand the potential of the Indian talent in computer software. The realization led to the formulation of the computer software policy in 1986. The economists began to analyze the potential of the Indian software industry. It would they said, be one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy and provide high quality employment for young people. It would earn significant revenue from exports and would be a highly desirable industry, as it required skilled manpower, few raw materials and was not any way damaging to the environment.
Over the past years a number of trends have emerged in the software industry worldwide. On the technical side, the use of Graphical User Interface (GUI's), the Object Oriented Programming (OOPs) techniques, the Client/Server computing has grown in packaged software and the use of software development methodologies.
The rise of Object Oriented Programming stems from the complexity of old systems. These demand a new approach to be taken to their development process, rather than building one giant block. It is more manageable and more secure to build a series of smaller modules and then link them together. This approach simplifies both the development and maintenance of systems but it demands languages that are suited to this module building concept. Suitable Object Oriented Programming languages such as VC++, Visual Basic, Java etc. have gained widespread acceptance.
Client/Server computing is a technique in which application is shared between a desktop "client" and one or more network attached "servers". The power of today's desktop computer allow them to be used for corporate information processing, particularly when they are networked together.
Introducing Software Industry.
Just as coal and steel were the essential ingredients in the Industrial revolution, Information Technology drives the modern economy. It is necessary for every sector: for agriculture, manufacturing, for services. It pervades our lives: microprocessor controlled domestic appliances, telecommunications, air traffic control, computer controlled traffic lights and train reservation, banking and financial services, business administration, education, health care, entertainment etc.
The information Services industry cannot therefore be considered as a separate sector, in isolation from the rest of the economy. It forms a strategically important part of the national infrastructure which is disproportionate to that suggested by the absolute numbers employed. Our Information Services or Information Technology capability is both a measure and also a determinant of our economic health and future prospects.
The software industry has become the driving force in the IT Industry. It is ideally suited to India as it is people intensive, it demands highly skilled young people, it has no undesirable environmental side effects, it is growing rapidly and unlike capital intensive - low skilled industries, investment in this industry is not easily displaced.
Success Strategy
For software companies to be successful, either in the export market or the domestic segment, the four critical factors for success are: Money, Marketing, Management and Manpower.
Manpower:
All developed countries are facing shortage of trained computer manpower. This shortage is becoming acute due to continuous changes in technology and the advent of newer trends in software development such as client/server architecture, object oriented programming etc. This is therefore, an opportunity for India, not only to create the numbers but also quality of people experienced and trained in these technologies.
Money:
Most software companies find it extremely difficult to source seed money or venture capital, In the past years, the position has been getting progressively worse. The result is that most companies start off undercapitalized and have to rely on loans or overdraft facilities to provide working capital. This approach forces them to generate revenue in the short term, rather than investing in product development. The day-to-day realities of the companies is dominant by the need to generate cash and the entire development strategy of the companies may be compromised to satisfy the bank's requirements.
Marketing and Development Procedures.
Marketing Procedures: Collection of users data, Contact suspected users, Analyze suspected users data, make a prospect list, finalize work order, Lead work orders to the development team.
Development life cycle:
Project management, configuration management, data collection.
Development Process:
Requirement analysis, Specification analysis, System & software design, Implement and testing, Operation and maintenance.
Requirement phase:
A through study of the user is needed in order to confirm that the proposed development of a software entirely meets the user requirements. No coding, drafting or designing exists at the initial stage. When an user must be treated like a king, in a way users helps developers to understand the requirements perfectly. Then make sure that the user requirements are properly understood, analyzed and documented during software requirement specification (SRS) phase. An experienced person must accompany the development team to share his judgmental views. If requirement specification is not properly understood, documented incorrectly or inadequately, crucial requirements may get omitted during the analysis process, it might cause defects in the requirement analysis test that might cause frustration during development process or after the software has been delivered. As a result such misunderstandings must increase the production cost, wastage, bad will etc. A standard format must be prepared to understand the software requirement specification phase.