Technology: the key to growth and competitiveness

In a survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), 65 percent of the India executives identified investment in technology as the primary means to improve competitiveness. Furthermore, the survey suggested that this investment in technology was also the most important environmental factor influencing growth.

The future investments in IT, according to the interviewed executives, will focus on:

"Integration of business systems and processes for improved collaboration internally and externally (74%)

• CRM/Customer Service (74%)
• Sales and Marketing (72%)
• Improved efficiency (30%)

The survey comprised 76 executives from India. Respondents include people from all the sectors with 30 percent from Manufacturing and the remaining 70 from services.

The EIU expects that India's GDP will grow at 6.1% in 2004. And, efficiency of operations is where IT is expected to have the greatest impact on revenue growth in the next 12 to 18 months.

- Mumbai Bureau