12-14% industry growth possible this year, says Zensar chief

The IT industry can hope for a better year this year. Former Nasscom Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Zensar Technologies Ganesh Natarajan said the industry is better placed this year to achieve 12-14 per cent growth rate. “I see no reason why it cannot achieve that figure. The US and Europe that constitute about 90 per cent of the IT exports from India are doing well.
Though China and Japan have slowed down, I see double digit growth this year,” Ganesh Natarajan said. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has projected a growth rate of 12-14 per cent for 2013-14. The growth rate had sunk to single digit last year, owing to global slowdown.
NEW AREAS Addressing reporters on the sidelines of the annual HR Summit of ITsAP (IT industry association of Andhra Pradesh) here, he said 30 per cent of revenues would from the new areas such as social, mobility and analytics. “The remaining 70 per cent would still come from support and enhancement services,” he said. He said the industry was in better shape than any other year in the last four years. Currency (appreciation of dollar) is helping too. He, however, said the companies should have a right hedging strategy to insulate from the currency fluctuations.
ACQUISITION PLAN On the plan to acquire a firm, he said the company appointed an investment banker in New York to pursue the deal. “It could be in the areas of SAP expertise or in the digital enterprise area. The deal size could be around $25 million,” he said. He, however, has not indicated any timeline for the acquisition. “The last acquisition we made was three years ago. And it has been fully integrated now,” he said. The company, which has 7,000 employees, is planning to recruit 550 people this year.