Blog: Opportunity does not knock twice

Sunday, 30 August 2020

Opportunity does not knock twice

And , it certainly does not – even once, beg permission to enter your office!

Context :

Working Group to Push Remote Working in IT,ITes / 29 Aug 2020

Extract :

Ø This working group is under the larger inter-ministerial group set up by the Ministry of Electronics and IT , which has been coordinating with other ministries including telecom, labour and commece to bring in largescale reforms to boost the work from home model

Ø The industry has sought for streamlining laws that will enable it to not just work from home but also from anywhere

Ø In the context of work from anywhere, the industry requires technologically agnostic solutions for connectivity. The current rules require VPN connectivity , but the industry should be allowed to use any technology as long as it is secure

Ø …. Agents should be allowed to connect with the local service of the OSP without first getting into the physical OSP cloud connectivity centre

Ø There are other issues such as mandatory location reporting , which may have to be revised if the employees are given the choice to work from anywhere

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From a meagre export of, under $ 100 million in mid ‘80s , how did our IT / ITes industry manage to reach export of $ 190 BILLION , last year ?

Because someone in the Central Government took the following bold / out-of-box decisions to UNSHACKLE the industry :

Ø Anyone can import computers

I remember that, in 1982, when the company that I worked for, wanted to import a main-frame computer, we had to ask DOE ( Department of Electronics ) to issue an advertisement ( tender ) at our cost . DOE, even decided what configuration was best for us, by changing the specifications we wrote !

We could not advertise on our own ! Offers were received / evaluated by DOE and negotiations with the suppliers were also conducted by DOE ( we were allowed to join the negotiating team but with little say in the matter ! ).

Ø Any private company / individual can carry-out “ After Sales Service “ of imported computers

At one time, CMC ( Computer Maintenance Corporation of India / a Government of India undertaking ) had the ABSOLUTE MONOPOLY of maintaining all the computers imported from abroad (even if owned by private-sector companies). No private party can do this !

Ø Any IT company can export SOFTWARE directly ( bypassing any Govt agency ) , using leased lines from telephone companies

A few decades ago, when Indian companies started getting foreign orders for development of software, they were COMPELLED to route their exports, only through VSNL ( I believe one had to handover to VSNL, a CD / HARD DISK , loaded with the code ! ). Reason ? Some govt babu believed that IT companies were under-invoicing !

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Today, VPs of Indian IT companies constituting the “ Working Group “- would laugh at the above-mentioned “ Reforms “ !

But, it is possible that the IT Companies around the World, are right now laughing at the plight of Indian IT / ITes companies, who must BEG the government to UNSHACKLE them from ALL rules / regulations, which come in the way of :

Ø Working from Home

Ø Working from Anywhere

Dear Shri RaviShankar Prasadji,

This is no time ( considering the urgency to revive the Economy ) to ask IT / ITes industry :

“ Which rules / regulations, do you want ditched / deleted ? “

This is the time to tell the industry :

“You have to export $ 500 billion by 2024

Now write down your own policy and go ahead “

Policies such as the following RPG Remote Working Policy , where Chairman Harsh Goenka says :

“Our new work from home policy shatters the notion of traditional workspace and productivity and has turned it on its head.

Employees who are not operating machines in our manufacturing businesses or do not have a client obligation in our technology services business, can work from ANYEHERE even after the pandemic is behind us.

It aligns with our vision tenet of touching lives and brand promise of happiness “

( source : All RPG sales staff can now WFH permanently / 31 Aug 2020 )

It is time to ditch the “ Incremental Reforms “

It is time to take bold / out-of-box decisions, listed in my following 16 earlier emails :