The event started with a panel discussion on the topic ‘Attractiveness of the Indian Industry for the IT sector: Expectations of the Indian Industries from the IT sector’. The IT sector was represented by Mr. Rajagopal Tampi, Vice President, Mphasis/EDS and Mr. Jaijit Bhattachrya, Director, Govt. Strategy, Sun Microsystems while Mr. MD Agrawal, Chief Manager, IS Refinery System, BPCL and Dr. Phatak, HOD KReSIT talked on behalf of the IT user in the industry. The discussion brought forward aspects like the concentration of current IT players more on the global markets and India being not mature enough to value quality and complexity of IT services. But all of them converged on the view that IT is of utmost importance for any business to grow and remain competent.

Next in line was the keynote address by Padmabhushan Dr. F.C.Kohli, former Deputy Chairman, TCS, recognized as the Father of Indian IT industry. He emphasized on the need for localization of the computer languages used for the 900 million Indians who are not exposed to English education. Mr. Kohli highlighted those sectors of Indian Industry which are still not using/ tapping the potential of IT like power loom industry, retail sector etc. He underlined the importance of effectiveness over efficiency. The difference between them, he explained, is that efficiency is the ratio of just the output to input whereas effectiveness is the ratio of potential output to input. After an hour long session, Mr. Kohli ended the speech with a resounding statement for an enchanted audience
“Don’t get deterred by constraints. Learn how to avoid them or bypass them. Success would be yours.”

Mr. Rajdeep Saharawat, Vice President, NASSCOM, addressed the audience on the topic ‘Challenges for Indian IT industry in targeting Bottom of pyramid’. According to him, in the existing structure of the Indian IT industry, the IT firms are catering to the needs of the large firms, which are few hundreds in strength and belong to the top of the pyramid. He emphasized that in order to tap the under-served small scale industries, the IT industry must show interest in the segment and create and service the capacity to address growing consumption.

The paper presentation contest, held as a part of the Systems Continuum 2007, received a huge response from top business schools across the country. After preliminary evaluation four teams, one each from IIM Banglore, FMS Delhi, NITIE and IIT Madras, were shortlisted for delivering presentation on the day of the event. With the retail sector booming, it wasn’t surprising that of the four entries shortlisted, three entries were related to the attractiveness of retail sector while one examined the education sector. Professor Rajendra Sonar, Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, Mr. Rajesh Mehta, HR from IBM, the title sponsor of the event and Mr. Harish Bhinde, Head BFSI vertical of NewGen, the associate sponsors, constituted the panel of judges. Teams from FMS and IIT Madras shared the first prize of Rs 15000.

A case study workshop was conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) which received an enthusiastic response from the students of various B Schools. The four shortlisted teams presented their case analysis, which was followed by a comprehensive solution by Mr. Himanshu Gupta, Principal Consultant, PWC. The session was highly interactive and informative with Mr. Gupta addressing IT related doubts of the students.

The event ended with a talk by Rakesh Kumar Rai, Architect, Infrastructure Solutions, ASEAN/SA, IBM India Pvt. Ltd followed by the valedictory address and Prize Distribution Ceremony.

Systems Continuum 2007, which was supported by NASSCOM and sponsored by IBM (title) and Newgen (associate), was a huge success, appreciated by one and all.