Forget disruptive tech, IT firms face disruption

Thiruvananthapuram: A young IT professional, who recently joined a multinational company in Technopark, was waiting for his six-month probation period to end to get deployed on a new project. Little did he know that the spread of the coronavirus pandemic would impact his company, which has now asked most of its probationary staff to quit. Before he could realize what was happening, he was back in a job market full of uncertainties.
IT companies have now started handing out pink slips or announced salary cuts.The industry is bracing for a bumpy ride ahead. The spread of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown has forced companies to brush up on their contingency plans.
“Overseas clients of some leading service-based IT firms in the state are among the worst affected. One example is the airline industry. With most flights grounded and the sector grinding to a standstill, IT firms working on projects for carriers are in deep trouble,” sources said.
Travel and hospitality projects too are badly affected. “On the flip side, there is a boom in projects related to healthcare, life sciences and grocery retail,” they said.
The situation is proving challenging with some clients demanding change of plans. A team from a Technopark-based company that was working on a project for the US-based real estate firm was made to add a new component – a virtual tour – so that ongoing restrictions won’t affect business.
Senior executives of US-based firm Way.com expect the postcoronavirus scenario, itself, to drive disruption in the sector. Balagopal K S, senior director and head, India engineering centre of Way.com, said keeping multiple business verticals helps in managing disruptions. “We are market leaders in the US for booking parking lots. With restrictions in place due to Covid-19, this sector is witnessing a major slump. Meanwhile, there is leap in business in our other vertical – dining – as more people were opting for home delivery,” Balagopal said.
Though internet connectivity and bandwidth issues were addressed by CM Pinarayi Vijayan, ahead of the lockdown, IT professionals opined that the very issues are affecting ‘work from home’ scenario thrown up by the crisis.
However, an employee of an MNC working from home said there was no question of lesser productivity as the employees are working extra hours. “Now we have to be available for meetings or respond to mails at odd hours,” said an IT professional.
Alexander Varghese, chief operating officer, UST Global, suggested technology intervention to manage issues of working from home. "With remote work comes less control. It is next to impossible for firms to manage and track everything that remote employees do. These aspects can be tackled with the help of technology," said Varghese.