Although Budget 2008-09 has been extremely frustrating to the Indian IT community, as far as the pace of IT revolution in this country is concerned it will remain undeterred owing to the convergence of IT, Electronics and Telecom.
Even a flippant view on the ongoing events presents a bright picture of the future as far as the Indian IT channel is concerned. A good number of products in the fields of entertainment, education, communication, security and mobility will find huge demand in the market in the days to come.
Introduction of High Definition videos on a mass scale is on the cards today. Demand for HD ROMs, players and writers will gradually grow. Blu-ray products are already available here. Although a little costly at the moment, the technology is gaining in popularity owing to its quality of creating altogether a new viewing experience among the entertainment lovers, and obviously its market is growing.
Mobile TV is no longer a far-off proposition. Thus, growth in the hand-held sector is also very obvious. Besides high-definition mobile phones, a large number of ‘entertainment on the go’ kind of products will hit the market shortly.
Several specialized wireless routers with enhanced security features are on their way to market. With the growing threat in this arena, these products too will gain popularity. Also, with the growing acceptance of unified communications platforms, mobility routers will see a great demand.
IT is creating its own space in the education sector very rapidly. In the coming days, there will be complete ‘ClassroomAnywhere’ kind of gadgets that will enjoy huge demand. IBM has just announced its success in delivering Phase-3 of EDU-SAT satellite based education program comprising over 100 hours of live lectures transmitted to over 120 schools in Karnataka. This type of transmission will be very common in future. Obviously, like FM radios some niche products for this segment are also awaiting their entry in the market.
Thus, our channel partners have to gear up to embrace the digital lifestyle. The definition of digital lifestyle is very wide, contrary to the common perception of a few modified PCs, PC components, music systems, flat screen TVs and so on. Any product that is capable of transforming human lifestyle to a better (or higher) level falls in this category. For the channel partners, the need of the hour is Get Ready, Set and Go.