The economic environment continues to be tough and enterprises will have to learn to live with it and become flexible enough to deal with the new changes. This is the message that comes out of the NIIT stable. The statements are backed by confidence and that comes from its robust third quarter results. The service provider has posted an increase of 34 percent in net profits and 44 percent in revenues as compared to the last financial year. Strong numbers indeed, and that at a time when the global economy presents a bleak picture.

What could have driven growth in this tough phase? When situations become tough it is more natural for enterprises to look for better services. “If you are able to offer your clients what they are looking for, you will be able to find opportunities” says Arvind Thakur, CEO, NIIT. It is a combination of factors that works. The company saw demand coming from almost all verticals, especially the Travel and Transport sector that has contributed most to its revenues this time. The BFSI space, like in the past, continues to hold its prominence. Thakur believes that this space is booming with opportunities and service providers will have to develop deep domain expertize in this area to make use of the opportunity.

Things are fast changing and that means a change in the preferences of buyers too. What is the new wishlist for 2012? Budget pressures are mounting, so the focus on cost will remain. But a balance of cost savings and transformation is what clients are looking for. Service providers who can offer that will have the edge. “You have to show them that you can add value to their businesses” he says. Analytics, mobility and cloud will top enterprises’ list of focus areas.

Arvind Mehrotra, President, Asia Pacific, NIIT, also had a similar view. He pointed out that organizations will be moving to business IT and will look for innovations that can help transform their business. There are lots of uncertainties prevailing all around. This can be attributed to the economic environment and natural disasters like the earthquake in Japan and the floods in Thailand. "It is very important for businesses to guard against such happenings by investing in emergency and continuacy plans, he says."

EMEA Still Remains Hot
In terms of geographies, NIIT believes that Europe and Middle East & Africa are going to play a significant role. Considering the fact that the economies in the EMEA are reeling under recessionary fears, there are also likely to be increased challenges in dealing in these regions. To this he replies, “Every location has its challenges. But if you are able to overcome that, you can gain that competitive edge.” The APAC region too is going to be significant. Especially the government organizations are expected to show increased dependence on outsourced services.

The Picture Ahead 
The uncertainty in the macro economic environment is likely to be there. The Euro Zone is still in trouble, though there is some improvement in the US. There seems to be no respite from the debt crisis and that means the chances of a recession cannot be completely ruled out. What does this mean for the service providers and the buyers? Service providers will have to build up capabilities specific to different verticals and  be able to help their clients transform their businesses. Enterprises need to form partnerships with service providers that can offer a long-term strategic value, at the best possible cost.