US$37b Marketing Opportunity For Indian Tech Industry, says Nasscom Chief

In the first ever assessment of opportunities for the Indian technology industry resulting from the emergence of digital technologies, National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) and SapientNitro today announced the launch of a research report titled ‘Marketing, Disrupted: Opportunities for the Indian technology industry’. The report finds that there will be USD 37 billion of CMO opportunity for the Indian technology industry by 2020, 17% of which will be purely creative in nature. Also, the spend on digital marketing is expected to grow from current 8% to at least 35% of the total CMO spend by 2020. The rising interest in outsourcing creative marketing work and digital marketing opportunity are contributing to the huge addressable CMO market.

R. Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM said, “Digital technologies are creating disruption in areas beyond those under the purview of the CIO. Clearly, new opportunities for Indian technology players are opening up, opportunities that demand closer coordination with new stakeholders in businesses and modify their services to address new kinds of needs.  Technology players must review and streamline their services and offer customized solutions for modern business to make the most of the new opportunity.”

The report, the first of its kind, analyses the disruption caused by the rise of digital technologies in marketing and its implications for the Indian technology industry. It attempts to prepare this industry to leverage this opportunity by delivering value to the new stakeholder – the Chief Marketing Officer. Marketers are actively participating in decision making related to technology. A significant 34% of the marketers surveyed cited new tools/technology investment as one of the key concern areas.

“Over the past few years, SapientNitro has been at the center of the massive transformation in the brand-consumer space, caused by the emergence of the digitally empowered consumer. We are delighted to have partnered with NASSCOM in defining this new opportunity for the Indian technology industry. We believe this report will mark an inflection point in the evolution of the industry as it offers compelling insights into the current disruption in the marketplace as well as the way forward for industry participants," said Rajdeep Endow, Managing Director, Sapient, India.

The report envisages a strategic direction for Indian technology companies to streamline their services and products roadmap, in sync with the current requirements of CMOs by looking at the holistic picture, building in-house capabilities and forging seamless and symbiotic relationships with marketing agencies. Further, the report also prescribes recommendations for global brands to remain relevant, connected and competitive in the new world.

Additional Highlights from the Report:

*  Technology share in CMO budget is increasing

*  Over 50% CMOs said spend on digital marketing and brand building will grow between 5 and 10% over the next 12 months

*  Over 70% CMOs find that their role in the CIO spends is growing.

*   17% of the estimated USD 37 billion opportunity for the Indian Technology Industry will be creative in nature.

*  Creative services alone is estimated to create an impressive 1,00,000 job market by 2020

*  8% of global CMOs surveyed have ventured into outsourcing and are already engaged with Indian technology providers for creative work, while an impressive 38% respondents are currently weighing the idea of outsourcing creative work.