IT services trade body Nasscom, on Monday, constituted a software product council to promote the fledgling industry - a move that reflects the growing demand from smaller product companies for better representation.
The product council was set up on the recommendations of an expert committee headed by Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, which, in turn, had been set up to focus on ‘restructuring’ Nasscom to make it more relevant in a dynamic IT environment.
According to a press release, the Nasscom Product Council will be headed by Ravi Guraj, Chairman, Frictionless Ventures.
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Earlier this year, nearly 30 Nasscom members had formed a separate think tank (iSpirit) to further develop the software products industry in the country, with several smaller tech companies saying it was necessary as their interests had been neglected.
The newly formed Nasscom council, however, has now been given a revenue mandate of $10 billion by 2020. It will also adopt a six pillar engagement that will enhance branding, market access, product design and the enablement of product solutions in India.
It is unclear, at this point, whether the objectives and interests of iSpirit and the Nasscom-backed product council will clash.
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“I firmly believe that product companies and start-ups are the next growth engines for the industry. We believe Ravi and his team are committed to do the right things. With their support and vision for the product industry, the ecosystem will expand significantly,” said Krishnakumar Natarajan, Chairman, Nasscom, in a statement.
Other members of the team will include Girish Mathrubootham of Freshdesk, Manav Garg of Eka Software and Kishore Mandyam of Impel.
“I strongly believe that the product sector is at an exciting inflection point. I look forward to working with a group of accomplished entrepreneurs who make up the council and all product ecosystem stakeholders pan-India,” said Mr. Gururaj, Chair, Nasscom Product Council.