INDIANSclearly top the pop charts in the US software industry. Microsoft is protesting impending changes in USimmigration laws, expected to make it more difficult for American companies to bring in foreign nationals on working visas. Says Microsoft CEO Bill Gates: "We have a strong position against the immigration bills, because they make it difficult to hire foreign workers and build teams."
But why are Indians so highly in demand as software developers? Microsoft PR chief for India, Ronee Dunn, traces it to the Indian schooling system, which, she feels, is better than in the US. Harish Naidu is more cynical. US companies prefer Indians because, he says, they imply "low management overheads" compared to equally talented Americans.
But surely there's more to it than just economics? "Indians have traditionally been strong in logic, abstraction and analytical thinking. Software development needs these strengths," says Srini Rajam, managing director, Texas Instruments India, Bangalore. Texas Instruments was among the first global software giants to set up subsidiaries in India's silicon valley to tap local talent. V. Chandrasekaran, president, Wipro Systems, feels a basic talent for numbers and mathematics is in the Indian 'genes' and this receives a thrust from the cutthroat competition at the university level. He also feels that the lack of career opportunities helps in channelising "the cream of talent in the country into professions like engineering".
Vikram Shah, MD, Novell Software Development India, also speaks of a"heavy math kind of an orientation, logic and commitment'' in the Indian genes. "Lots of technology-oriented professionals are taking to software. A chemical or an aeronautical engineer can get into software development with six months' training." Shah points out that a giant like Tata Consultancy Services recruits about 700 engineers every year for its software division. "These are electronics engineers, electrical engineers and engineers from every other branch who have the level of intellect and aptitude to become software developers."
Shah and Chandrasekaran, however, feel that the growth of the Indiansoftware developer is being stunted due to a lack of basic development tools. "Everything from seating arrangements, testing labs, availability of computers, quality of communication facilities makes a difference," says Shah. An engineer in the US would have at least two computers on his table while his Indian counterpart would have to make do with one and depend on a common facility for testing. "You can't expect a software engineer to blossom with all these power cuts," says Chandrasekaran.
But if the new US laws come into force, many software firms, including Microsoft, will simply set up more software development centres abroad. Says Yusuf Mehdi: "If the law gets tough, the strategy might be to set up development groups for different products in the subsidiaries, like the ones we already have in Canada and France and, who knows, possibly even India."
