Business Today Net Special

The Standards Game

Realising that the simplest way to tap global markets for emerging technologies is to be part of consortia that define standards, companies like DCM Technologies, Hughes Software Systems, Sasken Communications and HCL technologies have gone ahead and done just that.

By Ashutosh Sinha

It is a smarter way to make your presence felt in the right quarters. Smarter, since the services-oriented Indian IT companies have taken too long to grab the attention of the CIOs and CTOs. A group of Indian software companies - Wipro, HCL Technologies, Sasken, Hughes Software, DCM Technologies - are actively participating in discussions on emerging communication standards, with the early results already showing now. The numbers are small now but more will surely be added with every passing day, as companies seek to develop niche areas for themselves.

The standard bodies are essentially the playground where the big daddies of the industry debate, haggle, discuss and finally arrive at a solution for emerging technologies, that is acceptable to all of them. For example, the cellular service industry has AMPS standard in the US, GSM in Europe and Asia and PTS in Japan. But to ensure that a call made from the GSM network can connect with the PTS or the AMPS network, there is a need to have a common standard at the heart of the system. That is what the standard bodies strive to achieve. Most of these bodies are staffed by senior executives from the large companies or their representatives, which immediately helps a small company to get noticed if it is doing the right things.

The advantage of getting into the bodies is that it helps companies to develop early relationships with its customers. "A lot of knowhow about key aspects of business is exchanged (at these fora). It is like an evangelising role, which creates business for everybody," says G. Venkatesh, Chief Strategist at Saksen Communications, which is actively participating 3G standards and several other bodies.

Being actively involved with the DSL standards body earlier, Sasken came into Intel's gaze, which subsequently invested in the company. But that is only one part of the story. The unstated advantage is the understanding that it gives for emerging business opportunities.

"When you are tracking standards closely, the interpretations - which can be critical - are understood in the right perspective. Active participation can also help you to build the right business relationships," says Alok Nath Dey of Hughes Software, who is the part of the 150-member International Multimedia Telecommunications Consortium. Hughes is a member of several standards bodies under the International Telecommunications Union.

But having an access to these advantages is not a child's a play. They don't come easy and cheap. For example, to join the WAP Forum, each member actively participating in the discussions has to cough up $27,000 annually. And that is just one of the dozens of bodies that discuss emerging technologies. Other fora like the emerging 3G standard's 3GPP have multi-level memberships which charge differential rates depending on the level of activity of the members.

But merely becoming members of these bodies is not enough. Government-owned institutions like C-DoT have done that in the past. Till a company can contribute to the emerging standards, it will be tough to translate the knowledge gained at these fora into a business advantage. "Academic institutions have been part of these bodies but have not converted this into a business advantage," says Venkatesh.

Not that the present crop of Indian companies are yet ready to drive emerging standards. But the first step, which is now showing results, having been taken, a giant leap should not be far away.

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