T&M Industry in India: Acquisition,Consolidation,FDI and other tidbits!

T&M industry in India has been very interesting phases over the last 40 years or so.It has been having various steps of Concept Development,Channel Acquisition and Distribution metamorphosis and channel disruptions etc.Mainly there has not been much of the indigeneous industry right since the 70s.Only a clutch of the local industries has been at the helm of affairs, names flashing then were Aplab and Motwane et al.So, the onus had been on the MNCs to develop local market.And the task,risk and cost of having direct presence being very high,the idea had been to develop the local associates (from an Agent,Sales Rep,to Distributor)to be a virtual Principal company.

A combination of renowned Principal, and very professional distributor was real lethal those days.Basically the two T&M companies ruled 80percent of organised selling and supporting the India Business.In the late 80s the situation started changing as India had by then a little liberalised and exposed to many modern projects in Aerospace,Defense and Telecom sectors of the Country.More Western and Japanese companies in T&M space started courting Indian market then.New alliances,new business models and local talent hunt dovetailed US returned Professionals.After 1991 the scene was fairly stable in terms of reforms and India started liberalisation approach unidirectionally!

FY2K and post 9/11 the tech world was so much changed and love affair between the Bangalore and the valley reaching crescendo, practically everybody wanted an India backoffice presence.New companies started registering and all T&M companies operating through local subsidiaries and each was pinching the channel created by the other.Most companies were headed by people from HP/Agilent & Acterna/JDSU. Today when we talk of T&M talent acquisition,we seem pretty full and the way companies now can move on is Consolidation, Consolidation and Consolidation.

In next few blogs we will discuss possible realignments,acquisitions and how to do it more inexpensively.And more cash-accretively, as the finance types say!