Covid-19: IT companies brace for disruption of service delivery model

The $191-billion Indian IT sector is staring at an event that will change everything — from the way it works to its client outlook to its business strategy, going forward.

Rajiv Ahuja, President at NYSE-listed Startek (formerly Aegis), says the last fortnight is something he can never forget. For Ahuja, who spent the first eight years of his working career in the armed forces, the battle against the pandemic is unprecedented. “The rulebook has changed completely,” he says, explaining that in conventional warfare, the enemy can be seen but not in this case.

Companies, both IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS), had not factored in this kind of a situation. “We have a data-driven model for natural calamities but not this,” says the VP of a Gurugram-based BPO.