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Delhi-based firm selected for ECOSOC summit

Sonia Chopra

A New Delhi-based software company, Compunnel, has been selected as one of the 12 global companies to be highlighted at the United Nations' annual Economic-Social Summit (ECOSOC).

The summit's theme this year is 'Development and International Co-operation in the 21st Century: The role of Information Technologies in the Context of a Knowledge-Based Global Economy'.

Compunnel represents the Indian software industry, which has emerged as the leading provider of software services in the developing world. The company will be showcased among global giants like Dell Computer, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Andersen, and Nortel Networks.

"It is a rare pleasure to be included in such an august body of world leaders and great thinkers from all parts of the globe," said Rajiv Savara, the company's vice-chairman. "It is gratifying that our efforts at creating a global services brand out of India are being recognised and we have once again affirmed India's and Compunnel's commitment to the creation of world-class design and content-delivery solutions."

The summit will take place between July 5 and 7 at the UN Headquarters in New York and will be hosted by Secretary General Kofi Annan and the ECOSOC president, Ambassador Makarim Wibisono of Indonesia.

Heads of financial institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank, ambassadors and diplomats from 189 countries, department heads of UN agencies, editors of trade publications, and CEOs and chairmen of large corporations are expected to attend. Organisers estimate the number of attendees to be more than 10,000 this year.

AIT Global, the organiser of the IT exhibit for the summit, wants each of the 12 global companies highlighted to present itself and its capabilities in one niche area so as to avoid overlap.

Compunnel will emphasise its unique position in the design and content-creation space -- leveraging its technically trained and creative work force, adept in the English language, and able to deliver world-class, creative solutions to global companies, governments, and communities.

"We see this summit not so much as an avenue to promote our company, but as a way of expressing the idea that in an interconnected economy, India is not just a passive recipient of technology from the more developed world, but has a great deal to offer the rest of the world in terms of customised IT solutions, especially in areas in which skill with English can be combined with enormous design and technical creativity," said Romi Mahajan, adviser to Compunnel on its North American operations in Texas.

The company's design and content creation capabilities are used in areas as diverse as Web-site design and creation of learning titles for distance education companies.

According to Mike Lackey, AIT's president, the ECOSOC 2000 summit is not a marketing channel for corporations; in fact, selling and sales presentations are disallowed by the UN.

Instead, the summit is designed to bring disparate groups of decision-makers together to forge an agenda for the future that takes into consideration issues of sustainability and economic and social development. In short, the summit is about the process of globalisation in which the world's economies coalesce into one global village.

"The world has rightly celebrated Infosys, SIFY, TCS, and other giants and is now recognising small- and medium-sized, emerging companies from India that play in niche spaces and deliver world-class and timely solutions," said Mahajan.

"Being highlighted as a content creation company that deserves mention along with global juggernauts like Dell and Nortel is very gratifying," Mahajan added.

Compunnel recently launched European and North American operations; for North America, its focus is Web-based services and products and promoting its offshore design and content delivery services.

The company will be employing a somewhat different business strategy than most Indian firms that make forays into international markets.

"We want to emphasise that we are not primarily an 'offshore' company that leverages cheap labour and does little else," Mahajan said. "Instead, we are really far more global in orientation -- we are a global company that will vie for high-end work in the developed markets and we have domain knowledge for high-end services. We will leverage our Indian development centres to deliver the solutions, but we are not interested in grabbing low-hanging fruit as in the typical offshore model."

"This is the first time that the UN will allow non-UN folk to attend such exhibits within the UN," said Lackey of AIT.

Mahajan encourages people to attend the conference exhibits and presentations. "We would be thrilled for people to come see what we have to offer," he said. Mahajan will also be at the event.

"This summit will be a fantastic opportunity for companies from developing countries to show that they are not behind the IT curve. I hope that everyone interested in Indian IT comes and checks us out!"

To attend, you must register at the AIT Web site (http://www.aitglobal.com)

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