More tongues wagging

Vishwanath Kulkarni

WHAT can really and truly help promote information technology in a country such as India? That's an easy one, you'd probably say. Isn't the answer obviously multilingual software solutions?

According to industry sources, there is an emerging demand for local language software solutions. The market, which is still in its infancy, has been pegged at Rs 100 crore.

Also, the e-governance initiatives of State Governments at various levels and the penetration of the Internet are expected to spur the growth of the multilingual computing market over the next few years. The developers of multilingual software solutions are pinning their hopes on the pace at which e-governance solutions are going to be implemented.

The multilingual computing market has players offering standard products as well as customised solutions. They include the State-owned Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Summit Information Technologies, Softek and Cyberscape Multimedia Ltd.

Chicken-and-egg syndrome

Says S.K. Anand, Managing Director, of the Bangalore-based Cyberscape Multimedia, ``The Government, to carry out its e-governance initiatives, has to necessarily use the local language to reach the masses. E-governance initiatives will definitely provide a boost to the development of multilingual software solutions.''

According to Anand, the market for local language software is in the process of development. While people are not aware of the availability of language software packages, the developers are not taking the initiative to develop more packages/products as they feel there is insufficient demand. It's a classic case of the chicken and egg, he says.

Traditionally, the user segment for language computing has been the Government and the printing and publishing sectors with word processing and DTP the key application areas. Data processing, accounting-banking, broadcasting and Internet-enabled applications are relatively recent developments. The education and government sectors are expected to emerge as the major markets.

Promise and prophecy

The major issues facing the industry are the lack of a universally accepted standard, the slow pace of computerisation and the lack of familiarity with the user interface (keyboards) and therefore resistance to use. Another underlying problem is the use of English as a de facto standard and the aspiration to use English, among individuals.

According to a study by the Manufacturers Association of Information Technology (MAIT) and the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, the market for multilingual computing products is estimated to touch Rs 120-125 crore over the next five years.

However, Anand feels this is a gross underestimate. According to him, the current market itself is estimated to be anywhere between Rs 100-200 crore. With Government initiatives to take the benefits of IT to the masses, the market for multilingual computing products is expected to grow even bigger.

The MAIT study says the language software market is estimated to grow at below 20 per cent over the next two years and over 20 per cent in the next three years as the Internet penetration is expected to gather momentum post 2002.

The key demand drivers for market growth are -- the growth of PC penetration (over 50 per cent growth annually), expanding the reach of the Internet, sustenance of various IT initiatives across States, the addition of more content and applications in multilingual computing on the Web (portals, search engines, cyber chat, online community etc) and some level of standardisation being embraced by the industry, says the study.

Yashpal Bindra, Marketing Manager of the Gurgaon-based Summit Information Technologies, feels the e-governance market is still emerging and is expected to gain momentum in the coming years. Publishing has been the main market and segments such as database and Web-deployment in local languages are also emerging.

Microsoft momentum

Moreover, Microsoft's recent launch of Office XP, which has integrated local Indian languages, is expected to provide a fillip to the multilingual computing market. Office XP is available in nine Indian languages.

Says Ravish Gupta, Programme Localisation Manager, Microsoft India, ``the development of Office XP in various Indian languages is a milestone and is expected to provide a fillip to the development of local language softwares. The product is based on worldwide accepted standards.''

While agreeing with Gupta that Office XP's launch is expected to spur some activity in the developing segment, Anand and Bindra feel the real impact will be known after one or two years as it may take time for the proliferation of Office XP-based high-end machines at the local level.

Vivek Kulkarni, Secretary, Information Technology, Karnataka Government, feels the availability of a ``standard operating system such as Office XP is expected to propel the use of computers, especially in the government sector.''

With the State Government going ahead with e-governance initiatives, this kind of a standard operating system/software will enhance usage at all levels, he feels. Around one lakh secretaries/typists and clerks working in various departments of the Karnataka Government would benefit immediately from the launch of this standardised Kannada software. ``We can get various applications developed based on this operating system,'' he says. In order to be platform-independent, the Government is also considering approaching IBM for developing a Linux-based operating system, he adds.

All said and done, the growth of the multilingual computing market is largely dependent on the initiatives of the Government, co-operatives, and the publishing industry, and on how soon the issues faced by the industry are resolved.

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