Softbridge : Media 2002

Business India, Sept 16, 2002
Where the US was a few years ago, Japan is today - in need of a large number of software professionals. And that says Prashant Jain, president and CEO of Softbridge Solutions of Japan opens a 'significant opportunity' for India. "Japan is the world's second largest IT market with an $80-billion industry, but accounts for hardly 5 percent of India's software exports", says Jain, who visited India last fortnight to ink a 'cross-cultural' training agreement with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). Softbridge a three-month-old start-up with a paid up capital of Singapore $ 150,000 will offer C-DAC graduates Japanese language training, which is essential to work in that country. C-DAC on its part, will provide the IT training to the Japanese engineers - in a 'dumbed down' form, because its courses are too advanced, Jain says - to whom an education in India will be marketed on the basis of lower costs, half those in hte US or Australia. Japan's IT manpower shortage, projected around 300,000 by 2005, will enable two partners to "build a gateway between India and Japan", he adds.