GCCs and Cybersecurity Talent Demand Surge Across India: Quess Digital IT Skills Report

•           Emerging technologies like Generative AI and Quantum Computing are set to create 1M+ jobs by 2030.
•           Development skills dominated with 41% share of tech hiring demand while AI/ML positions saw 30% growth in demand from previous quarter
•           Cybersecurity and DevOps lead demand with 58% and 25% growth in Q2FY25, respectively
•           Bengaluru dominates tech hiring with 43.5% share, followed by Hyderabad (13.4%) and Pune (10%)

Mumbai, 27^th Nov 2024: Quess Corp, India’s leading business solutions provider, today launched the “IT Staffing Quarterly Digital Skills Report Q2FY25’, offering insights into the technology skills shaping the future of work in India. Despite navigating global uncertainties, the report paints a cautiously optimistic picture, highlighting the resilience and growth potential within the country's IT sector. While demand for traditional programming languages persists, there has been a significant movement towards Cybersecurity, DevOps, Analytics, and, indicating a dynamic and evolving IT landscape.

Commenting on the tech hiring landscape, Kapil Joshi, CEO of Quess IT Staffing, said “Reskilling and Upskilling with proliferation of Global Capability Centres are driving the dynamic ecosystem of India’s tech growth. Quess has partnered with over 200 GCCS across India, facilitating the placement of more than 15,000 technology professional since FY22. Looking ahead, we anticipate a strong rise in the IT hiring intent of the manufacturing and BFSI sector. Emerging technologies such as Generative AI, Deep Tech, and Quantum Computing emerge are set to create over a million jobs by 2030. While challenges remain, India's IT industry is well-positioned to grow 10-12% in the next six months.”

Leading Skill Suites in Demand

According to Quess, 79% of the aggregate demand emerged from the top 5 skill suites, namely Development, ERP, Testing, Networking and Data Science. In addition to these functional skill suites, there was a rapid increase in specialized roles and skills related to Java (30%), cybersecurity (20%), and DevOps (25%) between Q1FY25 and Q2FY25.

 Java

The demand for roles related to AI/ML have seen a significant increase of 30% from the previous quarter. The traditional programming language, Java has emerged as a cornerstone for AI initiatives across various industries such as IT services, Fintech, healthcare, e-commerce and telecom sectors

DevOps

To overcome the historical divide between development and operations, various organizations are increasingly relying on DevOps. Industries such as BFSI, retail, IT services, and Telecom are heavily adopting DevOps leading to high demand for the DevOps engineers.

 Mid-tier IT Firms Take the Lead in the Talent Wars

In Q2FY25, technology talent demand saw a distinct trend across various IT Services firms leading by 37%, followed by Hi-Tech (11%), Consulting (11%), Manufacturing (9%) and BFSI (8%) firms.

Manufacturing: This sector witnessed a significant transition, with demand escalated on products across sectors such as semiconductor, electronics, and electrical industries. This diversification highlights the industry's adaptability to technological advancements and prioritizing innovation in both product development and supply chain management.

Consultancy: The consulting industry is flourishing in India due to its growing economy coupled with its vast pool of skilled talent. The global consulting firms find India as an attractive destination. The increasing focus on digital transformation, technological advancements, and the need for strategic guidance has driven demand for consulting services across various sectors.

BFSI: This industry is seeing a surge due to rising disposable income, and growing urbanization are driving demand for financial products and services. Government initiatives with digitalization are contributing to the industry's expansion. There’s also a highly competitive environment and innovation due to the presence of tech start-ups and fintech companies.

The GCC Phenomenon: Powerhouse of Tech Hiring

Global Capability Centres have emerged as the powerhouse of tech hiring India during Q2FY25, driven by a robust demand for skills in roles such as AI/ML, Analytics, Cybersecurity, Cloud, and DevOps. These technologies have applications across various sectors. In healthcare, Java is utilized to develop Electronic Health records.  Consumer goods companies are transforming their operations by adopting cloud security measures, including Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs) and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions. Meanwhile, BFSI companies are leveraging DevOps practices to enhance their digital banking platforms, focusing on Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD), Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and containerization strategies.

Cybersecurity: The Backbone of the Digital Era

As businesses increasingly migrate their operations and data to the cloud, robust cybersecurity measures have become essential. This shift has sparked a surge in demand for expertise in applications such as Coupa, Cyberark, Forgerock, JUnit, McAfee, Sailpoint, and SIEM. Overall, the growth in cybersecurity has reached 58% since the previous quarter, with IT services leading hiring efforts at 42%, followed by the Manufacturing and BFSI sectors. Bangalore, recognized as a tech hub, accounts for 64% of this demand. This surge is primarily driven by accelerated digital transformation, escalating cyber threats, stringent data privacy regulations, and compliance with government mandates.

Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in the Limelight

India's tech landscape is experiencing a boom, with Bengaluru emerging as the undisputed leader. A staggering 62% of hiring requests flow through this region, followed by the West (14%), North (8%), and East (0.4%). After Bengaluru, the city-wise landscape in demand sharing is followed by Hyderabad (43.5%) and Pune (10%).

The office market is seeing continued growth due to both domestic and international companies seeking to expand their operations in the industry. There has been a surge in talent demand across various cities due to the expansion of GCCs in India. These companies focus on hiring skilled professionals from fields like e engineering, IT, finance, and analytics. This advancement has led to companies looking for hiring from the promising talent pools of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities

Methodology

This report is based on data from Quess IT Staffing's operations which map demand and supply in our talent ecosystem. The findings speak to the evolving aggregate tech hiring demand and related insights to give leaders a clear understanding of what the talent market looks like. This report focuses on the quantum of demand in Q2FY2025 in Quess IT Staffing.

 About Quess Corp

Established in Bengaluru in 2007, Quess Corp Limited (BSE: 539978, NSE: QUESS) is India’s leading business services provider - that leverages its extensive domain knowledge and future-ready digital platforms to drive client productivity through outsourced solutions.

Quess provides a host of technology enabled staffing and managed outsourcing services across processes such as sales & marketing, customer care, after sales service, back office operations, manufacturing, facilities and security management, HR & F&A operations, IT & mobility services etc. Quess has a team of 609,000 employees, serving 3000+ clients across India, North America, APAC and the Middle East as on Sept. 30th, 2023.

 For further details on Quess Corp Ltd., please visit: http://www.quesscorp.com