AI, H1B disruption: How IT SMEs can pivot toward 1.5 trillion infrastructure to keep jobs - The Hindu

The Indian technology industry has 10,000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) dedicated to providing either traditional or digital solutions to the technology buyers. This subsegment contributes to 7-9% of the overall technology industry revenue (FY 23) in India and employs some 7.5 lakh people.Some 80% of these SMEs were estimated to offer traditional IT and subcontracting services primarily with digital services as a growing pie. However, the twin challenges of evolving global immigration policies, particularly the H-1B visa changes, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have created significant headwinds for the SME industryFor decades, the industry thrived on a staff augmentation model, leveraging wage arbitrage to provide talent for routine IT tasks.