Automotive

Ovum said car makers were also putting new demands on IT to improve efficiency around energy, the environment and IT's consumption of resources.

"The crisis is a catalyst for our business and maybe it's an opportunity for Chinese home-grown industries," said Frank Khoshnoud, the head of Satyam global automotive business group.

Satyam is one of India's Big Four IT service providers. It provides services for all large car makers including General Motors and Nissan.

Khoshnoud said in recent years, all overseas car makers had cut their IT spending from 2 percent or 3 percent to 1 percent or 1.5 percent of total revenue. However they had sustained or increased their outsourcing budgets in the pre-sales and after-sales sectors, said the 25-year veteran of the automotive industry.

The crisis was also sending sales of luxury sedans crashing and opening up market space for environmentally friendly cars that cost less than US$5,000, according to industry insiders.

That's the target for Chinese car makers like Chery. Khoshnoud said firms like Satyam aimed to help home-grown vendors such as Chery explore the overseas market for such vehicles and help establish the brand and after-sales services.

Internet promotions have also become more important, with car makers, including BMW, investing more on Internet promotions through social Websites like Kaixin001.com. The Internet has proved an efficient and low-cost promotional tool compared with TV commercials.

Google, the world's biggest online search engine provider, said it expected online advertising business would continue to grow despite the tough environment.

The crisis would speed up the transition from traditional media promotion to online advertising, said Liu Yun, Google's vice president.

Other industries

Avaya, which provides intelligent communications systems, said it remained optimistic about the demand for IT from the Chinese hospitality industry.

"The financial crisis has influenced the market but we can't neglect the huge demand for inbound travel," said Chee Tat Meng, Avaya's Asia Pacific sales director of hospitality.

In Avaya's first financial half ended in March, its revenue from hospitality generated double-digit growth.

And last year, revenue from voice communications in the hospitality sector reached US$134 million in Asia Pacific excluding Japan, with about 44 percent coming from China, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan.

(Shanghai Daily December 12, 2008)