River rafting is a popular sport these days and I must admit that I too am quite addicted to this stress-buster. But, during my last trip, the thrill of navigating the white water interspersed with the calm of floating downstream paled against excitement and determination of an army team that passed us by – they were rafting upstream!

I could not help but feel inspired by that amazing sight. Today, as we navigate upstream in the current economic current, I can feel the same adrenalin rush.The Axon acquisition has been written about extensively. Coming at a time of an economic slowdown, understandably, questions are being raised about the merits of the largest acquisition by a firm in the Indian IT industry ever.

As each of us renews our determination to achieve our goals within the downturn, what we see immediately ahead can best be described as a bend on the road. Most organizations are applying the brakes to navigate this bend, and I am sure there is merit in their reasons for doing so, keeping in mind their circumstances. However, for an aggressive company that is hungry for growth, there is opportunity beyond the bend and stepping on the accelerator at this time makes perfect business sense.

A McKinsey research has revealed that among nearly 1,000 companies studied over 18 years, those that emerged successfully from the previous downturn of 1990-91 were those that did not back off from investing their cash reserves during a slowdown. They went right ahead with sensible acquisitions and stepped on the gas pedal to overtake their competitors.Making the right investments, increasing sales headcount, opening new offices, adding new services that in turn help shift gears to accelerate the pace of generating revenues – each of these is a part of the very strategy of emerging leaders as showcased in the McKinsey study. Short-term revenues are irrelevant, because these will change in proportion to what customers want to see immediately. But in the medium- to long-term, the answer to the problems our customers are facing and successfully partnering them to steer out of this turbulence together is what will lead to success.

It goes without saying that a sound acquisition strategy is important while investing in today’s environment: Buying high quality assets, not low quality distress assets; hunting for complementary strengths; ensuring alignment in values with an in depth cultural diagnostic; basing the decision on future outlook, not current value; and crafting the bid carefully to get the best value out of the present circumstances, be it in the cost of acquisition or the bid strategy adopted. And having done so, ensuring post acquisition success with the right ‘Integration’ plan and process.

I truly believe that this recession presents a very large opportunity for the Indian IT services industry as a whole. Yes, it will bring out the true colors of all the players. But if we can recognize the opportunities emerging within the darkness and be tough enough to chase them, it will change the very complexion of our industry when the sun rises again.