Update from Asia – Business Analysis Thriving in India

Elizabeth and I are in the midst of our trip to India, which has a three-fold purpose. One was to meet with our new Indian partner, Vellicate Technologies, which is based in Bangalore. The head of this company, Surendra Saxena, has been a huge help to us on the trip, and a fantastic partner for us here in India. That’s Surendra in the photo along with a colleague of his at a dinner in Pune named Abhay.

We planned the trip around the two Business Analysis Conferences in India, first in Pune on May 21-22, then now in Bangalore the 24-25^th of May. Elizabeth is speaking on “The Influencing Formula” and I am presenting “Bulletproof Business Cases.” Both have been received warmly and with interest. We assumed they would be, but it is always uncertain how a group will respond and we are pleased to no end at both conferences. Here is a shot of Elizabeth posing with David Barrett, conference director before her session. We found the sessions to be extremely interactive, with lively discussions at each of ours.

The other reason for visiting India is more informal and personal. We have always wanted to visit here, and the trip is the first of what we hope are many more. Elizabeth and I love to travel and learn about different cultures. We also want to understand the people here and their interests and ambitions. We have many purchasers of our Online Study Exam here, and we are working with Vellicate to print and distribute our CBAP Study Guide here as well. There is a huge interest in BA certification here, and growing demand for our CBAP/CCBA certification products.

In short, we discovered first-hand how vibrant and dynamic the business analysis community is in India. It gave us an even better idea of how much the profession has grown there in a short time. North America watch out – India is catching up!

Look for an update from Bangalore soon.