Uberization of IT Industry

Three years ago, when I landed in Delhi airport, there were two kinds of cab services available to reach Greater Noida. One was a premium service which came at a premium rate(Rs.23/km). Another was a prepaid taxi with a fixed price(Rs.1000). Things have changed a lot since then. Last month, I took an Uber from the airport and it costed me less than half of the cheapest option available three years ago(Rs.449). So, what exactly do I mean by Uberization?

In the recent times, Uberization, a buzzword, is used to refer multiple things. Most of the entrepreneurs want to uberize whatever they do. According to me, Uberization is disrupting an incumbent industry by offering superior customer experience at an affordable price. 

Today, in IT industry, One can be a freelancer, working whenever and wherever she wants, or be an employee without worrying about the unsteady demand and legwork involved. Both the choices come with its own pros and cons. There were cab services earlier, but the technological platform that matched the supply and demand in real time paved the way for Uber.

There's a similar thing happening in IT industry - a crowd sourcing platform. Top businesses post their requirements as challenges in the platform and those challenges are solved by millions of developers and designers across the world. Though it will take some time to gain momentum, the growing demand for emerging technology skills like Machine learning and Data science will eventually take these platforms to the next level. 

These crowdsourcing platforms provide a great opportunity for the wannabe technological entrepreneurs to sharpen their skills and get reviewed by peers. Aware of the crowdsourcing's potential, many IT companies provide such platforms internally. There are some limitations in case of supply and demand. Addressing these limitations, Crowd sourcing platforms will redefine the ways in which IT projects are executed and thus uberize the IT industry. After all, on-demand is the new norm.