IT companies have seen a near doubling in their stock prices But as 2009 comes to a close, almost all IT companies have seen a near doubling in their stock prices from their 52-week low.
NSE data between 2008 Christmas and this Christmas shows that

Infosys hit its 52-week low at Rs 1,065 per share,

Wipro, Rs 196.50; TCS, Rs 358;

HCL Tech, Rs 89.70; and

Cognizant’s low was $17.37 on the Nasdaq.

This was at a time when companies were reworking on their operational strategies, optimising costs and embarking on rationalisation measures, even sending people back home. The writing is on the wall: India’s vaunted technology companies must upgrade their business model or face dwindling profits and market share.

For years, India’s top six software companies (sometimes referred to as SWITCH: Satyam, Wipro (WIT), Infosys (INFY), Tata Consultancy (TCS.BO), Cognizant (CTSH), HCL) have roiled global IT markets with their high-quality, low-cost software and tech-related services. They gave India a new hope, and their success became the accelerator for the country’s growth. Companies such as IBM, Accenture, and Electronic Data Systems (EDS), which ruled the roost with their high-end offerings, saw business slip away to the Indians. SWITCH seemed unbeatable, especially as the group grew in sophistication. On the back of bagging major deals from large clients in the US, share prices of these companies are back ruling the roost. On Thursday,

Infosys scaled a new 52-week high at Rs 2,600.

HCL Tech at Rs 373.30 is hovering near its annual high of Rs 377.

And TCS isn’t too far from its peak of Rs 805 when it closed at Rs 746.80 on Thursday.

This euphoria is not restricted to Indian companies. IBM and Cognizant too are trading near their 52-week peaks. IBM is trading at $130 against a 52-week low of $80.52, Cognizant which has a large India presence, is trading at $46.25 against its year low of $17.37.The most immediate crisis is the U.S. economic downturn. Over the years, the Indians have grown less dependent on America as their main market and have expanded business to Europe, Japan, and other parts of the world. But they’ve neglected their home turf. According to a study by Everest, the Indian domestic tech market is currently worth just $1 billion but will be valued at $15 billion within five years. That’s a massive opportunity, not just in terms of money but for innovation