Initially, the Indian IT industry thought that the slowdown could only benefit them as they would get more low-end offshore work dumped their way. Firms in the Silicon Valley deal with all aspects of technology, including the hardware. Bangalore, as I understand it, concentrates only on the software industry. I could make a prediction, but economically, it is so hard to know what will happen. I think, given the roots in Bangalore, the industry will do quite well, irrespective of the slowdown.
Optimistic estimates see it going on for another three months.
Some others believe that it will stretch right up to the end of this year. There is no concrete evidence that this is going to happen. I think people are a little bit more cautious now and realise that everyone will have to wait for the last quarter before things really start looking up. Even now, software firms in Bangalore are reluctant to admit that they have been hit or affected adversely by the slowdown. Most of the big software exporters insist that everything is hunky-dory.