Wipro explores non-linear initiatives to boost growth

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Wipro Technologies is more optimistic about the outlook for the year ahead and forecast a revenue growth of up to 4.5% for the December quarter. The company grew its revenue 10.2% sequentially, while its headcount saw a net decline of 630 people, indicating non-linearity. Non-linearity suggests a break between revenue growth and headcount addition.

Business Line spoke to Mr Girish Paranjpe, Joint-CEO of Wipro Technologies, on new initiatives in this space. Excerpts:

You have taken various non-linear initiatives. Are you doing anything more in this space?

This is the beginning of the journey. We have not reached anywhere near the maturity level. We were actually picking up the low hanging fruits - doing what was very obvious to do. I think there is scope to do much more.

Most importantly, we will have to solve the problem of data privacy so that we can do work from a shared environment even when clients are sensitive about data. So that is a bridge that is yet not crossed.

What are the specific ways through which you are looking to drive non-linearity?

One way is through sub-contracting work, while another could be through more shared services offerings. The third could be through changing the mix of services so that we can deliver more value-added services. Then there is a separate model around developing platforms and IPs. It can help us grow revenue without growing headcount. These are the four different tracks we have to grow non-linearity. We are working on some - some are more advanced and some are (in their) infancy.

Apart from this, we have six themes that we are investing in. Broadly they fall into two buckets - one is building solutions around industry verticals. We do not want to build products because products are already available. We want to build product accelerators. The question is why products don't work efficiently when they are implemented in client locations. It is so because there are functionality gaps that exist. We are trying to address these functionality gaps.

The other area is around emerging technologies and how we can help clients adopt these technologies faster. We are doing work around cloud computing, green technology and collaboration. The focus is (on) how we can invest in these technologies ahead of time. So, when clients are ready for them, we have it tested out, have metrics, have solutions, and are able to go to them with an offering.

Any examples of such product accelerators or solutions that you have built?

We have created a cloud internally. We said lets create a private cloud for Wipro and see how it works. The early indications have been good. Earlier it used to take us 46 days to get a server up and running from the time when demand was generated for it.

With the Wipro cloud we can do it within 36 minutes. We are offering this experience as a consulting service to clients who are thinking of private cloud.

We are also helping some companies to set up a private cloud. In emerging markets, we are thinking if we can offer the cloud as a service to clients. We have signed up the anchor clients for the cloud service.

Have you signed up clients for your new offerings?

The focus has now changed. We are saying first lets find the client who is willing to be our anchor client, and with the anchor in front of us, we can build a solution. And then we will take it to other clients. With the anchor clients, we are not thinking of this as a commercial proposition. It is the way for us to validate our solutions.

It is possible that as we go forward the standard services will become challenged in terms of pricing power, whereas for specialised services such as these we will be able to have higher margins compared to traditional services.
Taken from Business Line