Indian IT services companies should be ‘less visible' in the overseas markets they serve by employing local personnel, Infosys Technologies Chief Mentor and Chairman N. R. Narayana Murthy said here on Tuesday.
“The moral of the story is to hire local talent. Hire Englishmen in England, Americans in the U.S. and Brazilians in Brazil,'' remarked Mr. Murthy.
Speaking at an interactive session at a conference on ‘India: knowledge and professional services hub to the world,' organised by the All India Management Association (AIMA), Mr. Murthy urged Indian companies to hire locally to allay apprehensions that Indians were taking away jobs from locals. “Foreign governments will object if you depend so heavily on visas for Indian workers to work there,'' he said.
Mr. Murthy pointed out that about 70-90 per cent of the employees working for Indian IT services companies in overseas locations were Indians. The expectation of young Indian IT professionals that they would be posted at overseas locations “has prevented senior managements of Indian companies from hiring local talent in these countries,” he said.
Mr. Murthy urged the government to provide subsidies to Indian exporters “so that they can sell aggressively in global markets.” “This will enable them to undercut competitors,” he added. Referring to the scheme of incentives for special economic zones, he said, “This has turned out to be merely a real estate exercise.”
Earlier, Infosys Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director S. Gopalakrishnan said the IT industry was likely to grow faster than the 13-15 per cent growth forecast by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) in the current year. The industry was likely to hire 1.2-1.5 lakh persons in the next 12 months, of which Infosys itself would hire 25,000 persons, he said.
Assuming an average rate of 10 per cent growth in the next ten years, the industry was likely to increase revenues from $71 billion to $150 billion, Mr. Gopalakrishnan said. Employment in the industry was likely to double to four million during this period, he added.
Mr. Gopalakrishnan said new technologies such as cloud computing, by lowering cost, “provide a level playing field for smaller companies.” He said cost was only one factor that motivated companies to outsource.
“The flexibility to use multiple technologies and the shorter periods of delivery contracts are other advantages,” he added. Asked about the threat posed by service companies in other countries because of their lower costs, he said: “I am not worried about low cost sellers from elsewhere. Cost is always a temporary advantage.”
Business Standard 27/10/2010 P3
IT budget to remain flat or slightly up in 2011: Infy CEO
Infosys Technologies says the information technology (IT) budget of clients would be flat to slightly positive in the next calendar year.
“At least at this point of time, there is no concern for a double dip recession in the global economy or there is a much lesser concern about this. And if the sentiment remains as such, client budget will remain flat or slightly up in 2011,” Kris Gopalakrishnan, chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys Technologies, said. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an All India He said the US was recovering faster than Europe from a slowdown as evident from the second quarter results.