INFOSYS CASE

Infosys Case

Infosys Case

Introduction

Infosys, a software development company in India, initially provided onsite service to its global clients. This being an expensive proposition, the company decided to complete projects at its Indian offshore development centers and then implement them at the clients' places. This was also a challenge as there was no service provider at the clients' locations, causing a deterrent to the progress of projects. Besides, miscommunication added to the delay of project completion. To serve its clients effectively and in time, Infosys decided to open proximity centers close to the clients' locations. In the late 1990s, due to stiff competition from IBM, Wipro and TCS, Infosys decided to adopt the Global Delivery Model (GDM), which was based on the principle of taking work where it could be done best in an economical manner and with the least amount of acceptable risk. In 2005 Infosys' revenue stood at $1,592 million.

Infosys found that IBM, Accenture, TCS and Wipro had also adapted GDM. Industry observers felt that GDM was a standardized IT model but had no competitive advantage. To combat competition and to differentiate itself from other Global IT giants, Infosys started working on GDM 2.0 and called it the “Collaborative Distributed Delivery Model” (CDDM).

To implement the new GDM, Infosys had to set up more offshore development centers around the globe. To succeed in its efforts Infosys decided to acquire companies around the globe.

Would Infosys succeed in gaining the competitive advantage and the differentiator that it hoped to achieve with its improved GDM?

Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY) defines, designs and delivers IT-enabled business solutions that help Global 2000 companies win in a Flat World. These solutions focus on providing strategic differentiation and operational superiority to clients. With Infosys, clients are assured of a transparent business partner, world-class processes, speed of execution and the power to stretch their IT budget by leveraging the Global Delivery Model that Infosys pioneered. Infosys has over 94,000 employees in over 40 offices worldwide. Infosys is part of the NASDAQ-100 Index.

Case Objectives

To understand about onsite and offshore models for delivering software services

To understand why and how Global Delivery Model is used by software companies like Infosys to enhance service to its clients and to implement Knowledge Management across the company

To understand how Infosys changed its strategy to be one up on its competitors.

Background

Infosys is one of the largest software companies in the world. I visited the corporate headquarters in Bangalore, India in February 2007. Here is my report which describes this significant company and its strikingly different corporate culture.

Infosys was incorporated as Infosys Consultants Private Limited7 on July 02, 1981 by a group of seven professionals8. From the beginning, Infosys relied heavily on overseas projects. One of the founders, Narayana Murthy, stayed in India, while the others went to the US to carry out onsite programming for corporate clients. One of Infosys' first clients was the US-based sports shoe manufacturer Reebok. Infosys hired its first set of employees in 1982 from the Indian Institute of Technology, ...