India’s Infosys has revealed plans to “expand its localisation” in a number of regions, including Australia, the United States and Europe.
It is understood that such a move could see the company, which has historically drawn heavily from its Indian ranks to bulk up its international presence, hire more employees from the talent pool in Australia.
Since establishing its initial presence in the local region in 1999, Infosys now has delivery centres located in Melbourne’s Docklands and Parramatta in Sydney, with other offices in Auckland (NZ), Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
The localisation efforts come as the multinational IT services firm reports its fourth quarter financial results, with the company flagging a 9.2 per cent year-on-year rise in revenue while seeing net profit grow by 5.3 per cent, to US$571 million for the three months ending March.
According to Infosys CEO, Salil Parekh, the company’s efforts to further localise its operations in markets like Australia and the US is one of the four pillars underpinning its refreshed go-to-market strategy.
“We will execute our strategy around the four pillars of scaling our agile digital business which is today US$2.79 billion in revenue, energising our client’s core technology landscape via AI [artificial intelligence] and automation, re-skilling our employees, and expanding our localisation in markets such as US, Europe and Australia,” Parekh told shareholders on 13 April.
For Technology Business Research (TBR) senior analyst, Bozhidar Hristov, the move to ramp up its localisation efforts is likely to resonate well with stakeholders as their “patience for a clear vision wears thin”.
“TBR will closely monitor Infosys’ execution around this strategy, as in many ways it mimics the strategy that many of its peers deploy. Differentiation beyond pricing will be a challenge unless the company accelerates acquisition activity to fill portfolio gaps,” Hristov said.
The strategy comes after a tumultuous period for the company which last year saw its former CEO and managing director, Dr. Vishal Sikka, resign from his dual roles amid reports of a growing a rift among the company’s founders, board and management.
The company subsequently named one of its founders and former head, Nandan Nilekani, as chairman on 24 August, in a bid to end the lengthy feud between the board and the company's founders.
The latest financial report, which also saw Infosys reveal its preliminary full-year results, saw Infosys introduce its “Navigate Your Next” initiative, which TBR expects will help it prioritise strategic investments and sales execution.
“For example, as part of the initiative Infosys is planning to pair digitally versed professionals with its sales people for better account mining,” Hristov said.
