The Hindu Business Line : Infosys draws up 1:1:3 strategy for consulting biz

INFOSYS Technologies could move close to 60 per cent of consulting work offshore compared to 20 per cent capable by top consulting firms, the company said at a recently-concluded annual analyst meet. Hence, its new consulting model, if successful, could help clients save 40 per cent.

The company that started its consulting division expects to generate greater business volume as well as value through this practice. Infosys has drawn up a 1:1:3 strategy in its consulting business, wherein each consultant would provide business for one onsite staff and three offshore employees on average.

It can be recalled that consultant's compensations are linked to their ability to drive up business in the traditional services areas such as application development, maintenance, package implementation and business process outsourcing.

Infosys plans to have 75 consultants on its rolls by the fiscal-end and has set a target of 500 consultants in three years.

Infosys consulting practice, launched in early April had the offshore thrust built-in to reduce cost and improve margins.

The company indicated that early signs in this practice were encouraging as consultants from top firms such as McKinsey, Accenture, Cap Gemini were joining Infosys and `multiple client projects' were under way.

Infosys said that hiring good talent has been a challenge for the company in the face of rising demand in business.

Despite record hirings in the last few quarters and utilisation level hovering around 76 per cent on an average, tier-I local vendors are gunning aggressively for available talent.

During the analyst meet, Infosys hinted that volume remains strong and lack of quality people to sustain the demand pick up was a greater challenge than overcapacity. Such a trend suggests high visibility for new offshore deals.