Mphasis’ new strategy to grow its non-HP business

Mphasis, an HP-owned company has put in place a new strategy that focuses on its top 16 clients, created a new division that would work like a start-up and has given more autonomy to its employees, as it seeks to grow its non-HP business.

The Bengaluru-based mid-sized company has about one-tenth of its overall client base (it services around 160 clients), across its four business verticals, Mphasis CEO Ganesh Ayyar told BusinessLine.

In addition, the company has launched Cart-Up, which is intended to function like a start-up.

“What we have realised is that the rapid advancements in technology is impacting our clients’ businesses and this requires us to think differently,” said Ayyar.

This, in turn, necessitated a cultural change within the company. So, anybody with a process innovation idea or a newer way of delivery can approach Ayyar and pitch the idea to him directly. The idea has to be piloted with any of our clients and we will fund it upto a certain stage and if successful, they will get the next stage of funding, explained Ayyar.

For Mphasis, top 10 customers contributed to 48 per cent of its ₹6,000 crore revenues in March 2015, according to Prabhudas Lilladhar analyst, Shashi Bhusan.

Mphasis is also putting a lot of weight behind NextLabs, its version of a skunkworks team that works on new technology areas that can get more business from its existing clientele.

To kickstart this, Mphasis appointed Jai Ganesh, a former Infoscion to head this venture. “The objective is to be ahead of the game by developing cutting edge IP which can change industries especially with technologies like Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning, areas where our clients are grappling with,” said Ayyar.

These initiatives by mid-sized companies are aimed at energising employees and quickening decisions in order to stay relevant to their clients, according to Vikas Khemani, President and CEO, Edelweiss Securities.

Also, Mphasis which used to get around 70 per cent of its business from HP, now gets somewhere in the range of 30 per cent.