Chief Executive Officer of Wipro T.K. Kurien is highly realistic in his expectations from the company. Here he dwells into what is working for Wipro and outlines the prospects for its future, in a conversation with Business Line . Excerpts:

You mentioned at the news conference that discretionary spending by clients is reviving. Is it across segments, or is it selective?

The revival is not across the board. It is very industry specific. We are seeing a revival from the oil & gas where the investment cycles are long at 7-10 years.

To some extent, we are also witnessing discretionary spending from banks in the area of regulatory compliance. Then there are manufacturing companies that are getting into digital mode.

Can it be said that Wipro started off on a secular growth cycle?

It is far too early to say that. We have just crossed one milestone. I am saying it vehemently. It has not been an easy journey till now. We have plenty of work to do going ahead.

Is it going to take more time to catch up with your peers?

Our ambition is to catch up with peers in a year.

What are you planning to do to get there?

Gain market share. It is that simple (laughs). If you look at our hunting (new customers) and farming (existing clients) businesses, the latter is doing well. In the hunting business, we have a gap.

Our revenue growth from hunting customers is just two per cent, whereas our competition is able to do 6-7 per cent.

There is a five percentage point gap there. Existing clients are doing well.

How has the traction been like in your traditional application offerings?

The business that pays our bills today and will do so tomorrow as well is out traditional business. All the new technologies that everyone talks about is terrific from a conversational view point, but the reality is it does not give me too much revenues or profits. My core business is a critical for me. I have to keep the CIO (chief information officer) happy and farm my existing clients.

There has been healthy growth across segments…

Healthcare and manufacturing have done well. Finance solutions will grow.

Retail vertical has been hit to some extent as it is geographically concentrated in the US. The retail spend is not what it used to be. The jobs data are still not encouraging.

Telecom is a highly customised business.

Has budget decision making time quickened, or is it still elongated?

It’s like this. If you have a great CIO, he can sell anything to the board. For large deals, the time taken is still the same. Anybody can derail the process.

Is the rise in attrition a cause for concern?

We are comfortable with this level. People left after the appraisal cycle, if they were not happy. I will be worried only if my top talent is moving.

How is the business environment changing for the Indian IT companies?

The business model has changed. Our middle and senior management has to get the realisation that fundamentals have changed. The senior management gets it quickly as they interact with customers regularly.

But the middle management that sits in countries such as India, which don’t interact with customers that frequently take more time. This is not an easy industry any more. It has become a frontline industry. The differentiation in offering will clearly come into play.

Has pricing been stable?

It has been stable with an upward bias. We expect it to remain stable in the future.

>giriprakash.k@thehindu.co.in

>venkatasubramanian.k@thehindu.co.in

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW