Infosys and NRN

Infosys: Building Tomorrow’s Enterprise

Our generation (those born in the 80s) grew up seeing this strong tagline for Infosys:

“Powered by intellect. Driven by values.”

This tagline was so strong and impactful that it generated a high feeling in the audience immediately. It also gave the employees and the associates a matter of pride and a challenge to make this self-assertion true; every single day and hour. But many felt that this tagline was “inward focused” – to which even I agree. It strongly proposed what Infosys stood for, which was very inspiring in the company’s initial years. I am sure this tagline shaped the way Infosys grew up in the earlier years.

After the above slogan another brand positioning statement came which told where the company was heading to. It said:

“Win in the Flat World.”

This new tag was outward focused. It told about how Infosys can help its clients win in the ever globalized world. It told that the company was in touch with the latest technologies and skills which will enable “winning”. I think this new line put Infosys in the league of world’s best companies and gave the Infosys brand an international feel.

And then, the present tagline has happened:

“Building Tomorrow’s Enterprise.”

The new visual brand identity is here:

This journey is captured in the below description which a TOI article quoted Infosys COO SD Shibulal saying:

Infosys 1.0: (First 20 years):  focused on developing and managing technology applications for customers and on building a global delivery model.

Infosys 2.0: (Next 10 years): developed end-to-end service capabilities, systems integration capabilities, and added consulting and innovation expertise.

Infosys 3.0: (Now and onwards): To be at the intersection of the client's business and technology and of global trends, and use the knowledge and expertise to help them transform and move into new directions.

And hence, "Building Tomorrow's Enterprise" makes perfect sense!

I think the above tagline is a perfect brand-positioning for Infosys. It also is an appropriate one given the legacy of Infosys brand positioning statements. Also, it is an honest one, given that the company is focused on breaking away from linear business model where business growth is proportional to new human resources hiring and is aiming towards more consulting and business transformation projects. I am sure the new brand identity and positioning statement are perfect and will be helping Infosys in its 3.0 journey.

- Rahul

PS: The views expressed here are entirely personal and do not represent the views of any organization or firm. There is no associated claim of 100% factual accuracy of everything that is written in this article, though care has been taken to avoid any error or misrepresentation.

Infy Heritage Club

We now have 'Infy Heritage Club' within Infosys. Some time back we were asked to nominate ourselves voluntarily for this newly created club. I just received a mailer welcoming us and also invited me to an online survey to ascertain my skills which can be of use for this club.  The mailer informs us that under the banner we have some exciting projects lined up using our skills in the field of project management, creativity, IT expertise, and above all, as it says, “through the passion & spirit of Infy!”

The Infy Heritage Club is proposing these projects in collaboration with Ministry of Culture (Govt of India) and some of the prestigious institutions and subject matter experts in the country.

- Rahul

C-LIFE Discussion: Customer Delight or Client Value?

Recently, Infosys has made a change in its set of values popularly known as C-LIFE. It has changed its “C” in C-LIFE, from “customer delight” to “client value”. Here is why I think the change is a very apt and timely decision:

I think to understand the difference between ‘customer delight’ and ‘client value’, first of all we should understand the difference between the terms ‘customer’ and ‘client’. Your customer is someone who buys or purchases a product/service from you. The customer may buy it for the first time or buy many times over. A client is someone with whom you have a business relationship, and who is in some way or the other, under protection from you for some work or service. The term ‘client’ is appropriately used for those with whom we have a long term business relationship, while the term ‘customer’ is used for those who buy our product or service without having a long term association with us. The difference becomes clear when we understand that lawyers or advocates always use the term ‘client’ and never ‘customer’ for them they provide their services to. An advertising agency will always use the term ‘client’ for their ‘clients’. Whereas those who buy a TV set or a VCD from a shop, are its customers. When we understand the difference we would immediately appreciate how Infosys has done a good job by including the term ‘client’ rather than ‘customer’ in its set of values ‘C-LIFE’.

Now let us compare the terms ‘delight’ and ‘value’, with their usage in ‘customer delight’ Vs ‘client value’. As we know, any company or service provider wants its customers and clients to feel ‘delighted’ – that is higher than the experiences summed up in terms like ‘satisfaction’ or ‘happiness’. Customers and clients would be delighted if they are provided with an experience which is beyond and exceeding their expectations. A service provider can do that by offering its services at either higher quality than anticipated, or at lower costs than estimated. But as we know, it is very difficult to do so in this competitive world when n-number of competitors are also willing to lower the prices or offer higher services for the same price. ‘Delight’ becomes a mirage and companies have gone bankrupt chasing it endlessly. So the best that a company can do, especially in the field of knowledge based services like Infosys, is to start creating ‘value’ for the clients more than, and in more ways, it was ever expected. What can be better than if we create value for the clients, rather than just fulfilling the SLAs and maintaining the agreed KPIs. Is it not true that if we provide solutions to the clients creating long term value for them, they would be delighted? Therefore, if we Infoscions create value for our clients, it would mean the same as giving our clients a ‘delight’! And hence, the two terms ‘customer delight’ and ‘client value’ become two sides of the same coin! Only, in my opinion, the one side ‘client value’ is the one which we should focus and the other will automatically come to us…

- Rahul

My Experiments with Made-in-India Brands!

I remember the day when I had to buy my first motorbike. I was on my first job, in Chhattisgarh, and I went on a search to find a bike in the market. I wanted to buy an Indian brand only. I won’t even take a Hero Honda because Honda for me was Japanese, even though my father and all my friends recommended me to buy one from the HH brand. Ultimately I chose to buy a Bajaj bike; because it was an Indian Brand. The Bajaj bike was not so great in looks, but it gave me good mileage. Next, when my father had to buy a car, we children did an analysis comparing all the cars in the market. I was biased in favour of an Indian brand, but didn’t want to show my biasness so early. Ultimately we found that a Mahindra car scored over all others in the segment, on most parameters. Today, father is very happy with the selection. I am sure if we had found some other foreign brand as the best suited, somehow I would have persuaded everyone to buy at least a Maruti, if not a Tata or Mahindra. My love for Indian brands often made me buy a Tata product or an Airtel or a Dabar product. I would choose a VIP baggage or a Westside cloth, because these are Indian. I tried to stay on Rediff, because it was Indian. I even tried hard to retain my India.com email ID, for a long time. I bought a Moser Baer CD even if it was 2 rupees costlier than the Chinese brand. Even at times I have preferred to buy a medicine with an Indian brand, when I had a choice.

I accept that it is not always possible to find an Indian brand without compromising on the best quality or service. For example, I have longed to have a great Indian cola; and a best quality toothpaste with an Indian brand. My favourite ones for these products, be it ThumsUp/Coke, Pepsi, Pepsodent or Colgate, all are foreign brands. I would also love to buy an Indian Digital Camera. In such situations I have to make a trade-off. How much am I ready to sacrifice on service or quality, when it comes to choose the second rank Indian brand Vs best-in-class foreign brand. I accept that many a time I choose to buy a foreign brand when I am not happy with the competing Indian brand. I think there is no point in promoting bad quality products just because they are local. Now do you think my experiments make sense?

We are in a world which is increasingly becoming global. Our Indian companies and brands are doing great business in the US and in Europe. At the same time there are foreign brands making money in India. What is wrong with the later? I think there is nothing wrong. There would always be customers who would choose to buy a foreign brand simply because they are foreign (this attitude has come from the colonial era and then the decades when owning an ‘imported’ product was a social status). So if there are some people who buy local brands just because those are local, it only balances the power! At the same time, it does make an economic sense also. Do you feel something is wrong if India buys from China; China buys from Japan, the Japanese buy from the US, the US buys from Taiwan, while Taiwan buys from India? It would lead to a very inefficient global-economy! Even the proponents of globalisation have now woken up to the fact that it makes a lot of sense to manufacture and consume locally. Often we have woken up with a shock, like after Japan’s nuclear disaster disrupted global supply chains or after tainted elements were discovered in Chinese food products. This is not the best way to realise facts; and the lessons learnt in such haste are not even permanent. After the disaster gets over, people may start going the same old way; until once again the same disaster repeats. As much as possible, manufacturing makes sense locally. But there are things which are best managed globally for the benefit of all – like information and capital flow. And to some extent, free movement of skilled manpower. But for products and raw materials – a long supply chain always has higher risks and is inefficient.

The path that I have chosen is not so easy. We can’t always have everything locally made. Yesterday when I was buying Oats at a D-Mart store, I found two brands. I saw one was from Saffola – a Marico brand. Marico, from Harsh Mariwala and company. I bought it thinking that it was an Indian brand. But when I brought it home and looked at the package, it said, “Origin: Australia”. It was only packaged and sold by Marico. I found that India doesn’t stand anywhere in the top-10 oats producers. But I felt let-down, not finding a made-in-India product. I am also waiting for a great Indian brand in a lot of other segments. For example, I have always bought a Shoe with a foreign brand; have never found an Indian brand appealing enough. But when it comes to floaters (footwear), I have found a Khadim or a local product very good. I think this was the historical situation – Indian brands would make good regular products with less sophistication, but won’t be able to design higher up. The situation has changed in a lot of areas, but not in all. For example, I was tempted to buy a Wipro laptop. But how could I ever do that, leaving HP or Dell? I would long for that day when I would choose to buy a laptop with an Indian brand.

If we are rational, we shall face a dilemma: which one to choose: African brand but Made-in-India, or Indian brand but made-in-Africa? Tough call? I shall choose the later. Why? Because, the first choice: African brand but made-in-India would have destroyed (outmatched, taken market-share from, or reduced profitability of, by price war / scale of ops) many other indigenous Indian brands! While the later – Indian brand made in Africa would make the Group a bigger one, which may decide to make many new products too! If I sum this up in a matrix, here is what I think should be like:

Going one step further, we can even develop an index (may be, called Swadeshi-Index). A lot of Indian companies (e.g. ICICI, HDFC) have a high foreign stake-holding. These need to be differentiated from totally ‘Indian’ enterprises. Anyways, back to the main issue.

Does my preference for Indian brands make me a local-citizen, as compared to the global one? Does it make me a kind of a chauvinist guy? I don’t care, until I am buying an Indian brand which is also best in the segment. And when there is a tie – two products as good as each other – I shall buy the Indian one. Now, can we qualify this practice with a tag “patriotic”? I don’t care for tags or qualifications, until somehow my money is going to help my country more than any other. Do I recommend this practice to all? Do it if you are convinced that it is the best way. Otherwise do give it a thought.

My experiments with buying “Made in India” brands might have occasionally given me second-best products and services, but it has always given me the best possible feeling. Today, money can’t buy all the happiness. But one of that happiness is the happiness that comes with a feeling that somehow our money is helping our motherland. What can be a greater feeling?

I love my India, and I support my Indian brands.

- Rahul

Infosys in Pune - Shining India!

Infosys Campus in Pune, India. Shining India!

Infosys in Hyderabad - Happy Moments!

Infosys Campus in Hyderabad: Happy Moments!

Acknowledgement: Snaps taken by many people. Sorry for not being able to mention names.

Brand Building: Behind every successful Brand

Inspired by an article written by Mrs. Sudha Murthy; the original piece attached with at the end.  

Do you know what some people do when they see so many companies spending millions in the ‘brand building’ advertisements? They just laugh. They laugh because there are companies, though few, which are able to create such an incredible image for themselves that they don’t need any advertisement. Their name is their advertisement.

The mon(K)ey minded

Both at the beginning and at the end, nothing we do is just for money. If profit-making is the sole interest of some company, I doubt it is in the wrong business. Then everyone should run F-1 races and every company should own a soccer club. There is something beyond money. Business is indeed business, but there is no compelling reason to bury your soul under the carpet (or corporate!). The worst thing about the race is that it is not a ‘nice’ race, but a ‘mice’ Race, and if you start comparing yourselves with the other rats who are ‘also running’, you end up becoming one of them. The message is that making an altogether different image for your company really counts. And to be 100% sure, that image should be of a helping ally, not of a raging bully; of a garden, not of a mountain; of a sea, not of a busy bee; of a home, not of a sulking dome; simply put, of someone who contributes to the society, not contradicts from the society.  

Can’t say ‘tata’ to TATA and the infinity approaches Infosys

Some companies like Tata Group companies and Infosys Technologies have created a niche for themselves in this regard. The impressions of Tatas have entered our bloods, as we have been ‘born and brought-up’ looking up to them. Some other Indian companies also put emphasis on ‘ethics’ and ‘human touch’ and this brand image pays them in multiple ways. But the hard world of business respects only the profit generating firms and one shall make a mockery of self, if one talks about ‘creating value’ and ‘affecting lives’ while the company bleeds financially. I believe the marriage of ‘a humanitarian face’ and ‘generation of economic value’ is a block buster combination in any market on the globe.

Proud to be ‘We the people’

The attached article will leave your heart swelling. See, how proud we all Indians become whenever another Indian does good. I wish more Indian companies can actually do as much to attain the ranks of Tata and Infosys.

I(a)mpossible?

The article is also a moral booster for the ladies. No one can stop them, if they choose not to stop. We fall, we get up; we again fall, we try to get up. Though the world is not as fair as ‘fair and lovely’, in the marathon of life, endurance, perseverance and attitude are the things that count. Whatsoever is the extent of globalization, successful and down-to-earth ‘Indian’ ladies like Mrs. Sudha Murthy will continue to touch the Indian heart and inspire the Indian minds. There are some messages which are beyond the bands of noises and beyond the valleys of silences to be calmed down. I suggest you should take a printout of the attached document and make all your daughters, sisters or friends go through and grasp it well.

- Rahul

***

A Humble Story

It was probably the April of 1974. Bangalore was getting warm and gulmohars were blooming at the IISc campus. I was the only girl in my postgraduate department and was staying at the ladies’ hostel. Other girls were pursuing research in different departments of Science.

I was looking forward to going abroad to complete a doctorate in computer science. I had been offered scholarships from Universities in the US. I had not thought of taking up a job in India.

One day, while on the way to my hostel from our lecture-hall complex, I saw an advertisement on the notice board. It was a standard job-requirement notice from the famous automobile company Telco (now Tata Motors). It stated that the company required young, bright engineers, hardworking and with an excellent academic background, etc.

At the bottom was a small line: “Lady candidates need not apply.”

I read it and was very upset. For the first time in my life I was up against gender discrimination.

Though I was not keen on taking up the job, I saw it as a challenge. I had done extremely well in  academics, better than most of my male peers. Little did I know then that in real life academic excellence is not enough to be successful.

After reading the notice I went fuming to my room. I decided to inform the topmost person in Telco’s management about the injustice the company was perpetrating. I got a postcard and started to write,

but there was a problem: I did not know who headed Telco.

I thought it must be one of the Tatas. I knew JRD Tata was the head of the Tata Group; I had seen his pictures in newspapers (actually, Sumant Moolgaokar was the company’s chairman then). I took the card, addressed it to JRD and started writing. To this day I remember clearly what I wrote.

“The great Tatas have always been pioneers. They are the people who started the basic infrastructure industries in India, such as iron and steel, chemicals, textiles and locomotives. They have cared for higher education in India since 1900 and they were responsible for the establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. Fortunately, I study there. But I am surprised how a company such as Telco is discriminating on the basis of gender.”

I posted the letter and forgot about it. Less than 10 days later, I received a telegram stating that I had to appear for an interview at Telco’s Pune facility at the company’s expense. I was taken aback by the telegram. My hostel mate told me I should use the opportunity to go to Pune free of cost and buy them the famous Pune saris for cheap! I collected Rs 30 each from everyone who wanted a sari. When I look back, I

Feel like laughing at the reasons for my going, but back then they seemed good enough to make the trip.

It was my first visit to Pune and I immediately fell in love with the city. To this day it remains dear to me. I feel as much at home in Pune as I do in Hubli, my hometown. The place changed my life in so many ways. As directed, I went to Telco’s Pimpri office for the interview.

There were six people on the panel and I realised then that this was serious business.

“This is the girl who wrote to JRD,” I heard somebody whisper as soon as I entered the room. By then I knew for sure that I would not get the job. The realisation abolished all fear from my mind, so I was rather cool while the interview was being conducted.

Even before the interview started, I reckoned the panel was biased, so I told them, rather impolitely, “I hope this is only a technical interview.”

They were taken aback by my rudeness, and even today I am ashamed about my attitude. The panel asked me technical questions and I answered all of them.

Then an elderly gentleman with an affectionate voice told me, “Do you know why we said lady candidates need not apply? The reason is that we have never employed any ladies on the shop floor. This is not a co-ed college; this is a factory. When it comes to academics, you are a first ranker throughout. We appreciate that, but people like you should work in research laboratories.”

I was a young girl from small-town Hubli. My world had been a limited place. I did not know the ways of large corporate houses and their difficulties, so I answered, “But you must start somewhere, otherwise no woman will ever be able to work in your factories.”

Finally, after a long interview, I was told I had been successful. So this was what the future had in store for me. Never had I thought I would take up a job in Pune. I met a shy young man from Karnataka there, we became good friends and we got married.

It was only after joining Telco that I realized who JRD was: the uncrowned king of Indian industry. Now I was scared, but I did not get to meet him till I was transferred to Bombay. One day I had to show some reports to Mr Moolgaokar, our chairman, who we all knew as SM. I was in his office on the first floor of Bombay House (the Tata headquarters) when, suddenly JRD walked in. That was the first time I saw “appro JRD”. Appro means “our” in Gujarati. This was the affectionate term by which people at Bombay House called him.

I was feeling very nervous, remembering my postcard episode. SM introduced me nicely, “Jeh (that’s what his close associates called him), this young woman is an engineer and that too a postgraduate.

She is the first woman to work on the Telco shop floor.” JRD looked at me. I was praying he would not ask me any questions about my interview (or the postcard that preceded it). Thankfully, he didn’t. Instead, he remarked. “It is nice that girls are getting into engineering in our country. By the way, what is your name?”

“When I joined Telco I was Sudha Kulkarni, Sir,” I replied. “Now I am Sudha Murthy.” He smiled and kindly smile and started a discussion with SM. As for me, I almost ran out of the room.

After that I used to see JRD on and off. He was the Tata Group chairman and I was merely an engineer. There was nothing that we had in common. I was in awe of him.

One day I was waiting for Murthy, my husband, to pick me up after office hours. To my surprise I saw JRD standing next to me. I did not know how to react. Yet again I started worrying about that postcard. Looking back, I realise JRD had forgotten about it. It must have been a small incident for him, but not so for me.

“Young lady, why are you here?” he asked. “Office time is over.”

I said, “Sir, I’m waiting for my husband to come and pick me up.”

JRD said, “It is getting dark and there’s no one in the corridor. I’ll wait with you till your husband comes.”

I was quite used to waiting for Murthy, but having JRD waiting alongside made me extremely  uncomfortable.

I was nervous. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. He wore a simple white pant and shirt. He was old, yet his face was glowing. There wasn’t any air of superiority about him. I was thinking, “Look at this person. He is a chairman, a well-respected man in our country and he is waiting for the sake of an ordinary employee.”

Then I saw Murthy and I rushed out. JRD called and said, “Young lady, tell your husband never to make his wife wait again.”

In 1982 I had to resign from my job at Telco. I was reluctant to go, but I really did not have a choice. I was coming down the steps of Bombay House after wrapping up my final settlement when I saw JRD coming up. He was absorbed in thought. I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I stopped. He saw me and paused.

Gently, he said, “So what are you doing, Mrs Kulkarni?” (That was the way he always addressed me.) “Sir, I am leaving Telco.”

“Where are you going?” he asked. “Pune, Sir. My husband is starting a company called Infosys and I’m shifting to Pune.”

“Oh! And what will you do when you are successful.”

“Sir, I don’t know whether we will be successful.” “Never start with diffidence,” he advised me. “Always start with confidence. When you are successful you must give back to society. Society gives us so much; we must reciprocate. I wish you all the best.”

Then JRD continued walking up the stairs. I stood there for what seemed like a millennium. That was the last time I saw him alive. Many years later I met Ratan Tata in the same Bombay House, occupying the chair JRD once did. I told him of my many sweet memories of working with Telco. Later, he wrote to me, “It was nice hearing about Jeh from you. The sad part is that he’s not alive to see you today.”

I consider JRD a great man because, despite being an extremely busy person, he valued one postcard  written by a young girl seeking justice. He must have received thousands of letters everyday. He could have thrown mine away, but he didn’t do that. He respected the intentions of that unknown girl, who had neither influence nor money, and gave her an opportunity in his company. He did not merely give her a job; he  changed her life and mindset forever.

Close to 50 per cent of the students in today’s engineering colleges are girls. And there are women on the shop floor in many industry segments. I see these changes and I think of JRD. If at all time stops and asks me what I want from life, I would say I wish JRD were alive today to see how the company we started has grown. He would have enjoyed it wholeheartedly.

My love and respect for the House of Tata remains undiminished by the passage of time. I always looked up to JRD. I saw him as a role model for his simplicity, his generosity, his kindness and the care he took of

his employees. Those blue eyes always reminded me of the sky; they had the same vastness and  magnificence.

*(Sudha Murthy is a widely published writer and chairperson of the Infosys Foundation involved in a number of social development initiatives. Infosys chairman Narayan Murthy is her husband.) *

Article sourced from: Lasting Legacies (Tata Review- Special Commemorative Issue 2004), brought out by the house of Tatas to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of JRD Tata on July 29, 2004.