Information technology consulting in India

Abstract

This study investigates into the current scenario in the IT consulting market to formulate strategies for Indian players to enter this niche segment. Much has been written about the success of the Indian IT services players against their global competitors. But, it seems, that a lot of factors that have so far provided them a competitive edge are on a decline now. The only way to sustain the miraculous growth rates is to move up the value chain where other low cost nations cannot compete. IT consulting, which encompasses integration of business processes to a firm’s IT assets as well as formulation of a firm’s IT strategy, has been the forte of global IT services majors like IBM Global Services and Accenture. To make a mark in this competitive industry, it is important to understand the industry, the market trends and the opportunities that can be exploited to make a jump in the market. In this report, we first present to you the findings of our study on the industry. We find that the various Indian IT players have adopted different strategies towards consulting. While Infosys and Wipro have the right focus and vision towards going into strategy, Satyam and TCS do not have dedicated consulting efforts. The Indian IT vendors currently garner a huge chunk of their revenues from N. America. Greater geographical diversification as well as servicing more industry sectors would definitely help the players generate more confidence among their clients. The greatest effort which we recommend to take is in the direction of servicing Indian clients. With obvious advantages and the extraordinary economic growth, Indian deals would give these players a solid platform to leverage on when they pitch to foreign clients. On the operational side, we recommend the acquisition of a small foreign consulting firm and run consulting as a separate division or firm to resolve any HR related issues. Lastly, the Indian players should be able to exploit the trend to employ multiple vendors for large deals.