Infy enters the "Balanced score card hall of fame for executing strategy"

This is my last entry as a graduate student so I want to mention again that Infosys is a great company and that I am sure we will hear from it a lot in the following years. Actually, Infosys just won an award instituted by the Palladium Group Inc. which is a leading global professional services firm that enables companies to better measure and manage performance using the Balanced Score Card approach. Among past winners of this award there are UPS, Best Buy, Siemens, Motorola and AT&T Canada.
Infosys claims that it is a company powered by intellect and driven by values, i believe this is a quality that will distinguish the company from its competitors. However Infosys will need to re-invent its business model over and over to remain competitive, build a strong brand and be aware of the market demands so it can deliver differentiates services that add high value.

This blog experience was pretty nice, it is a great way to express ideas and share them. it is a clear example that our society is changing and that markets are not longer defined by geographical boundaries.

I wish you all the best, and remember "future always arrives a little before we are ready to give up the past"

Lessons from a visionary

Is it easier to learn from failure than it is to learn from success? that is exactly what Mr. Murthy, Infosys´ visionary says and it is problably a good idea to hear what he has to say because he has built a $28 Billion dollars worth company.

I will share some life lessons that he learned from his life and career and recently shared with NYU students:

*Valuable advice can sometimes come from an unexpected source, and chance events can sometimes open new doors

*Entrepreneurship is the only viable mechanism for eradicating poverty in societies

*There is always a moment when we have to make a decision right on the spot, like whether to accept the customer’s terms or to walk out and you have to think about long term benefit.

*that it is much easier to learn from failure because when you fail you analyze the situation and think carefully about its cause. When you succeed you only reinforce your prior behavior and actions.

* Self-knowledge which according to Mr. Murthy is what ultimately helps develop a more grounded belief in oneself, courage, determination, and above all, humility

This life lessons come handy specially when we as managers or entrepreneurs face tough situations and when those situations will determine the future of our personal or professional life.

During this talk at NYU Mr. Murthy also mentioned something that i like a lot and i actually will quote "when, one day, you have made your mark on the world, remember that we are all temporary custodians of the wealth we generate, whether it be financial, intellectual, or emotional. The best use of wealth is to share it with the less fortunate. I believe that we have all at some time eaten the fruit from trees that we did not plant. In the fullness of time, when it is our turn to give, it behooves us in turn to plant gardens that we may never eat the fruit of, which will largely benefit generations to come. This is our sacred responsibility."

Infosys comes to Mexico!

Infosys set up its first latin-america subsidiary in Monterrey, Mexico. According to Infosys, this is an attemt to mitigate the risk and move from an Indian IT company to a Global IT company. But why Mexico? there are several reasons behind this the decision to select Nuevo Leon and Monterrey, among these there is the proximity to its larger customers (USA), the intellectual capital and broad skills available in the area, also the proximity to canada and Europe and the efforts that the academic institutions, the business community, and the government have been making to turn the software industry into one of the strategic areas of development for Nuevo Leon. The Government of Nuevo Leon is working towards creating an IT cluster and Infosys will contribute to it in a great proportion.
The center will provide business consulting and information technology services for clients in all industries, including banking, financial services, retail, consumer packaged goods, energy and utilities and recently starter with a capacity of 300 seats; the project they will have 1000 employees in the following 3 years.

Indian IT firms for non-dummies

According to wired:

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2001/11/47435, college and graduate students are increasingly considering India as an ideal place to do Internships. I did.

The thing is that companies like Infosys are offering internship opportunities hard to match elsewhere. Infosys' InStep program selects top students from top colleges and business schools around the world to work in India for one to six months on meaningful projects that actually help the firm.
For the 2000-2001 school year, 800 students from top American and European colleges applied for just 24 vacancies. For the 2007-2008, Infosys received 12,000 applications for just 125 vacancies.

As interns we sign confidentiality agreements and are treated as employees. I never felt alienated there, i was just another employee living the India experience. Another thing that I loved was the trust. I had access to very confidential information, they allowed me to review, interview and survey everything and everyone I thought could contribute my project. Sounds easy but it is hard for a company that size to trust an intern that will be there only for two months.

Instep is a branding program, part of its global strategy. Infosys wants to create a international brand recognition, attrack and retain the best people and of course get new customers. Interns help the company with all that. We come back to our home countries to talk wonders of the company and the country, we even write blogs about how great it was, we are potential employees and potential customer. A very smart move I would say.

The article from wired mentions that Infosys' attraction, among other things, is the offer to work in India. I agree, I saw India's economic Booming and wanted to experience first hand that development, understand why in Mexico we haven't been able to replicate that kind of success in many companies or industries.

This experience involves a tremendous learning, personal validation through the development of a project that will really impact the company, and an amazing cultural experience.

Infosys Technologies Ltd.

For this Blog, I decided to talk about Infosys Technologies. I had the opportunity to participate in their Instep Global Internship Program in Bangalore India this summer 2007 , and not only loved the experience and the Company but I was amazed with their organization, structure and strategies to grow and be recognized as a Global Company.

As we know, Indian Companies have adopted a dynamic and agressive global mindset. They are now in almost every sector such as steel, automotive, beverages, and of course IT and BPO services. Infosys is an example of this type of company and one of the most famous organizations in India, one that had made the entire nation proud.

Infosys Technologies Ltd. provides consulting and IT services to clients globally. The company was founded in 1981, now employs over 75,000 employees worldwide, and crossed in 2007 $3 billion dollars in revenues.

What differentiates this company and has allowed it to position in the IT market worldwide is the development and implementation of a low-risk Global Delivery Model (GDM) that accelerates schedules with a high degree of time and cost predictability, providing end-to-end business solutions that leverage technology.

The company offers solutions for a wide range of industries from Automotive and aerospace to Healthcare, retail and transportation services among others.

It started penetrating the global market by offering low-cost, skilled labor and a Global delivery Model; Now, it is waking up to the importance of setting up delivery and work centres closer to their clients' offices across the globe, and delivering end-to-end solutions based on quality and certainty. Infosys has in India the world's single largest software development facility among IT services companies and presence in USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia, China, India, Japan and a large part of Europe.