Infosys launches Star Accounts programme to harness clients

As a part of Infosys 3.0 strategy, Infosys, India’s second largest IT services company has introduced a new programme, Star Accounts to manage its top accounts (clients) and harness the maximum opportunities from them.

The programme aims at increasing Infosys’ breadth and depth in the client facing side by engaging dedicated client partners to manage and grow these accounts successfully.

“We are moving towards more and more client partners for our strategic clients,” said SD Shibulal, CEO & MD of Infosys replying to a query during the company’s annual analyst meet in New York.

Under the programme, the company has identified about 50 accounts which have the highest potential for growth. The company aims to double the number in the next 2-3 years.

“As a company we get the vast majority of our growth from select number of accounts which are hopefully these higher potential accounts. The idea of creating a programme around these accounts is to be able to preferentially invest our management attention, focus and of course dollars into these accounts to spur growth where there is spend available,” said Basab Pradhan, Head – Global Sales & Marketing, and Member, Executive Council of Infosys.

Under the programme, Infosys is deploying dedicated client partners with a certain profile, seniority, connections and industry experience to manage the Star Accounts.

As of September 30, 2011, Infosys had 647 active accounts including one $300 million plus account (clients who gives revenues of $300 million in a year and eleven $100 million plus accounts. The top 10 client contributed 25.2% of the company’s revenues of Rs 8,099 crore during the quarter.

Wage hike could moderate

Meanwhile, Infosys said it expected the wage increase to get moderated in 2011 due to uncertainties in the global economic environment. V Balakrishnan, CFO and Board member of Infosys, said, “There is so much of uncertainty in the global economic environment, I think the wage increase next year could get moderated. I do not know how much it will be, it will definitely not be 15-16% like what happened in 2010. It could come to a normal level, maybe 10-12% or slightly lesser than that."