Infy courts French Open, aims to showcase its tech prowess through sport

Sport is the new playground for Infosys as the IT services major raises its engagement with games like tennis through partnership with premier global tournaments such as the French Open and Australian Open.

According to officials, such partnership will not only give the company an opportunity to showcase its expertise in new technology areas, they will also help in boosting its brand image with clients and employees.

“This (French Open) is a tremendous opportunity and through the world of tennis, a lot of our clients and senior people visit the event. So that gives a different mindshare about Infosys,” said U B Pravin Rao, chief operating officer (COO), Infosys. 

“In this tournament, we have invited various CXO level officials of our clients in Europe. So, we will discuss a lot of things happening in the IT services world on the sidelines of the tournament,” Rao added.

In March this year, Infosys entered into a three-year partnership with Roland Garros, the official name of the French Open, to provide technology solutions for the tennis tournament. 

The Bengaluru-headquartered firm has been working as a services provider to another prestigious tennis event — the Australian Open. 

“Even during the Australian Open, we had our APAC clients’ meet on the sidelines of the event. We have been leveraging this and the feedback is very positive,” said Rao.

Apart from involving its client base and senior staffers, Infosys is engaging its employees in mega events.

The IT firm, which is facing a high level of employee attrition at junior levels, sees this as a tool to deepen its engagement with its workers. "We are trying to engage our employees whenever such events are organised. For instance, during the Australian Open, we held a graffiti contest among our employees,” the Infosys COO said.

Companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tech Mahindra have been working with sporting events for some time. By organising marathon events worldwide, experts said, TCS has been building up its brand image in key client geographies. The IT major is the title sponsor of the New York City Marathon for the last five years. 

Tech Mahindra had worked as the IT services provider for the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and 2014, held in South Africa and Brazil, respectively. 

Among other players, IT/BPM firm Quess Corp took a majority stake in Kolkata's East Bengal Club as part of its branding initiatives.

Apart from involving its client base and senior level staffers, Infosys is also making a conscious effort to engage its employees in such mega events. The IT firm, which is facing high level of employee attrition among the junior level, sees this as a tool to deepen the engagement with the employees. "We are also trying to engage our employees whenever such events are organised. For instance, during Australian Open, we held a graffiti contest among our employees," the Infosys COO said.
 

There are several other IT services companies in India such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tech Mahindra who have been working with sporting events for some time. By organising marathon events worldwide, experts said, TCS has been building up its brand image in key client geographies. The IT major is the title sponsor of New York City Marathon for the last five years. Similarly, Tech Mahindra had worked as the IT services provider for the FIFA world cups in 2010 and 2014 events held in South Africa and Brazil respectively. Among other players, IT/BPM firm, Quess Corp has taken a majority stake in Kolkata's East Bengal Club as part of its branding initiatives.