Infosys at exciting juncture, bets big on digital: Nilekani at 37th AGM

Chairman Nandan Nilekani said digital challenges were pervading every space spanning media, entertainment, healthcare financial services, retail or pharmaceuticals.

Riding on strong financial performance and new technologies, global software major Infosys is betting on digital strategy to spur growth in the exciting times, said its co-founder and Chairman Nandan M Nilekani on Saturday.

"We are at an exciting juncture in the journey of our industry. I have never seen as many possibilities to partner with and grow along with our clients as I see today. Every industry, every sector is undergoing transformation, driven by the digital revolution that engulfs us," Nilekani told shareholders at the company's 37th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Bengaluru.

Nilekani, 63, rejoined the $10.94-billion IT major in August 2017 eight years after he resigned as CEO to join the then UPA government as head of the UIDAI, which issues unique identification card Aadhaar.

Nilekani said digital challenges were pervading every space spanning media, entertainment, healthcare financial services, retail or pharmaceuticals.

"The digital technology is bringing new ways of doing business, of using the latest technology, leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) and letting data point the way to creating new kinds of customer experience," he said.

Noting that digital technology gave the outsourcing firm the opportunity to do something different and help businesses deal with increasing digitization for their transformation, the Chairman said he was convinced that there was no better time than now to strategically chart its own journey as a company as well.

"The first thing we did was to get our strategy right. Under the leadership of our new Chief Executive Salil Parekh, we took stock of our capabilities, the areas we need to strengthen and discussed with our clients the best we to steer forward. Our strategic clarity is beginning to drive everything we do."

Assuring the investors that the company had taken several steps to bring back stability, Nilekani said a stable board was in place with a capable management team and thousands of Infoscions.

"When I stepped for the second time into Infosys in August 2017, one of the concerns raised by you (investors) was about the company's stability. We have (a) very stable board, everybody is united and we are on the verge of something momentous. The focus is on execution," Nilekani added.