We're seeing heavy momentum in IT spend by clients: Wipro's Jatin Dalal

In a Q&A, the President & CFO of the IT behemoth says over 90% of employees will continue to work from home at least till April

As IT services company Wipro posts strong Q3 numbers, its President & Chief Financial Officer Jatin Dalal tells Samreen Ahmad that a greater need for technology by clients across enterprises has led to this growth. He says over 90 per cent of the employees will continue to work from home at least till April. Edited excerpts: 

Q3 is typically a weak quarter for IT companies. What has helped Wipro source a strong set of numbers? Has work from home helped the company as clients and employees continued their engagement remotely? 

I would not attribute it only to work from home. A greater need for technologies like cloud, cybersecurity, data analytics has contributed. Most of the business models are becoming more virtual and that by design means a greater investment in technology is taking place across our customer base. That is helping us deliver greater growth. Five of our seven business units delivered over 4 per cent sequential growth which speaks how broad-based this growth is.

What percentage of Wipro employees are currently WFH? Will it opt for a hybrid model this year?

Today we have 2.5 per cent staff working from office, about 5 per cent working from customer locations and over 92 per cent staff are still working from home. This will not change in quarter four. By April, we will make a fresh assessment of the situation on ground vis-a-vis Covid infections. Even in April if we feel we need a couple of more months, we will invest those months. Then we'll think through about the eventual model. We have seen a second wave in several parts of the world so we need to be cautious. 

 

The company has seen a good number of deals in 2020? How does the deal funnel look in 2021?

We had double-digit growth in order bookings in Q3. We are entering March quarter with a good set of pursuits and our effort would be to continue to leverage our capabilities and chase more and more business in the market. There is certainly more traction.

How does the IT budget of the clients look like this year?

We are seeing a significant momentum in clients’ spend which is driven by cloud transformation, digital transformation, investment in cybersecurity. Overall, we are seeing an increase in IT spend as business models are becoming more virtual in current times and there needs to be greater need for technology adoption in all kinds of enterprises. That is creating an additional momentum in current times.

What range of salary hikes have been given to 80 per cent employees? What kind of campus hiring as compared to last year this?

We are addressing our salary increases according to the market trend. We added 3,000 freshers in Q3 and will continue to add more freshers in Q4.

 

How does the European market look going forward after Brexit. Also, what would be the outlook in the US market as the new government takes over?

In Europe, the uncertainty is over which is good for our business as clients like certainty. We do not see any adverse outcomes of Brexit. We should see more decision making around the future architecture, and future scheme of things that our customers will have post Brexit. It is too early to comment on the US. We will watch out for sector specific initiatives that the new administration will undertake and we will calibrate our responses accordingly. 

Is the company planning to invest or collaborate on any digital platforms for a Covid-19 vaccination solution?

We have given sophisticated support to a host of agencies working on Covid-19 solutions, including the investment of Rs 1,125 crore announced by the Group in the beginning of this fiscal. We set up a Covid hospital in Pune, and worked with agencies across states to become successful in their endeavours in fighting the virus. We also created a digital platform that was a collaboration area for doctors for treating Covid patients all over India. We will continue to do whatever we can for the country in this area.