Infosys puts Hyd on front burner

May set up new centre spanning 150-300 acres

Bangalore-based IT major Infosys Technologies Limited has put Hyderabad on the front burner of its expansion strategy. The $1.59 billion company is looking at expanding and may set up a new centre in the city spanning 150-300 acres in size in the future.

Addressing mediapersons at the Infosys' Hyderabad Development Centre (DC), N R Narayana Murthy, chief mentor and chairman of Infosys, said, "The Hyderabad DC has over 4,000 employees and we have the capacity to add 4,000-5,000 more people within the next 18-24 months."

On being asked whether they were looking at setting up a 100-acre campus in the city, Murthy said that to grow by 30 per cent this year, they will have to expand with regard to people and facilities.

"However, at this stage, if we look at setting up a campus, it will be of 150-300 acres in size," he said, adding that they have had discussions with Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. "Bangalore will, however, continue to receive attention as well," Murthy said.

Infosys has an office space of seven million sq ft today and will be adding another two million-three million sq ft in the next year. The 40,000-strong company plans to recruit around 16,000 people this year.

The company has been growing at a fast clip though inorganic growth has not been a major driver in this regard. However, when questioned about the company's acquisition strategy, Murthy said, "We will certainly look at acquisitions of companies that are complementary to us, have similar value systems and leverage our competencies."

The company has a presence in 18 countries and it entered China in the last financial year. "China has tremendous potential and it is important today for us to have a presence in that country. It is a great source of talent and we will continue to leverage our strengths in that market," he said.

According to reports available, Infosys plans to spend around $65 million on building up two centres in China over a five-year period with a capacity for 6,000 people. The company employs around 250 people in China at present and is looking at increasing its headcount to 1,000 within the next few quarters.

On being asked whether they would come out with new products and services, Murthy said that they will continue to strengthen their banking solution, Finacle. "We are adding a lot of functionalities to this product," he added.

"There are challenges with regard to scalability, recruitment and training, retaining quality while expanding and cost controlling," Murthy said when asked about the challenges that the company would face in becoming a $2 billion company this year.

"At the Mysore Training Centre, we train 15,000 people a year. There is potential to up that number to 30,000 a year as we move forward. We are working on that. Besides, we have 500 clients today. As we grow, we would like that number to touch the 5,000-mark," he added with regard to their other plans concerning scalability.

According to Nandan Nilekani, chief executive officer, president and managing director of Infosys Technologies Limited, "Global outsourcing is a major trend and India continues to be the country of choice in this regard."

He added that services contribute to 40 per cent of the company's revenues and new services will be added by the company from time to time.

Next 25 years crucial

With eyes set on a target of making Infosys "a truly Indian multinational," Narayana Murthy said that the next 25 years are what matter as the past is dead. Infosys started its 25th year celebrations from Friday.

"In the next 25 years, I want Infosys to be a place where people of different races, nationalities and religious beliefs work together, in an environment of intense competition but utmost courtesy and dignity to add greater value to our customers. I want Infosys to be the most respected company in every country that it operates. We will continue to have the mindset of a small company even as we grow and scale," Murthy said.

Commenting on whether they would pip Tata Consultancy Services in the IT domain in the near future, Murthy said that he was being paid to ensure that the company grows faster than its competitors and "we, therefore, desire to be the leader in this regard."

Global IT majors like IBM and Accenture, according to Murthy, are not giving the company sleepless nights. "They are playing our game by offshoring their work over here. It clearly means that we are the leaders in this regard," he added.

Regarding the political turmoil in Karnataka, he added that the company has learnt to live with these situations. "Bangalore, however, needs to learn from cities like Hyderabad and Chennai with regard to improving infrastructure," Murthy said.