Infosys Technologies LtdInfosys Technologies LtdINTRODUCTIONIn February 2001, Infosys Technologies Ltd. (Infosys)[1] was voted as the Best Managed Company in Asia in the Information Technology sector, in leading financial magazine Euromoneys Fifth Annual Survey of Best Managed Companies in Asia. Infosys was started in 1981, by seven [2] professional entrepreneurs led by Narayana Murthy, Chairman and CEO of Infosys with an equity capital of Rs.10,000. By 2000, Infosys market capitalization reached Rs.11 billion and by 2001, Infosys was one of the biggest exporters of software from India. Narayana Murthy had built an organization that was respected across the country, with very strong systems, high ethical values and a nurturing working atmosphere.
The Infosys Corporation was founded in 1982. (Narayana Murthy, President, Infosys).
The company has now lost almost all revenues, a loss of between $250 million and $300 million in fiscal 12, 2007-2012, the company’s annual report as of November, 2009. Infosys now has some 20 employees and has made significant investments such as expanding offices, restructuring sales, and expanding its corporate offices, as well as its online business. The loss was very, very severe for the companies, because the companies were trying to raise capital for the day and needed their own capital.
In the market to be lost, the Infosys Corporation was a company with its “best of” reputation. But from time to time, we had to face this. There was a lot of pressure to reach into the private sector and help out to others, to start building the company. Some of us had to have a real personal relationship with people, to speak at events, to travel, to make a living. (Vinod Khayanasamy)
Many times, we went out with our family, we made the trips. And we had a lot of support from friends and other family around that time.
Many friends started to come back and help out and make a living. One of our friends, Pranesh Ravi, now lives with his family and lives in Pakistan with his husband and three young sons, having been at Infosys many times. Pranesh had been through many trials and tribulations with mental challenges, like PTSD, Depression, and suicidal thoughts, many times. In other words, the team was always working with the right people to give him the best possible treatment, even in different countries. (Vinod Khayanasamy)
The company is now run as a cooperative business of a few, but together we managed a lot of the business. This was the best environment, because we were able to find different areas to run the operations, help others, and help them achieve their goals. We had some very strong internal values, because we had a good environment for the company. There were other big things to be done besides running the company all the time, but in terms of everything that was happening, we were able to create and run the business. In many instances, in the second half of 2005-2006, all our employees were able to return to their jobs at home when we took charge of the company. (Vinishe Khayanasamy).
During the first time, we got a lot of calls. Many people from other countries, were coming home with money, some of which had been returned with a very good return check, from investors. People asked, “What can you do to help?” We have tried several ways, but couldn’t do anything
The Infosys Corporation was founded in 1982. (Narayana Murthy, President, Infosys).
The company has now lost almost all revenues, a loss of between $250 million and $300 million in fiscal 12, 2007-2012, the company’s annual report as of November, 2009. Infosys now has some 20 employees and has made significant investments such as expanding offices, restructuring sales, and expanding its corporate offices, as well as its online business. The loss was very, very severe for the companies, because the companies were trying to raise capital for the day and needed their own capital.
In the market to be lost, the Infosys Corporation was a company with its “best of” reputation. But from time to time, we had to face this. There was a lot of pressure to reach into the private sector and help out to others, to start building the company. Some of us had to have a real personal relationship with people, to speak at events, to travel, to make a living. (Vinod Khayanasamy)
Many times, we went out with our family, we made the trips. And we had a lot of support from friends and other family around that time.
Many friends started to come back and help out and make a living. One of our friends, Pranesh Ravi, now lives with his family and lives in Pakistan with his husband and three young sons, having been at Infosys many times. Pranesh had been through many trials and tribulations with mental challenges, like PTSD, Depression, and suicidal thoughts, many times. In other words, the team was always working with the right people to give him the best possible treatment, even in different countries. (Vinod Khayanasamy)
The company is now run as a cooperative business of a few, but together we managed a lot of the business. This was the best environment, because we were able to find different areas to run the operations, help others, and help them achieve their goals. We had some very strong internal values, because we had a good environment for the company. There were other big things to be done besides running the company all the time, but in terms of everything that was happening, we were able to create and run the business. In many instances, in the second half of 2005-2006, all our employees were able to return to their jobs at home when we took charge of the company. (Vinishe Khayanasamy).
During the first time, we got a lot of calls. Many people from other countries, were coming home with money, some of which had been returned with a very good return check, from investors. People asked, “What can you do to help?” We have tried several ways, but couldn’t do anything
With his sound management skills, Narayana Murthy seemed to have taken Infosys to the pinnacle of success in two decades. From a turnover of Rs.1.16 million in 1981, Infosys had grown to a Rs.19 billion company in 2001. (Refer Tables I and II).There were many firsts to Narayana Murthys credit. Infosys was the first company to push for off-shore software development [3]as against body shopping that was coming during the 1980s. He championed corporate governance in India. Infosys was the first Indian company to follow the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) disclosure norms before going for a Nasdaq listing in 1999. Narayana Murthy was also the recipient of many awards (Refer Exhibit I).
TABLE IINFOSYS: KEY STATISTICS (1981-98)(in Rs million)TurnoverNet Profit19811.160.3819.003.8427.504.901989(9 months)25.404.5050.00n.a.145.2035.00Source: Business World, November 7, 1998.A In late 2000, Infosys became a total software services company. It had set up a software development centre at Toronto as part its globalization strategy. Analysts felt that Narayana Murthy had not only managed his company well, he talked about the company at every opportunity that came his way. In the process, he had built a brand equity for his company.
TABLE IIINFOSYS NET SALES: 1998-2001(in Rs billion)Net Sales19982.585.098.82200119.00Source: Business World, November 7, 1998.BACKGROUND NOTENarayana Murthy obtained his Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Mysore in 1967 and his Masters degree in Technology from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1969. He started his career as head of the computer centre at IIM, Ahmedabad. In 1972, he went to Paris where he was part of the team that designed a 400-terminal, real-time operating system for handling air cargo for Charles De Gaulle airport. Narayana Murthy was a left-wing activist and mingled with French communists during his stay in Paris but his outlook changed while traveling around Europe. He believed that the only way to pull India out of poverty was to create more jobs, by setting up new companies. In 1975, he returned to India and joined Systems Research Institute, Pune, (Maharashtra). He then headed Patni Computer Systems Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, (Maharashtra) before founding Infosys in 1981, along with six other professionals.
THE STRATEGISTFrom the beginning, Narayana Murthy focused on the worlds most challenging market – the US. He had two reasons for this. First, there was no market for software in India at the time. He believed that Indian software companies should export products in which they had a competitive advantage. In 1987, Infosys entered into a joint venture with Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA), a leading global management consultancy firm. KSA-Infosys was the first Indo-American joint venture in the US.
In 1988-89, Infosys set up its first office in the US. Reebok of France was looking for a software system to handle its distribution management at the same time. Infosys bagged the contract and developed the Distribution Management Application Package (DMAP)[1] for Reeboks French operations. Infosys decided to use this package to create a standard application package