Tag: infosys

PM’s wife rakes in millions for Infosys with Tory VIP access.

Posted on February 6, 2024 by - News

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is in hot water after Trade Minister Dominic Johnson revealed that he gave special treatment to Sunak’s father-in-law’s Indian IT firm, Infosys.

Infosys is owned by Rishi’s daddy-in-law, Narayan Murty, and his missus, Akshata Murty. She owns a 0.91 per cent stake in the company. She trousered £13 million in dividends from Infosys last year, making Rishi the richest PM ever.

The scandal comes as Rishi tries to polish his image before the next election. But it seems he has some skeletons in his closet or his in-laws’ closet.

According to media reports, trade minister Dominic Johnson had a cosy chat with Infosys bosses in Bengaluru, India, last year. He allegedly told them he would “do what he could” to help them do business in the UK.

The meeting was recorded,, and the transcript shows that Johnson was keen to see more Infosys presence in the UK market and “would be happy to do what he could to facilitate that. ”

He reassured the Indian firm “on the prospects for the UK economy” and reminded them of the support that the UK government “can provide through Department for Business and Trade”.

He added: “We value the relationship with Infosys and will continue to engage at a ministerial level when requested.”

Infosys growing

Posted on April 17, 2023 by - News

IT outsourcing giant Infosys grew its revenues by 11.7 per cent to reach $18.2 billion in 2023 with operating margins dropping from 22 per cent in 2022 to 21 per cent this year.

The company said that its growth was broad-based across industry verticals and geographic regions. Digital comprised 62.2 per cent of overall revenues and grew at 13.1 per cent.

Manufacturing and life sciences reported the biggest year-on-year growth at 22.2 per cent and 14.9 per cent, respectively. Europe was the region that saw the biggest year-on-year growth at 13.9 per cent.

Fourth quarter year on year growth was 8.8 per cent and sequential decline was 3.2 per cent in constant currency terms. Operating margin for the quarter was also 21.0 per cent. Free cash flow conversion was 95.7 per cent for fourth quarter.

Security bosses focus on cloud

Posted on September 6, 2022 by - News

Enterprise security leaders in the UK are focused on cloud security, building up resilience against threats and aligning cybersecurity strategies with overall business goals.

A new research report The 2022 ISG Provider Lens Cybersecurity report from Information Services Group (ISG) claims cloud security is an enterprise manager’s top priority.

The growing use of cloud models such as infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) is forcing companies to adapt their cybersecurity approaches, with a focus on holistic resilience that requires more communication and training for employees and outside stakeholders, the report says.

Cloud first makes the UK grade

Posted on December 1, 2021 by - News

An Information Services Group report claims that enterprises are increasingly embracing a cloud-first approach to their IT investments.

The “2021 ISG Provider Lens Public Cloud – Services & Solutions Report for the UK” said that enterprises are looking to service providers to help them migrate more of their workloads to the public cloud.

It finds many large UK enterprises interested in hybrid cloud environments, which enable continued use of legacy IT systems, even though an increasing number of companies anticipate a time when they would migrate all of their IT assets to the cloud. Small and medium-sized enterprises, meanwhile, are looking at infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) options to replace their depreciated hardware assets.

ISG partner Jan Erik Aase said that the move to the cloud is expected to be the primary driver of IT market growth in the UK in the coming years.

Infosys taps ex-Capgemini for CEO

Posted on December 5, 2017 by - Moving People

61913273Outsourcer Infosys has hired an ex-Capgemini executive to lead the firm after former CEO Vishal Sikka dramatically stepped down in August.

Salil Parekh will begin his tenure as the Indian giant’s new CEO on 2 January, replacing interim CEO Pravin Rao who will go back to being a COO.

Parekh has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry, and a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions. The Board believes that he is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in our industry. The Board is also grateful to Pravin for his leadership during this period of transition, the company said.

Infosys claims it underwent a “comprehensive global search effort” for the firm’s new leader, claiming that Parekh was the top choice from a pool of “highly qualified” candidates.

The new chief exec spent more than 25 years at Capgemini where he served as CEO of global financial services and held a place on the firm’s executive board.

In August, reports emerged that Infosys’ founder had led a boardroom coup which saw CEO Sikka and three board members abruptly depart from the firm. At the time, Sikka claimed that he had been victim of “unrelenting, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks” from founder Narayana Murthy.

Parekh’s priority will be “business continuity without rocking the boat,” The feud between Sikka and the founders, with N R Narayana Murthy in particular, has left a sour taste in investor and clients’ mouths.

Parekh needs to repair the dented confidence while keeping the founders, who own about 12 per cent of the company, in good humour. He has already received a thumbs up from Murthy as he said after the appointment, “I’m happy that Infosys has appointed Salil Parekh as the CEO. My best wishes to him.”

Infosys board “night of the long knives” causes chaos

Posted on August 29, 2017 by - News

image069Outsourcing giant Infosys appears to be suffering from the fallout of a boardroom coup.

The founder of Indian outsourcing giant Infosys staged a boardroom coup with four directors ousted and a former CEO returning to steady the ship.

Last week CEO Vishal Sikka announced his shock resignation, citing a series of “malicious” and “personal” attacks from Narayana Murthy, who founded the firm in 1981.

Now it seems that was all part of a grand plan from Murthy who has has now gone a step further, leading a boardroom coup that has seen four board members depart – including Sikka and chairman Ramaswami Seshasayee.

Seshasayee has been replaced by Nandan Nilekani, who co-founded Infosys and served as its chairman between 2002 and 2007.

Outgoing CEO Sikka will no longer stay on until his replacement is found, as was previously planned.

Nilekani said: “I am happy to return to Infosys, now in the role of non-executive chairman, and look forward to working with my colleagues on the board and in executive management on the business opportunities we see before us and delivering benefits to our clients, shareholders, employees and communities.

“I thank Vishal for his service as the CEO of Infosys over the last three years and wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Nilekani will have to rebuild the board and lead the search for a new CEO, while trying to steady the ship – and client and investor nerves.

Ex Infosys boss goes Kali about company founder

Posted on August 21, 2017 by - News

Statue of Hindu goddess KaliInfosys CEO Vishal Sikka resigned unexpectedly Friday, penning a three-page rant about his long-running feud with the Indian IT outsourcing company’s founder.

Sikka wrote in the letter: “Over the last many months and quarters, we have all been besieged by false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks. The continuous drumbeat of distractions and negativity over the last several months/quarters inhibits our ability to make positive change and stay focused on value creation.”

Infosys COO U.B. Pravin Rao was named as interim managing director and CEO of the Bengaluru, India-based systems integrator. Rao will report to Sikka, who will serve as executive vice chairman until a permanent CEO takes office, which Infosys said is expected to happen no later than March 31, 2018.

However the rant makes for interesting reading:

“I cannot carry out my job as CEO and continue to create value, while also constantly defending against unrelenting, baseless/malicious and increasingly personal attacks. After much contemplation, I have decided to leave because the distractions, the very public noise around us, have created an untenable atmosphere.”

The company’s board backed Sikka and deflected criticisms made by company founder and former chairman NR Narayana Murthy, who claimed in recent emails that Infosys’ independent directors felt that Sikka was more CTO material than CEO material.

“The Board is profoundly distressed by the unfounded personal attacks on the members of our management team that were made in the anonymous letters. The Board denounced the critics who have amplified and sought to further promote demonstrably false allegations, which have harmed employee morale and contributed to the loss of the company’s valued CEO.”

Murthy fired back several hours later, noting that he voluntarily left Infosys’ board in 2014 and was not seeking any money, power or positions for his children. Murthy has in the past questioned pay raises granted to Sikka and Rao, as well as the size of severance payments given to others.

“I am extremely anguished by the allegations, tone and tenor of the statement,” Murthy said in his response. “My concern primarily was the deteriorating standard of corporate governance, which I have repeatedly brought to the notice of the Infosys board.”

Infosys shake-up shakes company up

Posted on August 18, 2017 by - News

web-chocolate-shake-maltInfosys’s board of directors meeting saw the resignation of Dr. Vishal Sikka as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Vishal Sikka was  appointed the Executive Vice-Chairman, Mr. U B Pravin Rao as the Interim-Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

A press release for the succession plan for appointment of a new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer has been operationalised by the Board and a search for a new CEO has started.

The company’s stock tanked nearly 10 percent down on the back of the news.

An Infosys statement said in his new role Sikka would continue to focus on strategic initiatives, key customer relationships and technology development. He will report to the company’s board and receive an annual salary of $1 during his tenure.

In a filing to BSE, the company said: “Sikka reiterated his belief in the great potential of Infosys, but cited among his reasons for leaving a continuous stream of distractions and disruptions over the recent months and quarters, increasingly personal and negative as of late, as preventing the management’s ability to accelerate the company’s transformation.”

Differences were simmering between NR Narayana Murthy, one of the Infosys founders, and Sikka for some time, with the former repeatedly criticising the latter’s policies in the organisation.

In an interview with a business daily published on Friday, Murthy had revived his diatribe against Sikka, saying some of the board members felt the Silicon Valley import was more of a CTO material and not fit for the CEO position.

Infosys shops in London and buys some Brilliant Basics

Posted on August 4, 2017 by - News

infosysudacityOutsourcing supremo Infosys has written a cheque for Brilliant Basics, a London-based product design and customer experience outfit.

Infosys’ Ravi Kumar S, President & Deputy COO, claims it is all about its commitment to the expansion of a worldwide connected network of Digital Studios.

“These studios are focused on fulfilling the needs of our global clients for end-to-end Digital Transformation solutions required to meet customer demand for next-generation enhanced customer experiences,” he said.

“Adding Brilliant Basics’ design and CX capabilities has already proven to be invaluable, helping Infosys close large deals with a deep blend of skills. Brilliant Basics will connect our clients’ Systems of Record to new systems of engagement.”

Brilliant Basics Founder and CEO, Anand Verma said, perhaps not unexpectedly:  “I am thrilled to be a key part of Infosys, a company I have admired for a long time. Being a key member of the Infosys family allows Brilliant Basics “bb” to enhance and scale the overall offering for our clients. Infosys has a unique vision and approach to partnership and acquisition, which will enable us to closely collaborate on Digital Transformation programs globally.”

Brilliant Basics will enhance the company’s expertise in the financial services, retail and telco sectors across Europe and the Middle East, Verma said.

Global Head of Infosys Scott Sorokin said that the pair had coupled together on numerous Digital Transformation engagements and wins.

The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of fiscal 2018, subject to the usual closing conditions.

 

Infosys first quarter revenues grew 3.2 percent

Posted on July 14, 2017 by - News

infosysudacityOutsourcing King Infosys saw its first quarter revenues grow sequentially by 3.2 percent with a six percent improvement on last year.

The outfit announced that its revenues were $2,651 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 and its operating profit was $638 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Infosys CEO Dr. Vishal Sikka said that the company’s focus in Q1 is reflected in broad-based performance on multiple fronts- revenue growth, resilient margins despite multiple headwinds, healthy cash generation and overall business results.

“I am encouraged by the uptick in revenue per employee for six quarters in a row, and the strong momentum in our new high growth services and software, as we accelerate our focus on innovation-led growth. The widespread adoption of our grassroots innovation and education initiatives continue to fuel our transformation, and I am proud to see Infoscions embrace and drive Infosys towards becoming a next-generation services company.”

The company saw broad-based growth across geographical and industry segments and the bottom line was helped by new services and software offerings.

Company Revenues are expected to grow 6.5 percent to 8.5 percent and the moves towards automation and innovation such as Cloud Ecosystem, Big Data and Analytics, API and Micro Services, Data and Mainframe Modernisation, Cyber Security and IoT Engineering Services will grow.

Infosys is also expecting good things from its next-generation AI Platform Nia which was launched in April.

Infosys cuts tax deal with New York

Posted on June 26, 2017 by - News

infosysudacityInfosys has cut a tax deal with the State of New York’s investigation over the amount of taxes the Company paid in 2010-2011 without any criminal or civil charges being filed.

Infosys has made a $1 million settlement with the New York state after it was found that it violated US visa rules by placing employees on a different visa at its clients’ offices in the state.

The settlement was announced on Friday by Attorney General Eric T Scheiderman, saying it resolves whistleblower claims that Infosys, in the course of providing outsourcing services, routinely brought foreign IT personnel into New York to perform work in violation of the terms of their visas.

The company said that the investigation centred on alleged paperwork errors, and the company has not had to confess to doing anything wrong.  In fact it denies all allegations that it ever did anything wrong at all.

The company said in a statement that the settlement relates to legal issues already resolved under the 2013 settlement with the US Department of Justice, and was reached by both parties to avoid protracted litigation.

“Infosys maintains robust policies and procedures to ensure adherence with all applicable regulations and laws. Infosys will continue to focus on boosting American innovation, hiring American workers and better serving our valued customers across the United States,” the company said.

 

Infosys president quits

Posted on June 16, 2017 by - News

infosysudacityOutsourcing giant Infosys has just lost its president, Sandeep Dadlani.

Dadlani says he has quit for what he characterised as an ‘out-of-the-world’ assignment, making it harder for CEO Vishal Sikka to monetise his moves into new software and platforms.

Dadlani was directly responsible for looking after the company’s revenue and margin from new software.

He announced his resignation on professional networking platform LinkedIn late in the night on Thursday.

“I am extremely optimistic about Infosys’ continued success and its strong leadership team. I have decided to pursue my interests elsewhere. Next up: An out-of-the-world assignment! Stay tuned,” Dadlani said.

Infosys later put out a press release announcing Dadlani’s departure and said Karmesh Vaswani and Nitesh Banga would be replacing him.

The Bengaluru-headquartered company appointed Vaswani as the Global Head – Retail, CPG & Logistics and Banga as the Global Head of Manufacturing, a while back.

Infosys moans about reporting of board spat

Posted on February 13, 2017 by - News

infosysudacityOutsourcing giant Infosys is getting a little miffed about the ways that the press are reporting concerns about the way the outfit is managed.

Infosys Chief Executive Vishal Sikka said talk in the media on concerns over corporate governance at the software services firm was “distracting”.

For those that came in late, there are appears to be a war of words between Infosys’s founders and its executive.

Sikka insists he is on good relations with the firm’s founders, including N.R. Narayana Murthy.

Infosys’ founders, who own 12.75 percent of the firm, have questioned the pay of Chief Executive Vishal Sikka and severance payouts given to others, including former finance head Rajiv Bansal. According to local media reports, the founders have also questioned the appointment of an independent director.

“All this drama that has been going on in the media, it’s very distracting – it takes away attention – but underneath that there is a very strong fabric that this company is based on and it is a real privilege for me to be its leader,” Sikka said at an investor conference.

Infosys, founded in 1981 when seven engineers, including Murthy, pooled $250 – mostly borrowed from their wives, is expected to address the governance concerns at a separate news conference at 1230 GMT today.

“My relation with the founders is wonderful,” Sikka said at the investor conference hosted by brokerage firm Kotak, adding he typically meets Murthy five or six times a year.
Sikka, a former member of the executive board at German software firm SAP, took the top job at Infosys in 2014, becoming its first non-founder CEO.

The board has backed Sikka, and has brushed aside concerns over CEO compensation, appointment of independent directors and severance pay relating to former employees, saying those were old issues and that full disclosures had been made.

Infosys cuts growth due to Brexit

Posted on October 14, 2016 by - News

infosysudacityIndia’s software services exporter Infosys slashed its fiscal-year revenue growth target for the second time in three months over fears that Brexit had hurt its bottom line.

While the outfit reported a 6.1 percent rise in second quarter net profit, Infosys said it now expected revenue to grow between eight percent and nine percent in constant currency terms in the fiscal year to March 31, 2017. Its previous revenue growth target, issued in July, was 10.5-12 percent, which it had already lowered from the 13.5 percent it expected in April.

The outfit depends on North America and Europe for the majority of its revenue. It is worried that hte impending US presidential election and the implications of Britain’s ‘Brexit’ move have caused many clients to delay or abandon outsourcing plans.

Infosys had warned in August it was seeing some “softness” in business after the June Brexit vote in Britain.

Chief Executive Vishal Sikka said in a statement on Friday the revision took into consideration “our performance in first half of the year and the near-term uncertain business outlook”.

The company is still not doing that badly and its reduced numbers are still ahead of analysts’ estimates. Still it is a little ironic that the outfit which is supposed to have been “coming over here and taking our jobs” is also suffering as a result of Brexit.

 

Infosys pays $200 million for US firm

Posted on February 16, 2015 by - News

India_flagIndian firm Infosys said today that it has spent $200 million to buy a company that specialises in automation technology.

The Bangalore based company bought Panaya, which is based in New Jersey.

Infosys has been seeking for some years to diversify its business after its initial success came in the outsourcing marketplace.

According to CEO Vishal Sikka, the company wants to leverage the importance of the cloud and AI. Sikka said that buying Panasya was an important step in diversifying its current lines of business.

Panaya sells CloudQuality, automation in the cloud and is intended as an automation method.

Sikka said: “This [acquisition] will help amplify the potential of our people, freeing us from the drudgery of many repetitive tasks, so we may focus more on the important strategic challenges faced by our clients.”

Infosys has over 165,000 employees worldwide and works in 50 countries.