インドＩＴ産業はまだ伸びる、この時期こそチャンス--スブラマニアン・ラマドライ　タタ・コンサルタンシー・サービシズ（ＴＣＳ）ＣＥＯ兼社長 Now is the time of opportunity. Indian IT will continue to grow.　--Mr. Subramanian Ramadorai, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO & MD

“Do you foresee an increase in demand for the domestic Indian market?”

India is of course feeling the effects of the global financial crisis, but is comparatively better off than other countries. The Indian Software Service Association (NASSCOM) predicts India’s domestic IT sector to grow by up to 20% in 2009.
We are the only of the domestic IT firms to have placed sufficient focus on the Indian market. We have taken on procurement contracts for many arterial projects such as the government’s tax collection system and the system for the stock exchange. Additionally, the IT firm CMC, the former state run company which we acquired in 2001, has undertaken handling many domestic IT solutions (for the government).
We can proudly say that TCS has been responsible for nurturing the domestic IT industry up until now. It is only since the market has shown promise of growth that other domestic and multinational competitors have begun to show any interest.
Looking back on developments, it has more often than not been the cast that TCS takes the initiative only to be followed by the competition. We established our first overseas operations back in 1974, pioneering ground not trodden by other Indian IT firms.

“January of this year saw fellow Indian IT firm and industry #4 Satyam in hot water over fraudulent financial reports and the arrest of its founder. Industry #3 Wipro Technologies was also handed down a suspension of trading by the World Bank over the illegal transfer of stock. With the stream of recent incidents, do you feel that confidence in the Indian IT industry has been affected?”

No, I don’t think so at all. These are isolated incidents occurring at specific companies and are not an issue facing the entire Indian IT industry. TCS’ customers understand that these cases are in no way related to us. However, we have taken care to communicate our position on corporate compliance internally, reaffirming employee understanding or our policies.
TCS makes concerted efforts to prevent fraudulent acts by its employees. I would like to point out that we have strong corporate governance functions in place that hold with the 140 year long ethical values of the Tata Group. From new employees to senior executives and even external board members all staff sign the Tata Group’s code of conduct indicating their agreement. Each group company has an Ethics Counselor who reports directly to the respective CEO, with a Principal Ethics Officer working under the group’s chairman to overlook the group as a whole. From information security and HR to procurement, each facet of the business is governed by specifically determined compliance policy. You could say that the Tata Group has its own, very thorough, compliance structure in place.

“The misfortune of your competitors could be seen as an opportunity for TCS. (What do you think of this?)”

We would not proactively approach our competitors’ clients. Should they wish to conduct business with us and we can reach agreement over the conditions we may provide services to them. That’s all.
The current economic situation is very challenging, but it is at times like this that business opportunities show themselves. Many companies are looking to cut costs and this is precisely where TCS can lend its expertise, offering strategic advice from a mid-term perspective. Once we have evaluated the company’s operations, its position in the industry, strengths and weaknesses we assess whether there is any waste in their IT systems and infrastructure. Through these evaluations we sometimes arrive at the conclusion that it would be beneficial to move operations offshore or to carry out R&D on a global scale.
That is to say, we don’t just stop at a single cost cutting project but rather are competent at assessing things from a management perspective and improving both work efficiencies and those for the company as a whole. We help achieve cost reductions in the realm of millions, even hundreds of millions (billions). In addition to traditional fixed fee base contracts, we also negotiate result based fee structures that fluctuate with the savings garnered through IT initiatives.

“India’s IT industry is seeing fierce competition between the top 4. Do you foresee further alignment for the industry?”

There will certainly be further realignment within the industry, but it is not about to happen overnight. We bought CitiGroup’s back office operations on December 31st last year, acquiring some 12,500 employees. This is becoming an everyday thing (within the industry).

“We have heard that you are due to retire in October later this year. (Can you tell us about this?)”

It is a rule within the Tata Group that one retires at 65. However, I have spent the greater part of my life with Tata and plan to continue being involved with the group in one form or another. A former senior colleague of mine once said; “One doesn’t die from hard work, but one may die from hardly any work.” People want to keep busy by nature.