Narayana Murthy And Infosys
In February 2001, Infosys Technologies Ltd. (Infosys) was voted as the Best Managed Company in Asia in the Information Technology sector, in leading financial magazine Euromoney's Fifth Annual Survey of Best Managed Companies in Asia. Infosys was started in 1981, by seven 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. 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. US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) disclosure norms before going for a Nasdaq listing in 1999. Narayana Murthy was also the recipient Narayana Murthy obtained his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Mysore in 1967 and his Master's 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 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.
From a turnover of Rs.1.16 million in 1981, Infosys had grown to a Rs.19 billion company in 2001. US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) disclosure norms before going for a Nasdaq listing in 1999. Narayana Murthy was also the recipient Narayana Murthy obtained his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Mysore in 1967 and his Master's 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 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 STRATEGIST
From the beginning, Narayana Murthy focused on the world's 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) for Reebok's French operations. Infosys decided to use this package to create a standard application package for similar operations of any company. In 1989, Infosys bagged another major contract from Digital Equipment. In the early 1990s, with the opening up of the Indian economy, many export-oriented software companies were set up in India that created the momentum: Infosys leveraged this very successfully. By mid-1990s, Infosys was competing not only with Indian software majors like Tata Consultancy Services, and Wipro, but also with overseas players like Cambridge Technology Partners and Sapinet, which offered software solutions. Narayana Murthy believed that Indian software professionals had the ability to deal with complex projects. Analysts felt that unlike elsewhere, India's sharpest minds were heading for a career in software, and the best of these aspired to be at Infosys. Infosys also competed with consultancies as Anderson Consulting and Ernst & Young, which positioned themselves as information management specialists. In 1994, the joint venture with KSA was dissolved. In 1995, Narayana Murthy created Yantra Corp. in Acton, Mass. US. Around the same time, Infosys entered into a joint venture with Satyam Computers and DCM
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) for Reebok's French operations. Infosys decided to use this package to create a standard application package for similar operations of any company. In 1989, Infosys bagged another major contract from Digital Equipment. In the early 1990s, with the opening up of the Indian economy, many export-oriented software companies were set up in India that created the momentum: Infosys leveraged this very successfully. By mid-1990s, Infosys was competing not only with Indian software majors like Tata Consultancy Services, and Wipro, but also with overseas players like Cambridge Technology Partners and Sapinet, which offered software solutions. Narayana Murthy believed that Indian software professionals had the ability to deal with complex projects. Analysts felt that unlike elsewhere, India's sharpest minds were heading for a career in software, and the best of these aspired to be at Infosys. Infosys also competed with consultancies as Anderson Consulting and Ernst & Young, which positioned themselves as information management specialists. In 1994, the joint venture with KSA was dissolved. In 1995, Narayana Murthy created Yantra Corp. in Acton, Mass. US. Around the same time, Infosys entered into a joint venture with Satyam Computers and DCM
Question
1 Narayana Murthy’s leadership style and an understanding of the factors that contributed to the success of Infosys