'Our global competitors have to become like us'

Q & A/ Nandan Nilekani

 With a good first quarter and a successful ADR issue behind him, he exuded confidence while speaking to Subir Roy.  Excerpts:  How important is offshoring and what does it mean for the Indian software industry?
From a strategic perspective the key point is that offshoring has become mainstream. We should not underestimate the significance of this. Almost every major corporation in the world is either doing offshoring or looking at it seriously. That is significant as it is an important mega-trend of globalisation.  Second, not only is it mainstream, India has become the country of choice. When people look at price, quality, performance, people, maturity of firms, India stands out as the best place. And Infosys being the market leader, is right there when all this is happening.  Offshoring has become mainstream because companies all over the world are facing economic pressure. So they will obviously look at pricing and hence the pricing issues. As the percentage of offshoring goes up, average prices will go down even though margins may be better. The other implication is that global competitors have to come here.  How is global competitors coming here playing out for you?
Global competitors are going offshore not by choice, but because their customers are asking them to do so. Customers, having seen the value proposition and business model benefits of Infosys, are asking their incumbent suppliers to give them the same value.  What is the threat or non-threat perception in this?
It is good that the competition is coming here as it only reaffirms that offshoring is mainstream, and has come of age. It further legitimises the value proposition and brings the battle, in a sense, to our strength