We'll be a significant hiring company in India in 2018: Capgemini COO

The COO says Capgemini continues to have high expectations and high ambitions for India

In the mid-1990s, when Thierry Delaporte joined Capgemini, it didn't have a single staffer in India. The first 100 employees here came in 2000, through an acquisition of the consulting practice of Ernst & Young. Since then, the number has grown over 100-fold. Delaporte, now group chief operating officer at the Paris-based information technology and consultancy entity, talks to Bibhu Ranjan Mishra on the path ahead. Edited excerpts:

The IT industry globally is going through a massive transformation. Where does Capgemini stand?

I have been through many different cycles of Capgemini, which continues to be a solid performer. We basically tend to never oversell. We do deliver on or slightly above expectations. We are very pragmatic in the way we are progressing, identifying the priorities and focusing on it. If you look at our growth in 2017, it has been really driven by cloud and cyber security which we term 'new space'. It grew 24 per cent in 2017 accounting for around 38 per cent of our overall revenues, and we are approaching towards 40 per cent of our business coming from these new areas.

Is the “new space” growing faster than the traditional segments?

Yes, and there’s a clear reason behind it. If you look at Digital and the Cloud, those are massive transformations. It’s not only about providing services for cheap but bringing in value. That’s where we have seen growth in our strategic clients. In every market, including North America, Europe, Asia, we have been focusing on growing in the “new space”, while continuing to pay attention to the existing services. It’s a balanced way to shift the portfolio. I think we are very well-positioned for 2018. 

You have over 100,000 employees in India now. It’s a huge base, more than hundred-fold growth over the past 16 years. How are you transforming them to the newer technology which are not so manpower-intensive?

India is our largest employee base. By far it’s 50 per cent of the group. It’s the powerhouse.

Does that (having a huge base in India) give you cost advantage?

It’s more than that. It’s (India is) a unique place with a unique concentration of talent, assets, expertise. So for us, India is the heart of what we do. In everything we do, there is an Indian component. We see that as a fantastic force of our organisation. It is a big strength to mobilise in India significant size of our teams, ability to hire talent, ability to develop assets that would benefit the rest of the world. And we continue to grow in India. That, for us, is not at all the end of the story.

So the base in India will continue to grow?

For the time being, yes. We will continue to grow. We have a great traction in Europe in particular. I think we will continue to hire and be a significant hiring company in 2018 in India.

Can Capgemini become the largest global employer at some point of time in India?

Certainly, we are a leading player. 

One of your recent acquisitions is LiquidHub which has a large employee base in India?

It’s a very attractive company. They are combining different skills like designers, technology analytics, consulting. They are bringing out the creative aspect required for digital transformation. They come with 2,800 employees, including around 1,000 in India. So we continue to have high expectations and high ambitions for India. 

Are you looking at any more India specific acquisitions?

We continue to look for acquisitions. It may involve India. Companies which are fully based in India or have an employee base in India can definitely be an option for us.

How are you driving reskilling in digital technologies?

It is clearly defined in our budget. There is a signification proportion of our employees in India who will get reskilled. We are constantly pushing our employees to go into a space that they have not been into or get to the next level. We are clear with our employees that it is their responsibility as it is ours to work on their own market value every day. We have big programmes in 2018 as well. 

As the head of operations driving transformation, what is your next priority?

Most of what we will do will have a digital component and it will be the vast majority of what we do. More than 50 per cent of our business will be in that (digital) world. We are well-positioned in the blockchain. We have made a significant investment in blockchain technology and we know that the big chunk of the revenue will come from this area in 4-5 years. 

In terms of India as a market, you have not done as much as a company of your size must be doing. Any comment?

We have a decent business (in India) that is growing pretty well. But it’s true that we are certainly smaller in size than some of the larger players. But we are looking at this market and especially after the digital wave is happening, a lot of industries in India are coming to us. Some of the banks in India have started interacting with us on the big wave of transformation and they precisely want to listen to us and understand what we have to offer beyond their own supplier base.