In 2009, when computer-maker Dell acquired Perot Systems for $3.9 billion, the company’s intention to become a serious player in the information technology (IT) services business became clear. While Dell acquired substantial services capabilities from Perot out of India, the recent appointment of ex-Wipro Chief Executive Officer Suresh Vaswani for its IT business is seen as a move to enhance its offshore capabilities. The company is undergoing a major transformation to become an end-to-end IT partner for its clients, by building the applications and business process outsourcing (BPO) business. In discussion with Pradeesh Chandran, executive vice-president throws light on the road ahead. Edited excerpts:
Earlier, you led operations of an Indian IT services firm. Now you are in a global role with a global technology company. How has the transition been?
In Wipro, I was head of the IT services practice. That, too, was a global role. Hence, the transition was smooth. In Dell, I head the application and global BPO business, which is very similar to what I was doing at Wipro.
Dell is a complete global organisation, and the company is now transforming its business from a technology company to a full solution provider. For this, we need to build applications and business process, and that is my first job in the new role. In the future, India will become an extremely strategic market for Dell, both in terms of leveraging India capability for global services and the capability here for internal operations.
What kind of transformation is the company going through now?
Dell is a leading player in the technology business in India. We are the No. 1 PC brand in the country. Technology also includes the services associated with it like product, maintenance and infrastructure support. With the changing landscape, our vision is to become a complete IT partner for the customers. We need to build two more layers — application and BPO — on the top of our offerings to become a complete IT partner for our customers. We already have presence in applications like healthcare, manufacturing, and we are reasonably strong in banking solutions. Therefore, once we build the applications, services and solutions, it would be great opportunities for us.
Mid-market segment is another of our strength. We believe no Indian company can address various needs of this market like we do.
Are you planning to take the inorganic route to build applications and BPO?
Dell has grown to a $60-billion revenue organisation through both organic and inorganic paths. For building this strength, we will primarily look at organic growth route. Globally, we are focusing on the healthcare vertical as a growth driver. We also focus on BFSI and manufacturing. We will do acquisitions to strengthen our presence, especially in applications and BPO. We are looking at India-based global organisations.
Does it mean that with the acquisition of these capabilities, you would compete with Indian IT services firms who were your partners earlier?
At Dell services, we will do software solutions like all the Indian IT companies. We will also go for package implementation, testing, consulting and BPO. We have products and platforms for some verticals like healthcare and insurance. IT is a fairly unique business where sometimes you collaborate and sometimes you compete. Even when I was with Wipro, we used to partner Infosys for core banking products and solutions. Likewise, here in Dell, we will collaborate where it makes sense to the customers.
Would you look at the domestic BPO business in India?
India is a strategic market for us, and one main reason is, it is an evolving market for the services business. Another reason is, India has a very good resource base for us in terms of talents. With 23,000 member team, it has the second largest workforce of Dell outside the US. However, for our BPO business, India will continue as a delivery centre for global customers. We are not interested in entering the domestic BPO business.
What is your plan for the hardware business in India?
In India, we are the number one PC brand in all segments — enterprises, SMBs and consumers. We want to continue this dominance, and grow in multiples of the market growth. For this, we will introduce new products, expand our retail reach, sales channel and partnerships. We will also bring customised products to India.