When news broke recently of former SAP CTO Vishal Sikka being considered for the position of Infosys CEO, many experts dismissed it outright. Of the top three analysts covering this sector that we tried to speak to when this speculation broke, one dismissed it outright saying it wouldn’t happen, another was more cautious and said it was extremely unlikely, while the third didn’t even bother to reply. Clearly, the writing seemed to be on the wall–speculation by gossip mongering media. Sections of the media itself have earlier said that Infosys would look for someone within the services industry since it is a specialised industry with a steep learning curve.
Greyhound Research in a recent blog post that urged urgent action in Infosys said: “Greyhound Research has spoken to multiple marquee Infosys customers over the last two weeks and two consistent views have emerged – 1) the need for Infosys to step out of their comfort zone and acquire companies that help bridge the service offerings gaps, and 2) clarify reasons for the recent series of senior level exits and offer definitive guidance on the new management to win back client confidence.”
In fact Greyhound Research went on to suggest that Infosys perhaps needed someone from inside as the experts there felt, “…it’s critical that individual is well versed with the Infosys DNA – the company is at a critical juncture and the new honcho must understand the internal dynamics and the issues surrounding the company. While an external candidate can help bring in new perspectives, the gestation time for this individual to deliver outcomes can cost Infosys a few more senior executives and clients.”
Sanchit Vir Gogia, Chief Analyst, Greyhound Research, went a step further. “It’ll be interest to watch the evolution of Infosys once he assumes office. This might just be the start of an interesting transition of the company. While IT services and SI activities will remain as core, it’s expected for Vishal to significantly add to the existing SAP HANA practice at Infosys. This appointment will also bring attention and muscle to developing internal IP at Infosys and add to the non-linear growth story. Infosys peers are also closely watching this change and Vishal’s appointment has the potential to spark a similar change across other players as well,” he explained.
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