Infosys gears up for foray into new application areas

The country's second largest software firm, Infosys Technologies (INFOSYS.BO : 2328.3 -58.55), is making significant investments in building software platforms in the area of emerging digital ecosystem. The company believes that as consumers become more exposed to IT, they will demand various services over the Internet and other emerging media, such as social networking sites. Apart from the digital consumer spend, Infosys expects companies to make significant IT investment in the areas of climate change and security.

Subhash Dhar, senior vice-president and executive council member, Infosys Technologies, told FE that the company was building platforms that would showcase how the future banks would look like or how retail stores would operate several years from now as they reach out to their consumers through innovative means. "We are building the platforms and keeping them ready so that our clients don't miss the bus when the time comes to shift gears". Infosys will soon showcase the new platforms to the world and introduce them to its clients as well.

Dhar said that there were huge opportunities in the space of analytics as banks and telecom players among others try to make sense of the consumption patterns of their customers. "Companies are also tapping the developing economies of the world which have a lot of scope for IT investment as they try to rework the cost of their offerings to suit the markets," said Dhar.

Meanwhile, Infosys is also focusing on outcome-based pricing models against the time and material based contracts as clients renegotiate rates. The company expects 5-10% of its revenues to come from outcome-based pricing over the next one-two years. The model, which does not take into account the number of hours or employees involved in the project, is finding greater acceptance from clients in these times of crisis as they try to reduce their total cost of ownership, said Dhar. "In the last 6-9 months, there are 12-14 clients who have signed for the new model." This is in line with the overall trend in the IT industry as most companies are trying to move away from the time and material-based contracts.