Startup bug bites Infosys as Sikka takes over reins

Bengaluru: Vishal Sikka, the first non- founder and outsider to lead Infosys, on Friday said the country’s second largest software services firm will focus on intellectual property, products and platforms in an effort to revive the lost glory of the once IT bellwether. The former Board member of German software giant SAP, who took over as Infosys chief executive officer on Friday from S. D. Shibulal, will also work with start ups to drive scale and business for the Bangalore-headquartered firm.

In a letter to Infosys employees, Mr Sikka said the task before the company now was to lay out the way forward. “We must then quickly augment this by going after software opportunities with clients to create next-generation, intelligent solutions. We will work with the startup community amplifying their reach and accelerating their road maps to achieve this”, he said adding, “We will further reinforce our focus on intellectual property, products and platforms, to drive new scale and new economics. By laying greater emphasis on improving our ability to learn and to identify opportunities of the future, we will build a sustainable business.”

In a video chat with an Infosys employee on his top priorities, Mr Sikka said he wants to continue to learn. “I want to layout the directions, but do it in a way that is very respectful to where we come from because the company has got to this point through a lot of hard work and the incre-dible ability of the found-ers and so on,” he added. Mr Sikka said the firm needs to improve on the way it works on projects, the way it manages people and clients. Basically, improve the way it has been doing business, continue to get better at that.

“To augment that with some great new things, some new kind of things need to be done. We can do amazing projects in the industry where software is making its way for the first time. I think a great amount of innovation has to be done in every walk of life and every industry,” he added. Mr Sikka also stressed on working with start ups. “We have a $100 million fund that our shareholders and board had approved. I want to utilise it starting today. We want to work to be a great amplifier for start ups here in India.