AUG 31, 2017

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Infy's Saviour

Can Nandan Nilekani steer Infosys back on track as the company grapples with uncertainty following Sikka’s exit?

Krishna Gopalan

Eye on the future

Peter Schumacher, president and CEO, Value Leadership Group is clear that the goings-on will impede the effort of the search committee on this issue. “The current development is definitely not a storm in a teacup and the risk is that the next CEO will be a compromise candidate,” he says. The worry, according to him, is that the crisis has distracted the management when the business environment is already tough. Instead of leaping ahead, Infosys is now at risk of falling behind even further.” Nilekani himself did not hold back at the investor call and said it was necessary “to bring down the noise in the system and just focus on work.”

There is no dispute on the need for damage control. “There is little to doubt that Infosys’ reputation has taken a hit. The company has now lost an important differentiating competitive advantage that has always helped it capture a premium in the market,” says Schumacher.

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Karl Flinders
Emea Content Editor, Computer Weekly
26 Apr 2017 12:36

Peter Schumacher, CEO at management consultancy the Value Leadership Group, said the circumstances surrounding the resignation are “very messy” and that it came as no surprise.

According to him,  Sikka was seen as an outsider with a background in technology rather than IT services. Before joining Infosys, Sikka was SAP’s CTO and was notably associated with innovation around in-memory database Hana.

“While some voices say Sikka’s resignation could not have come at a worse time, the reality is that he was unable to resolve key issues plaguing Infosys – and has made many worse,” said Schumacher.

“Under Sikka, Infosys never met the ambition he set for the company. Clearly, his aspirations reflect a huge disconnect between his vision and reality that has proven to be too far to bridge.”

Schumacher said the search for a new CEO will be complicated by the rift between Infosys and one of its major shareholders. “Murthy’s uncompromising positions add stress that hangs over Infosys like a dark cloud. The ongoing rift between Infosys and Murthy will complicate the search for a successor.

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Trumped, Infy to hire 10,000 in US

VENKATESH GANESH

In 2-year plan, will open 4 tech units

BENGALURU, MAY 2 2017:  

“This can result in a ‘triple win’ benefiting Infosys, its customers and local US employees,” said Peter Schumacher, CEO, Value Leadership Group.

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Globalisation creates Catch-22 for protectionists as India responds to threat of US visa clampdown

Karl Flinders
Emea Content Editor, Computer Weekly
26 Apr 2017 12:36

US government might have to negotiate with India before getting tough on its work visa regime

Offshore IT services expert Peter Schumacher believes Trump’s plan could have some unintended consequences. “People are overlooking something more important,” he said. “Everyone is focused on the 65,000 new H-1B applications, but there are perhaps as many as one million H-1B visa holders already working in the US,” said Schumacher, CEO of management consultancy the Value Leadership Group.

“If the Administration starts going after them, the technology industry will have a strategic problem. Roughly 15% of all Facebook employees in Silicon Valley are H-1B visa holders. These are highly skilled employees who earn salaries significantly higher than $100,000.

“Given the dearth of Stem [science, technology, engineering and maths] talent in the US, an H-1B crackdown would force technology companies to shift more of their development work to India or other locations, such as Canada. However, I believe the bigger risk is that even before the Administration actually does anything, many of these talented professionals will decide they have had enough of the uncertainty and leave the US without any official prodding. By making people feel unwelcome, Trump is playing with fire – he could wreck a very sensitive ecosystem.”

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Trump’s clampdown on use of immigrant IT workers may have little impact

Karl Flinders
Emea Content Editor, Computer Weekly
19 Apr 2017 12:06

Peter Schumacher, CEO at management consultancy the Value Leadership Group, said Trump’s statements were contentious and made headlines, but “represent more rhetoric than action”.

“The recent announcements draw attention to enforcing what is already given, in cracking down on fraud and stricter enforcement,” he said.

“From the customer perspective, these H-1B visa announcements are almost a non-issue. From the supplier perspective, compliance and operational costs may increase only slightly. They do not create a new impediment to the global services sector.”

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IT firms face H-1B headwinds in Q4

VENKATESH GANESH

Software exporters likely to post revenue growth in line with market expectations

BENGALURU, APRIL 11 2017:  

Visa impact
Peter Schumacher, CEO of Value Leadership Group points out that from the customer perspective, these H-1B visa adjustments are almost a non-issue.

“US customers are more concerned that the leadership of Indian IT service firms is increasingly out of sync with what (US) customers are expecting,” he says.

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