Global warning with a roar

It is the time when the East is rapidly overtaking the West in IT. IT in the East is incomplete without the contribution of Indian software companies such as Infosys, TCS and Wipro. Steve Hamm writes a compelling story about one of the India’s technology giants, Wipro, It’s remarkable leader Azim Premji and the company’s success formulae, in his first book ‘Bangalore Tiger, How Indian Tech Upstart Wipro Is Rewriting the Rules of Global Competition’. This is the story of Wipro’s transformation and its impact upon the technology services industry and the rules of global competition. It’s also about the journey of Wipro from an Indian company with revenues of $500 million to a global technology giant with revenues over $2.4 billion and market capitalisation of $20 billion in a matter of five years.

He explains the success of Indians in the IT world and the reasons behind that. India has over 800,000 engineers coding the software that keeps Wall Street, Motor City and Hollywood running. “It’s a billion people with great intellect. It will get bigger and bigger, and it will be a significant player in the global economy.” says Jack Welch, former chairman of General Electric Company. According to his study, the major equation which plays a part in India’s success is the combination of brains and the Internet along with the power of low cost. This equation is creating opportunities transforming India into an important player for the world economy.

Even though Wipro is ranked after TCS and Infosys, Hamm chose it as the topic of discussion due to its broader array of services and its style of doing business. The senior writer at Business Week, Steve Hamm reveals the secrets of Wipro in a well documented and inspirational manner. Hamm starts off with the chapter Taking on the West, by narrating that Wipro matters for technology industry in the same way as Wal-Mart matters for retail. He explains the art of global collaboration adopted by Wipro. Even though Wipro’s workforce is scattered around the globe it works as a team and all employees are treated like a vast pool of brainpower and expertise rather than just staff. One of the key success formulae for them is their hunger for improvement and the intensity with which they work. Success comes with the desire for it, which must be achieved by taking one step at a time. At Wipro, from Premji down to the youngest paper handler, everybody has their eye on the goal and means of achieving it.

Title : Bangalore Tiger, How Indian Tech Upstart Wipro Is Rewriting the Rules of Global Competition Author : Steve Hamm Publisher : Tata McGraw-Hill Pages : 329 Price : Rs 299

Hamm explains the transformation of Wipro starting from when it was squeezing profits from peanuts in the form of oil business led by a 21 year old Stanford University student to working on bits and bytes and becoming a powerhouse in global technology led by the same man. That 21 year old was none other that Azim Premji who took the mantle at traditional oil making company in 1966 upon his father’s death. Premji was one of the first business leaders in India to decree that his company would not pay bribes. He believes in the atmosphere of zero politics and honesty within the organisation, if an employee is not honest he will be out of the company irrespective of his rank. Interestingly, they have the Wipro spirit printed at the back of their business cards which is a constant reminder for them. The company’s values are intensity to win, acting with sensitivity and unyielding integrity.

Wipro has various mechanisms to succeed which are being followed with the utmost commitment. They believe in planning everything in advance for rapid growth of the company with a minimum of three years of planning. Wipro puts its customers in the driver’s seat in the hunt for success. There should be a desire to innovate every day to ensure better productivity. Wipro, by motivating its employees, manages to expand rapidly without stumbling. Hamm provides a complete insight into how to make your company as successful as Wipro by giving a few success stories of Wipro and defining all the qualities or rules followed by Wipro.