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TCS shifts focus from development to solutions

The first signs of this transformation are already visible. The management consultancy division, which operated independently, is now being made a partner of the mainline software consulting business.

T O D A Y

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The management consultancy division will continue to offer strategic and operational solutions, but henceforth it will do so in conjunction with the software consulting groups. TCS expects to complete the exercise in the next two years.

Revealing TCS' plans, F C Kohli, deputy chairman, said "We see our future as system consultants and not as management consultants or computer consultants or a company with vast resources."

"The aim is to leverage the knowledge base in a specific business and expertise in technology. Globally, businesses are realising that no problem has a worthwhile solution without factoring in information technology. From the TCS standpoint this has to be done to sustain growth and move up the value chain," he said.

Explaining the change in tack at TCS, Kohli said "As system consultants we will move away from the current serial order approach where first we have management consultants dictating the course of action, followed by other functional consultants."

"All the task holders will collectively address problems. For example, a banking solution will not be addressed by management consultants first and the software consultants next in isolation. They will work together as the application of technology and the solutions possible could completely change the strategy the bank may adopt."

TCS' efforts to move up the value chain is going to be tough considering that it will have to reorient its currently 8,500-strong workforce to identify themselves as systems consultants rather than just software consultants (programmers) in line with transformation of the company.

The exercise comes at a time TCS is tackling the problem of retaining its software professionals, who are constantly being poached and it sees itself as the best placed in India to exploit the opportunity of a booming international market.

Kohli said "This is the second transformation that TCS is undergoing this decade. We redefined our focus around six years back when we positioned ourselves as providers of advanced software engineering solutions instead of providing services as structured analysts and programmers. This has enabled us to double our turnover in the last three years."

- Compiled from the Indian media

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