HCL Technologies identifies new geographical areas for growth 

HCL Technologies identifies new geographical areas for growth 

Chairperson, Roshni Nadar Malhotra bets big on clients accelerating digital transformation 

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The pandemic has resulted in a huge upside for Indian IT companies with digital being a big area of focus. The pandemic has resulted in a huge upside for Indian IT companies with digital being a big area of focus.
Krishna Gopalan
  • May 12, 2022,
  • Updated May 12, 2022 9:09 PM IST

 

HCL Technologies is looking at North Asia, Central America, Eastern Europe and Africa as the new geographies for the future. In a media briefing held in Mumbai, the company’s Chairperson, Roshni Nadar Malhotra said the plan was to grow in these regions, in addition to where the company already has an existing play. 

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The pandemic has resulted in a huge upside for Indian IT companies with digital being a big area of focus. According to her, the period, while being challenging, sees a demand environment that is robust. HCL Technologies closed FY22 with a revenue of $11.48 billion, an increase of 12.8 per cent, while net profit of $1.8 billion or up 4.3 per cent. The EBITDA margin stood at 24 per cent for the fiscal.  

On the rationale for looking at the said geographies, the company’s CEO, C Vijayakumar told Business Today that “HCL Technologies had a decent presence in a market like South Africa and it was time to captalise on that to take it to the next phase.” The global IT spend, he pointed out, has a scenario where 85 per cent of the money is with 15 per cent of the companies. “There is a need to capture any significant addressable market. We are already big in those like US, UK and Australia.” 

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On the opportunities in central America, Vijayakumar explained that customers have leveraged the global delivery model in Indian and eastern Europe. “The next stop is central America and we need to be there. Likewise, Mexico is another market and offers an advantage because of its proximity to the US,” he said. 

Based on conversations with its clients, Malhotra pointed out that the feedback was very clear. “It has been about accelerating the digital transformation program. A big concern is how to source the right talent,” she said. On what makes HCL Technologies different, her view was that the company “was diverse, possessed expertise in key areas such as cloud, digital and engineering, which are serious barriers to entry for competition.” 

 

HCL Technologies is looking at North Asia, Central America, Eastern Europe and Africa as the new geographies for the future. In a media briefing held in Mumbai, the company’s Chairperson, Roshni Nadar Malhotra said the plan was to grow in these regions, in addition to where the company already has an existing play. 

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The pandemic has resulted in a huge upside for Indian IT companies with digital being a big area of focus. According to her, the period, while being challenging, sees a demand environment that is robust. HCL Technologies closed FY22 with a revenue of $11.48 billion, an increase of 12.8 per cent, while net profit of $1.8 billion or up 4.3 per cent. The EBITDA margin stood at 24 per cent for the fiscal.  

On the rationale for looking at the said geographies, the company’s CEO, C Vijayakumar told Business Today that “HCL Technologies had a decent presence in a market like South Africa and it was time to captalise on that to take it to the next phase.” The global IT spend, he pointed out, has a scenario where 85 per cent of the money is with 15 per cent of the companies. “There is a need to capture any significant addressable market. We are already big in those like US, UK and Australia.” 

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On the opportunities in central America, Vijayakumar explained that customers have leveraged the global delivery model in Indian and eastern Europe. “The next stop is central America and we need to be there. Likewise, Mexico is another market and offers an advantage because of its proximity to the US,” he said. 

Based on conversations with its clients, Malhotra pointed out that the feedback was very clear. “It has been about accelerating the digital transformation program. A big concern is how to source the right talent,” she said. On what makes HCL Technologies different, her view was that the company “was diverse, possessed expertise in key areas such as cloud, digital and engineering, which are serious barriers to entry for competition.” 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Krishna Gopalan

Based in Mumbai, Krishna Gopalan has reported across sectors that include telecommunications, cement, media and entertainment, private equity, consumer and metals. His current job profile entails writing on large conglomerates for which he interviews prominent CEOs. Krishna has a deep interest in business strategy and is intrigued by why organisations do what they do. His writing experience of over 25 years has had stints in The Financial Express, The Economic Times, Fortune India and Outlook Business. At Business Today, he contributes to the magazine, online and also appears on television.

Krishna reads widely on business, politics and Indian history. A Chevening scholar (batch of 2007), he spent three months in the UK that included an internship with the Financial Times in London. He is a published author with his first book, The Making of Don, based on the 1978 Hindi film starring Amitabh Bachchan, hitting the stands in 2013. Academically, he is a postgraduate in Economics from the University of Madras and holds an MBA from NMIMS, Mumbai.

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