Bengaluru: Wipro’s Income declined by 2.8% sequentially june quarter, Year-over-year revenue growth was also weak compared to competitors. In conversation with TOI, wipro CEO Thierry Delaporte That said, across almost every industry, businesses are reducing discretionary spending amid a weak macro environment. Part:
Wipro is constantly lagging behind. Does this represent a high risk in the consulting business?
There has been a slowdown in the last three quarters. While we continue to have a high volume of large deals, discretionary spending on smaller contracts has decreased. So, we are now showing a decline in revenue. But look at the market data. All of them are showing a similar trend. 14-15% of our business is in the consulting sector, and we are very happy with this business. He will definitely be the first one to return. Banking and technology together make up about 50% of our business, they spend more on technology, and they certainly have dramatically decreased their discretionary spending over the past few quarters. All I know is that we haven’t lost any major accounts.
And I don’t think we’re losing market share in the accounts where we are. Capco and Rising — one focused on BFSI, the other on SAP consulting — those businesses were acquired for strategic reasons. They are no longer able to see growth because in many of these small projects, when they need to reduce their expenses, they look at consultancy fees to begin with.
How do you see the problems in the banking sector?
There has been a lot of slowdown in the last 6-9 months. I don’t see any sign of further decline. At the beginning of the year, when the crisis happened, when the Credit Suisse, UBS deal happened, there was some concern and the leaders definitely decided to curtail some of their spending. I think we’re still in this market of uncertainty. But I would say the problem is greater in the Americas than in Europe or Asia.
Rishad Premji said that you have the board and their full support. Wipro has struggled to get back on the growth track. Will you be taking a fresh look at some business aspects?
To be honest, we are not changing anything in strategy. We are accelerating our transformation and continue to invest more in our operational excellence. We are making a huge commitment to our position as an absolute leader in the AI space. We are very happy and satisfied with where we are. I heard what Rishad said and this is what happened
For the last three years I have always felt. We have a great board and a great chairman, who is close to the business and supports what we’re doing and is in full agreement with our strategy. And we are implementing it. Rishad and I are constantly hooking up, and we were together during the weekend. And I really like the fluidity, simplicity and transparency in the way we work together.
Wipro saw a decline in its workforce by 9,000. Is this a reflection of demand, or is it due to the efficiencies brought by AI?
I think the relationship between revenue and headcount will shrink in the future, but that doesn’t mean we’ll shrink. We will keep on growing. Last year our focus was on talent. We are going to train every Wipro employee on AI over the next 12 months because they need to understand and think about it. AI will be a great enabler and a way to increase productivity so that the talent pool of associates can make a bigger impact and contribute more to true value services for our customers. You should look at the growth of the workforce over a long period of time. There have been quarters where we have made significant innovation investments and brought on board many young associates. We’re removing layers when it’s not necessary, and technology allows people to do more things. I think efficiency is certainly allowing us to streamline our organization.
For Indian IT, AI will, at some point, be mainstreamed. Will 10-15% of the workforce be made redundant?
If we don’t train them, yes. If we train them and they understand how to leverage AI, they will contribute and provide high-value services. Keep in mind we are also in an economy where talent is a currency.
Wipro is constantly lagging behind. Does this represent a high risk in the consulting business?
There has been a slowdown in the last three quarters. While we continue to have a high volume of large deals, discretionary spending on smaller contracts has decreased. So, we are now showing a decline in revenue. But look at the market data. All of them are showing a similar trend. 14-15% of our business is in the consulting sector, and we are very happy with this business. He will definitely be the first one to return. Banking and technology together make up about 50% of our business, they spend more on technology, and they certainly have dramatically decreased their discretionary spending over the past few quarters. All I know is that we haven’t lost any major accounts.
And I don’t think we’re losing market share in the accounts where we are. Capco and Rising — one focused on BFSI, the other on SAP consulting — those businesses were acquired for strategic reasons. They are no longer able to see growth because in many of these small projects, when they need to reduce their expenses, they look at consultancy fees to begin with.
How do you see the problems in the banking sector?
There has been a lot of slowdown in the last 6-9 months. I don’t see any sign of further decline. At the beginning of the year, when the crisis happened, when the Credit Suisse, UBS deal happened, there was some concern and the leaders definitely decided to curtail some of their spending. I think we’re still in this market of uncertainty. But I would say the problem is greater in the Americas than in Europe or Asia.
Rishad Premji said that you have the board and their full support. Wipro has struggled to get back on the growth track. Will you be taking a fresh look at some business aspects?
To be honest, we are not changing anything in strategy. We are accelerating our transformation and continue to invest more in our operational excellence. We are making a huge commitment to our position as an absolute leader in the AI space. We are very happy and satisfied with where we are. I heard what Rishad said and this is what happened
For the last three years I have always felt. We have a great board and a great chairman, who is close to the business and supports what we’re doing and is in full agreement with our strategy. And we are implementing it. Rishad and I are constantly hooking up, and we were together during the weekend. And I really like the fluidity, simplicity and transparency in the way we work together.
Wipro saw a decline in its workforce by 9,000. Is this a reflection of demand, or is it due to the efficiencies brought by AI?
I think the relationship between revenue and headcount will shrink in the future, but that doesn’t mean we’ll shrink. We will keep on growing. Last year our focus was on talent. We are going to train every Wipro employee on AI over the next 12 months because they need to understand and think about it. AI will be a great enabler and a way to increase productivity so that the talent pool of associates can make a bigger impact and contribute more to true value services for our customers. You should look at the growth of the workforce over a long period of time. There have been quarters where we have made significant innovation investments and brought on board many young associates. We’re removing layers when it’s not necessary, and technology allows people to do more things. I think efficiency is certainly allowing us to streamline our organization.
For Indian IT, AI will, at some point, be mainstreamed. Will 10-15% of the workforce be made redundant?
If we don’t train them, yes. If we train them and they understand how to leverage AI, they will contribute and provide high-value services. Keep in mind we are also in an economy where talent is a currency.