Infosys Founders Book

POWERED BY INTELLECT. DRIVEN BY VALUES.

P O W E R E D B Y I N T E L L E C T. D R I V E N B Y V A L U E S .

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ForewordMy association with the founders of Infosys began over 40 years ago, when I met Mr. Murthy at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Little did I know then, that decades later I would serve on the board of the iconic company that he and his colleagues would go on to build.

Through the changing landscape of the IT industry, Infosys has reinvented itself time and again. I admire the ways in which this company has tackled challenges and capitalized on opportunities right from the era of mainframes to the age of digital transformations. For corporate India, Infosys has been a shining beacon of outstanding corporate citizenship and a role model.

This was possible because of its employees, a highly talented and motivated group of individuals who learned from the very best in the industry – the Infosys founders. Their story will inspire generations.

What distinguished the Founders was the fact that they were professionals first, and then entrepreneurs. The team brought to the table different kinds of expertise in the forms of leadership, technical brilliance, execution excellence and vision. They leveraged their varied proficiencies in a cohesive way to help Infosys reach and surpass every goal it set itself. The company’s success was built on the backbone of its values and ethics, which were established by its founders. Through these years, Infosys has continued to remain steadfastly attached to its founding principles and delivered value to all its stakeholders.

In the last three decades, the Founders continued to learn from every success and failure, which reminds me of a quote by Nelson Mandela: “Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead”. As we stand at the threshold of a new future, it is time to celebrate the pioneers of Infosys.

K. V. Kamath


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Narayana Murthy


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“Posterity will not excuse you if you did not dream big. You owe it to your customers, your colleagues, your investors and the society. Every major civilization, every great advance in science and technology, and every great company is built on a big dream.”

– STRAP, 2003

“Leadership by example is what creates trust in people to follow a leader. As long as a leader is able to show his or her sacrifice and commitment to a cause, others will follow him or her.”

– Annual Report, 2010-11

“Aspiration is the main fuel for progress. Aspirations transform a set of ordinary people into extraordinary achievers.”

– Annual Report,2005-06

“The future is made possible by a deep belief that anything is possible. There are a thousand reasons why a thing will not work. But, there is only one reason why it will – because you will make it work.”

– STRAP, 1997


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NARAYANA MURTHY

Folks, it is a great privilege to speak to you. I am happy that we have six of the seven founders here. I miss my friend Ashok Arora. The six of us assembled here were together when we started the Infosys journey. It is fitting that we are here, together, when we are ending this journey.

This is a unique event in the 150-plus years of corporate India. Never in the past has this country seen, and probably never in the future will this country see, a set of founders who nurtured their creation with care, sacrifice and passion for 33 years and passed it on with equanimity to a set of outsiders.

We leave with the satisfaction of taking this company from a market value of ` 28.5 crores on the day of listing in India in 1993 to ̀ 2,00,000 crores today, a return of 6,50,000% over 21 years – a CAGR of 89%. We leave with the distinction of creating several firsts in good corporate governance in India and the world. We leave with the honor of

making respect more respectable. We leave with the privilege of making India known globally for software. We leave with the rare experience of welcoming several global leaders who first came to Infosys and then went to Delhi. We leave with the comfort that the company has over 1,60,000

competent and value-based employees, ` 30,000 crores of cash in the bank, and over 36 million square feet of office space, with another seven million square feet being built. We leave with the pride of democratizing wealth among our employees in India like never before. We leave with the confidence that Mr. Vaman

Kamath and Dr. Vishal Sikka will take this company back to its position as the industry leader in revenue growth and margin.

I am grateful to our customers, employees, investors, vendor-partners and the society for the kindness shown to the company and to us, the founders. I am also grateful to our current and past directors,

Architecting a dazzling future for Infosys

We leave with the distinction of creating several firsts in good

corporate governance in India and the world.


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current and past Infoscions, investors, my good friend, Vallabh Bhanshali, and a host of other well-wishers present here today.

Thirty-one years of my association with Infosys have taught me several lessons relevant to Infosys. I will share them with you since I know you will use them to create a better future for this company.

Leadership is about crafting a powerful vision, communicating that vision to every stakeholder of the company, and ensuring organizational commitment to that vision in every action of the company. We chose earning respect from our stakeholders as our vision. Please use it as your talisman in every one of your actions. Remember that the path to respect is built on performance.

Strategy, to me, is about using innovation to create sustainable differentiation in the marketplace for industry-leading revenue growth rate with industry-leading margins. Please focus on differentiation in every transaction. Such differentiation will only come from the power of the human mind living the adage that a plausible impossibility is better than a convincing possibility. Remember the saying that smartness can open doors but only character can keep them open for long. Therefore, building a durable organization requires competence and character. That is why every Infoscion must embody

our by-line, ‘Powered by intellect, driven by values’. Please use objective, measurable criteria to recruit minds with high learnability and enduring values.

Every Infoscion expects recognition based on performance measured in a fair, objective and transparent manner. Therefore, measuring individual productivity is essential to attract and retain the best and the brightest. Create objective measurable criteria to evaluate each individual and to reward his or her contribution. This is what meritocracy is all about.

The best minds flourish in an environment of high aspiration, openness to new ideas, meritocracy, team work, discipline, decisiveness, ethics, fairness, courtesy, generosity, objectivity, respect, dignity, transparency, accountability, speed, imagination, and excellence in execution. These attributes must find expression in every one of your transactions with every stakeholder of the company.

Excellence has to become part of your DNA. It has to manifest itself in every function of the organization, and in everything you do. Every one of you, your output, your buildings, your technology, your interactions with Infosys stakeholders, and everything associated with Infosys must ooze excellence.


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Leaders create such an environment using the power of leadership-by-example. Remember that courage is the first attribute of a worthy human being. Remember the saying that courage is the ladder on which all other virtues mount. Demonstrate courage in every transaction. Commitment to the ideals I spoke about earlier is built on a strong foundation of courage – courage of conviction; courage to stand firm and alone among the vast majority of naysayers, doomsday specialists and mediocre pygmies; courage to walk the untrodden path; and courage to take tough, quick and unpopular decisions. When taking difficult decisions, just ask if your decision is better for the future of Infosys as a whole, rather than better for just an individual or a group of individuals. If so, just do it. If not, never do it.

Time is the only gift given by God in equal measure to every human being. Those who use it well make themselves and the world better. Therefore, please take decisions as if today is the last day of your life. I do not know of a single successful human being who shied away from quick decisions. However, never violate a law no matter what the gains are.

Never show panic or lose your calm in a crisis. That is when your juniors are expecting you to demonstrate your best. The best in you does not emerge if you panic or if you are angry.

Be generous in your praise in public and in sharing the glory with your juniors. Make them feel an inch taller in your presence. However, be totally objective and honest in your feedback and criticism in private. Do not carry the hysteresis of bias from the prior transactions to the current one.

Living in harmony with the society around you has made Infosys a conscientious corporate citizen. Continue that tradition. Generosity and gratitude are the prime attributes of decent people. Please show your gratitude to the society around you in India and in every other part of the world.

Success is bringing smiles onto the faces of people around you. Be generous, bring smiles onto the faces of people around you, and become successful.

Best wishes for a great future for Infosys and every Infoscion, past and present.

October 08, 2014 Narayana Murthy


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Nandan M. Nilekani


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“Our strength is in harnessing people, processes, technology and intellectual capital to create solutions that deliver our customers outcomes for their business.”

– Cybermedia, 2007“The need to be the first and the best, whether it is with a product, a service, or mastery over a new technology, permits no space for relaxation and complacence.”


“A flat world company produces where it is most cost- effective, sells where it is most profitable, uses information to its full capacity, collaborates to innovate faster and is well prepared for business cycles.”



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NANDAN M. NILEKANI

“The purpose of business is to create a customer.” – Peter Drucker

All of us agree that the customer is the reason we are in business. But today, that truism has assumed a new urgency, and bigger implications than ever before. Building client relationships, based on intimacy and empathy, ranks among my top three priorities for business organizations. And it has never been more challenging.

The reasons are all around us. Recent research in the United States reports an alarming drop in the average American’s attention span, which has gone from 12 minutes to just eight seconds in the past 10 years. Work and family pressures, unremitting communication, and an overload of information are all vying for our time and space of mind. Outside lies a hypercompetitive world of brands and products clamoring for attention. Apparently, the average consumer receives nearly 3,000 messages from all media, every day!

How can a brand, product or service organization penetrate through all that noise? Jack Welch has a clear, concise and now famous answer – to think and act like a grocery store. In other words, get up close and personal with your customer.

But intimacy is not only about knowing your client; it is also your ticket to mindshare. And anyone who

has business experience will tell you that mindshare always precedes share of market, or of wallet. This is the reason why a number of CEOs at global organizations passionately voice their commitment to ‘listening on the job’.

Intimate customer conversations are a source of rich information and a bellwether of market

needs. In a private discussion with a trusted partner, clients will often share their deepest hopes and fears, things they might otherwise leave unsaid. Provider organizations must listen closely, sift out the nuggets of insight, and take them back to the

Client first!

Building client relationships, based on intimacy and empathy, ranks among my top

three priorities for business organizations.


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boardroom and the drawing board, as necessary. In fact, a number of disruptive ideas have also been born from such conversations. Therefore, we must think of these interactions as a lead to their next competitive differentiator.

There are signs that several companies are already seeing it this way. The chief marketing officer has been recast into a more customer-centric role of chief customer / client / experience officer, with the express remit of building customer intimacy and engagement. I read with interest that in a recent survey of CIOs across industries and countries, more than 60% of respondents said they would spend more time and effort on improving customer experience and intimacy.

This – spending more time – is really the key. In business, time spent with customers correlates strongly with selling success. My view is that senior leaders would do well to spend 40% to 50% of their time with clients. This continuous focus on the client compels leaders to review the relevance of their value proposition and refine its articulation to

perfection. What makes us different? What unique combination of performance, productivity, quality and value makes our offer compelling? In fact, it’s the asking of these key questions and the answers evolved in response that have made Infosys successful in so many ways.

But clients will spare that time, which they might otherwise spend with their clients, only if it is worth the while. So it is important to have conversations of value. One way to do this is through thought leadership, by discussing influential developments in technology, and what these could mean to their business. Customers would also be interested in how the organization’s vision would support them in achieving

future goals. The ability to forge relationships within the client organization’s larger community can also bring value.

But eventually, it is the in-depth domain knowledge of one’s own business and that of the customer, familiarity with the global market as well as local nuances, and unstinted commitment to customer

This continuous focus on the client compels leaders to review the

relevance of their value proposition and

refine its articulation to perfection.


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interest that will be the differentiators. These will ensure that clients continue to engage with us and place in us the long-term loyalty that Infosys has enjoyed over the years.

To me, and to all of us, that will be the key to outperformance in the future and our insurance against becoming ordinary.

I wish each one of you and Infosys continued success!

October 08, 2014 Nandan M. Nilekani


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S. Gopalakrishnan


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“The scope of education, research and training cannot be confined within the walls of a corporate organization. Learning begins at the level of the individual, and scales the levels of team, organization and country, before finally making a global impact.”


“Individual growth is important, but aligning it to organizational objectives is paramount.”


“You become far more successful if you adapt when circumstances change and then do the very best you can, at that point in time. The position will automatically come… the thing to do is to understand where you are. Come out with a strategy and a plan. By all means, have your goals but be very flexible. Sometimes, it is better to swim along.”

– Forbes India, 2011


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S. GOPALAKRISHNAN

My Infosys journey: How passion became profession

Digital computing as a field in engineering is about 70 years old. Specialization in this field started in the Sixties, with the introduction of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Computer Science. Personal computers, introduced in the Eighties, made computers accessible to the general public. Computers became a productivity tool in the enterprise. The impact of computing in the last 70 years has been significant, touching all aspects of the corporate world and our personal life.

I was introduced to computers in 1978 by accident while I was doing my Masters in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM). Someone recommended that I attend the FORTRAN classes offered for free in the campus. At that time, IITM had the second largest mainframe computer in Asia and several other smaller computers. I was fascinated by computers and decided to join

M.Tech (Computer Science) after my M.Sc. I was lucky that I had found my passion.

After graduation, I joined Patni Computer Systems (PCS) as a software engineer in 1979. At PCS, I got the opportunity to work on a project in the U.S. as well as to lead a very complex project for the Rourkela Steel Plant. My passion had become my profession.

In 1981, seven colleagues from PCS joined together to start Infosys, led by Narayana Murthy. In the initial years, we worked with an ERP product vendor in the U.S., developing and enhancing the product from India and selling, installing and supporting the product all over the world. That is how the Global Delivery Model (GDM)

was born. I got the opportunity to work at all stages of a project. We introduced many innovations, such as real-time forecasting, multivendor terminal

I was fortunate that I was able to make an

impact in this industry through Infosys, through

the innovations we pioneered and the jobs

we created.


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support, and remote processing of information using interprocess communication.

In 1985, I was asked to lead an effort to develop a couple of hardware and software products for the Indian market. One was the electronic telex machine and the other was the store-and-forward message switch to route and transmit telegrams. We designed and developed the hardware and wrote the entire software, including the operating system kernel. Technically, the project was a success. Financially, the success was limited since there was only one customer for the product – government agencies. This division was sold subsequently.

In the Nineties, I was involved in setting up the Quality systems and creating a scalable digital infrastructure for executing multiple projects across multiple locations. We were certified at level 5 of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) for quality. We standardized on Microsoft products for personal and developer productivity and Cisco products for the network. In the late Nineties, we were involved in several Y2K projects, developing automation tools so that these projects could be executed with high quality and minimum manual effort. We set up the Infosys Internet Consulting Practice (IICP) for executing projects for Internet-based businesses and businesses leveraging the nascent Internet. These efforts allowed Infosys to scale up exponentially between 1996 and 2004.

In 2003, we created separate business units focussed on horizontal services like Consulting, Infrastructure Management and Independent Validation. Around the same time, we created the Software Engineering and Technology Labs (SETLabs) to develop new tools to help in our projects. SETLabs developed the InFlux tool for architecture and requirements definition. InFlux was released as a public tool on the Internet for users to capture and share the requirement definition of business systems. This sharing helped the community design and develop better systems and to train people in business processes. But this did not take off as businesses were not ready to share their requirements publicly.

I became the CEO in June 2007 and in 2008, the global financial crisis arrived. Growth for the industry and Infosys declined significantly. The compounded annual growth rate between 2007 and 2011 was just 19%. During this period, we started our sustainability initiatives. Till then, our buildings were focused on aesthetics and design. From 2007, they also became energy-efficient and environment-friendly. All our new buildings today are LEED Platinum certified. I have been personally championing the sustainability cause in India and on global platforms.

As Infosys grew over the years, I had to transform myself from being a technical person to a


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management person. I had to play various roles across departments. However, my passion for computing remained. I still install new versions of software on my computers myself. I change my devices periodically to stay up-to-date and to learn about new technologies. I read a lot about new developments in computing. Of course, there is less and less opportunity to write code, but till recently, I used to review projects and in some cases, review design and code.

Computers have become ubiquitous and created a large industry, both in products and services. The Internet has connected the world.

I was fortunate to be part of this industry from early on – the last 35 years of the 70 years of this industry. I was fortunate that my passion became my profession. I was fortunate that I was able to make an impact in this industry through Infosys, through the innovations we pioneered and the jobs we created. I was fortunate that we were able to work with some of the best businesses around the world and provide world-class services to them. And lastly, I was fortunate to work with some of the best professionals in the industry who have become friends and colleagues.

October 08, 2014 S. Gopalakrishnan


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S. D. Shibulal


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“There is no good time for transformation but if you don’t do it, you will not survive.”

– Financial Times, 2012

“Companies that use innovative traits that got them to where they are in the first place will continue to transform their businesses and improve the way we live.”

– Oracle OpenWorld, 2012

“Corporations need to earn the right to operate, and to earn this right, they need to operate in an ethical, legal and socially responsible manner.”

– Business Responsibility Report, 2012


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S. D. SHIBULAL

At Infosys, we have always believed that an idea without execution has little value. Innovation at Infosys is therefore not about the next big idea alone but a focus on executing these ideas to add value to all our stakeholders – our clients, our employees, our investors and the society.

What makes innovation exciting at Infosys is that it is driven by client relevance. Our innovation is geared towards solving our customers’ problems, co-creating with them and offering them a gamut of pioneering solutions. When it comes to serving our clients, our innovation focuses on areas of process, quality and technology.

We were the pioneers of the Global Delivery Model (GDM), which is based on the basic principle of taking work to where it can be done best, making the most economic sense, with the least risk. Through this, we were able to take advantage of local skill availability, enable faster delivery and significantly reduce time-to-market.

Our quality, benchmarked to international standards, speaks for itself. Ninety-four percent of our projects adhere to the committed schedule, with less than 10% variation. We were early movers in making strategic investments in SEI CMM Level 5, PCMM, Malcolm Baldrige and Six Sigma. Quality has played a very important role in bettering our

execution and earning our clients’ trust. Today, over 90% of our business is repeat business.

Like everything we did, any kind of technology innovation at Infosys must add value to our clients. We set up Infosys Labs, which spearheads the organization’s commitment to innovation and Intellectual Property (IP) development. Today, more

than 270 researchers are engaged in creating methodologies, frameworks and tools that address our clients’ business problems. Moreover, our business processes have also been enabled by our technology-aided innovation.

Creating value through continuous innovation and disciplined execution

Our innovation is geared towards solving our

customers’ problems, co-creating with them and offering them a gamut of pioneering

solutions.


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Employees are the backbone of Infosys’ execution excellence. We have often innovated keeping our employees in mind. In 1994, we became the first Indian company in India to provide a comprehensive employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). This unique employee offer produced many Infosys loyalists! We were the first to develop world-class campuses across the globe, which have helped our employees to service our clients better. We remained focused on education, and established India’s first corporate university in Mysore, which has the capacity to train 14,000 employees at any given time. Our employees continue to learn and reskill themselves throughout their career at Infosys.

As the founders of Infosys, it was important for us to differentiate our role as ‘trustees’ as opposed to ‘owners’. As most of our revenues came from the U.S., we published quarterly and annual reports to ensure that there was no asymmetry in information. In 1997, we started publishing financial statements in U.S. GAAP. Later, we became the first Indian

company to be listed on the NASDAQ. We also recruited a lead independent director in 2003, at a time when the concept was unheard of in India. A performance evaluation system was put in place for board members, just as there was for other employees.

Being in the business of technology, we believe that we have a responsibility towards the IT industry.

Our Computers@Classrooms initiative donates computers to various institutions across India; the innovative Catch Them Young program has helped expose thousands of young students to the IT world, and the very recently launched SPARK-IT program addresses the issue of ‘lack of employability’ of our

graduates. We set up the Infosys Science Foundation, a not-for-profit trust, to spread the culture of science across the world. The Infosys Prize, awarded in six categories in the sciences and humanities, celebrates the success of our scientists and stands as a marker of excellence in scientific research. In fact, many winners of the Infosys Prize have gone on to win other widely recognized awards.

As the founders of Infosys, it was important

for us to differentiate our role as ‘trustees’ as opposed to ‘owners’.


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Innovation allows companies to keep finding new ways to create value for their stakeholders and excellence in execution allows them to actually deliver on the promise of innovation.

I believe that Infosys must continue to innovate and remain disciplined when it comes to execution

so that we can remain relevant in these dynamic, changing times. I wish Infosys every success in this endeavor.

October 08, 2014 S. D. Shibulal


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N. S. Raghavan


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“I personally believe that the most significant intervention for emotionally engaging employees was the creation of Employees Stock Offer Plan (ESOP), long before any regulatory guidelines were available.”


“The most daunting responsibility was creating and nurturing an organizational culture that emphasized the right set of values, so that we could build an institution of lasting value, one that we could be truly proud of in the decades to come.”


“A determinant for the success of an enterprise is to be in the right industry at the right time with the right strategy and profile. The kernel task of leadership is to enable the enterprise to ride with the momentum of the marketplace by quickly responding with suitable actions to capitalize on emerging opportunities.”



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Let me at the outset convey my sincere thanks to the Infosys Board for giving me this wonderful opportunity to participate in this memorable function.

I was fortunate to have had the extraordinary privilege of steering the Human Capital Management strategies of Infosys for the better part of the first 20 years of its growth period. Justifying the Infosys tagline, ‘Powered by intellect, driven by values’, put an enormous responsibility on all of us at Infosys, to not only build high-capability human resource teams but also to develop and nurture a value-driven organization culture.

While there were a large number of innovative initiatives that we took up at Infosys, I would like to touch upon just one critical decision that we took, very early on, which I believe set us apart from the other software companies of that time.

N. S. RAGHAVAN

We recognized that a certain aptitude, which Howard Gardner later called Logical-Mathematical intelligence, was extremely important to succeed as software professionals. We also realized that a Computer Science background was essential only for certain system software and technology projects. So, we decided to place greater emphasis

on the right aptitude than on a Computer Science background while selecting the majority of our employees.

That is how Infosys became the only blue-blooded software company in the 1980s that embraced a radically new approach to recruiting its software employees.

We opened our doors to engineers from various disciplines and made sure that once they joined us, they received excellent conceptual grounding in our meticulously planned training programs.

We relied on our entrance tests that were personally developed by me, to make sure that the

Building a company with the right aptitude

Justifying the Infosys tagline, ‘Powered by intellect, driven by values’, put an

enormous responsibility on all of us at Infosys.


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candidates were tested for aptitude in Arithmetical Reasoning and Analytical Thinking. This allowed us to attract a number of rank-holders from the best engineering colleges like the IITs and Regional Engineering Colleges, with specializations in varied disciplines of engineering, such as Mechanical, Civil, Aeronautical, Chemical, Naval Architecture, etc.

Our emphasis on these tests and our belief in their efficacy were so strong that we were even prepared to not hire some rank-holding students of Computer Science from these institutes if they failed our tests. I must admit that it also created some piquant situations like the time when Murthy suggested that we administer these tests even on the senior people we were hiring. One such person was Prof. K. Viswanathan, who at that time was teaching Computer Science at IIM Calcutta, and was being interviewed by us for heading our Education and Research division. Of course, the good Professor KV was more than willing to face up to our challenge and not only did very well in these tests but also became instrumental in building a solid foundation for our Education, Training and Research efforts.

Little did I realize at that time that the rigorous recruitment process, which was considered tougher than GMAT and GRE, would give us exceptional benefits. To start with, it established Infosys professionals as a class apart from others and gave

us an elitist tag that served as a good motivating factor. More importantly, it gave Infoscions a tremendous boost to their self-confidence, enabling them to accept many challenges that were far beyond their experience levels and also allowing them to experiment and innovate extensively.

For instance, in those days, our customers insisted on evaluating our software professionals before they were placed at the customer sites. I requested Devdutt Yellurkar, our U.S. marketing head, to convince our customers to accept a different process. “Let them try our engineers for a period of two months without insisting on resumés and interviews and if at the end of that period, they are not happy, they are free to send them back without paying us any money”. My enormous confidence on our software professionals really paid off. Our youngsters took these challenges extremely well, working very hard to quickly learn whatever was required for delivering results that far exceeded customer expectations.

Again, I am tempted to argue that the high caliber and creative mindsets of Infoscions are the main reasons why the Infosys growth path is strewn with a variety of high-impact innovations all along its journey.

Some of you may be aware that I am Infosys’ Employee Number One, and it was also my


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good fortune that most of the first two thousand employees were personally interviewed and selected by me. I would like to take this occasion and opportunity to acknowledge and salute this first generation of Infoscions who, I believe, deserve

to be given the lion’s share of the credit for laying a strong edifice and foundation for the later growth and success of Infosys.

October 08, 2014 N. S. Raghavan


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K. Dinesh


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“Approach and result are equally important. We should not just focus on the result but we have to have a clear destination and plan to reach there.”

– Farewell Speech, 2011

“If two people agree all the time, one of them is not required. But in a democracy like ours, we have to be careful. If two or more people disagree all the time, all of them are not required.”

– Farewell Speech, 2011

“You need to build a holistic perspective on training people, investing in training, building leaders, building processes, building systems and all of that. You can build an organization, but what you should aspire to do is build an institution.”

– Interview, 2013


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K. DINESH

I am delighted to be here today. I would like to thank the Infosys Board for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this extraordinary event. I consider it a privilege and an honor to share glimpses of the journey of the Quality function – its roots, philosophies, outcomes and experiences – with all of you.

We believed it was a ’smarter’ strategy, in any industry, but more so in ours, to get more business from the same customers or referrals than always trying to find new customers. Quality for us was more a philosophy than a strategy. But as Henry Ford’s famous saying goes, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”. In other words, if you want a different outcome, you must change the process, or the product, or both. That is why we decided to take a fresh look at Quality as strategy, and decided to embed the company’s core values (CLIFE) into

our processes as a means to the end – that is, earning respect from stakeholders!

Even as late as 1990, India was far from being recognized as an IT destination by the Western world. Our clients in the U.S. and Europe would question the quality of our workforce, the software

we delivered, the processes we executed, the timeliness of delivery, and the cost overruns. We took the first step in addressing this, when Dr. V. A. Sastry joined us in 1992 to kickstart the ISO 9000 journey. We got an ISO 9000 TickIT certification in 1993, which provided some breathing space and a foothold. But there was still plenty of room for improvement.

There was a demand for us to find a certification model that was a closer fit for our offerings. Led by Dr. Pankaj Jalote, who headed the Quality function during this period, we chose CMM, achieved the

The Quality journey at Infosys

Total Quality has made us succeed as an

organization and set ourselves on the path of continued pursuit

of excellence driven by constancy of purpose.


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CMM level 4 milestone as planned, by the end of 1997, and became the first Indian company to get this certification. We met the CMM level 5 milestone in 1999, becoming only the 21st company in the world to achieve this distinction. The results of these are apparent in our business outcomes till this day.

I had the good fortune of anchoring our annual strategy planning meet, or STRAP, for several years. In 2000, the leaders deliberated and chose the direction of diversified higher-value global growth. This also meant that we needed to scale up our Quality function to keep pace with the times and complexities that came in, but while keeping the ISO/CMM at the core. To me, this was a major inflexion point.

Satyendra Kumar and Sanjay Purohit joined Infosys in 2000. The Quality function got a boost from their expertise, and we selected the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) model, Balanced Scorecard, and CFPM Technique of Six Sigma. We received the Ramakrishna Bajaj Award in 2004, the CII-EXIM Award for Business Excellence in 2005 (based on EFQM), and reached 600 points on the Baldrige scale a year later, as judged by an MBNQA expert. As our business evolved and diversified, additional domain-specific models of Quality were added. Our Business Value Articulation (BVA) model, the brainchild of Narayana Murthy, was

designed to connect and articulate the value that we added to our clients’ business.

In 2011, we had 620 projects versus the 25 projects we had in 1993; 1,30,000 employees versus the 750 we had in ’93; US $6.04 billion in revenue versus the US $5 million earlier, and we operated out of 64 sales offices and 63 global development centres spread across 75 cities in 32 countries, as opposed to the two offices in India and one international sales office in Boston in 1993.

Owing to the fact that we delivered close to 99% of our projects on time and 96% within budget, repeat business rose from 87% in 2000 to over 97% in 2011. The fact that our Client Satisfaction Index went up even at the peak of recession in 2009, stands testament to the fact that quality has been the platform on which we have delivered predictable, profitable, sustainable and de-risked business value to our stakeholders.

As our repeat business increased, the cost of sales decreased. The decrease in cycle times enabled higher growth. As our productivity went up, employee costs came down, resulting in higher gross and net margins in spite of rising salary expenses. All this led to a consistently strong and healthy balance sheet with higher return on investment (ROI). Better quality, infrastructure, training, and reduced rework also meant that our


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employee morale went up. Thus, the predictability and sustainability of our business model were well oiled by Total Quality which the MBNQA model drove at the core of our business practice.

Total Quality has made us succeed as an organization and set ourselves on the path of continued pursuit of excellence driven by constancy of purpose, as prescribed by the American management guru, W. Edwards Deming. We have earned the sustained trust of our stakeholders – employees, clients, alliance partners, the industry, government and society.

This trust is an intangible-yet-invaluable asset, and reflects the success of the Quality journey. I strongly believe that it will continue to be at the core of our success in the years to come, so that we can proudly say, “Quality – Built in Infosys – Powered by Intellect, Driven by Processes”.

I take this opportunity to thank each one of you for your active participation and contribution in making this journey rewarding for all of us.

October 08, 2014 K. Dinesh


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Ashok Arora

“Ashok Arora is a superb software engineer. There is no other person I know who can write better code and develop better designs and systems than him.”

– S. Gopalakrishnan

“Ashok is probably the finest designer and programmer that I have ever come across in the world. I have worked in some very advanced situations in France and in other places, but nobody, without exception, came to his level of focus in creating a beautiful product. He wrote programs as if he was writing a poem.”

– Narayana Murthy


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Continuing the legacy for the future


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It’s not very often that we have six of our founders under one roof. Today is one such day, as we celebrate 33 glorious years of existence, during which we reshaped the way business is delivered across the globe. Thirty-three years is a long time and I have had the privilege of being part of this great journey alongside these stalwarts for 28 of those 33 years.

Since the span we are talking about here is over three decades, there is much that I could talk about. But I have chosen to talk about something that is close to my heart. They say that when you drive, you need to look at the road ahead, but it is equally important to keep an eye on the rear-view mirror.

When I look back, I see that many things have changed – from the way we do our business, to the demands of our clients, to the technology with which we work. Change is something we embrace with ease in this company. But no matter how numerous or frequent these changes are, there is one secret bond that holds us all together. Through our ups and downs, our glorious moments and testing times, there has always been this one aspect which has kept us together. And that is our value system – CLIFE. Right from the inception of this organization, our leadership standards have guided the company, though they took some years to be explicitly documented. During our early days, when the business environment was not the most conducive, and when corruption and nepotism were rampant, we remained committed to fair

and ethical business practices, and integrity. As an Infoscion for the last 28 years, I have watched my peers and colleagues, new joinees and old-timers, imbibe these values and follow them in letter and in spirit, time and again.

Here is a short recap of how CLIFE came about. In 2000, the company decided to codify its principles formally in a way that generates excitement and a shared sense of ownership of the company’s core values. The Board members, along with a senior leadership team, members of the Voice of Youth, and a set of employees representing different cross-sections of the company discussed the current understanding of, and concerns about, the value system. Eventually, they arrived at a consolidated set of primary, non-negotiable, cross-cultural and practical values that would be able to stand the test of time.

They created an easy-to-remember acronym for the values – CLIFE, which stood for Client delight, Leadership by example, Integrity and transparency, Fairness, and Excellence.

Our founders epitomize the Infosys value system. This is something so close to their hearts that for a long time, they were very particular that they themselves conduct the ‘Train the Trainer’ sessions for value trainers. Each of our founders embraced the values of Infosys completely, and when I think of each value as an entity, I can immediately put a face to the name.

Bringing values to the fore: Our founders


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Client Delight – The moment I hear the words ‘Client Delight’, the first name that crops up in my mind is Nandan, for he had this unique ability to wow a client in the shortest possible time.

Leadership by Example – Today, the word ‘leader’ is synonymous with this towering personality. He is not just a rock star within Infosys but is admired across the globe. In my mind, NRN is one of the finest leaders Corporate India has ever produced and he is a brand by himself. He is the ideal Infoscion against whom we have the honor of benchmarking ourselves. In spite of being an icon, he continues to amaze people with his simplicity.

Integrity and Transparency – An Infoscion by definition is someone who always values integrity and works hard to conduct each transaction in his or her professional life in a transparent manner. But, the foundation for this was laid by two of our leaders – Kris and K. Dinesh. Some of the key milestones of Infosys were achieved under Kris’ stewardship. Yet, I have never heard him talk about his achievements or contributions to these milestones. It helps that he is probably one of the most calm and serene persons you will ever meet. Dinesh, an equally unassuming person, is responsible for the strong foundation of quality that we have built at Infosys.

Fairness – Our company has always conducted itself in a fair, transparent and ethical manner. No matter what the situation or transaction, we have never compromised on these qualities. If Infoscions are looked upon with dignity and respect today,

have no doubt, it is because of these qualities of the company. The name that springs to my mind when I think of fairness is that of N. S. Raghavan. For many old-timers like me, he will always be our first HR Head. Known for his impeccable dressing and friendly demeanor, NSR was a huge hit among Infoscions.

Excellence – If there’s ever a contest to find out which Infoscion has used the word ’Excellence’ the most number of times, the clear winner would be Shibu. Excellence was a way of life for him. He never wavered from his values, and always put the interests of the organization ahead of his own. It’s only apt therefore that he was the one who spoke on Delivery Excellence today.

We are often told that ’the highest values are priceless’. Here are the invaluable individuals who brought these priceless values into the Infosys way of life. If Infosys today enjoys high respect among all its stakeholders, it is because, and only because, of our value system. It is an important framework that has been passed on to us by our founders. We are poised today at a very interesting phase of our journey, where we are setting the course for our future. As we embark on it, let us thank our founders for all that they have done, let us embrace our value system which has held us together, and let us move ahead to create some more history.

October 08, 2014 U. B. Pravin Rao


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As I reflect on the unmatched track record of investor relations at Infosys, I find myself looking for the mindset behind the phenomenon more than the events and tools. Here’s my take on the events, actions and mindset.

Infosys dealt with investor relations at two levels. First, in the traditional sense of servicing investors with data and enhancing their understanding and trust through various means of communication. Second, and an important reason of Infosys’ success has been its sheer commitment towards rewarding its investors for the risk they took.

Two sets of complementarities contributed immensely to Infosys’ performance. The Founders had complementary skills, making them a powerful collective; and many of the early professionals brought their own expertise to the table to perfectly complement the skills of the collective.

N. S. Raghavan, the eldest among the Founders, was known for his poise and his people management skills. Nandan brought his capability to collaborate, a flair for picking up the trend, and selling. He anchored many transformational deals and most early investors still remember his oft-repeated quote: “Strategy is a commodity and execution is the differentiator”.

Kris Gopalakrishnan was great at using and developing new technology, and execution. Shibulal, with his solid process orientation, was an outstanding delivery and execution person

and thus the key to Infosys’ vision of building a scalable corporation. Dinesh, the tough guy, known for perfection, built high quality and scalable processes.

Among the professionals, Mohandas Pai, with his dynamism and hard work, was the architect of the robust finance and accounts organization, and Infosys’ phenomenal infrastructure, with inspiration from Mr. Murthy. Mohan and his able deputy, V. Balakrishnan, or Bala, spearheaded the breakthrough NASDAQ listing and later several rounds of sponsored ADRs on it and even in the Japanese markets.

In my experience of launching IPOs for hundreds of companies, I cannot recall a company that thought of its IPO as seriously as Infosys did. Narayana Murthy waited for the abolition of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the advent of free pricing to decide finally on the IPO. While bargaining hard for a high price of ` 105 per share, we eventually settled for ` 95. He wanted the sacrifice, hard work and trust of his younger partners and employees to be rewarded, and he extended the same paternal concern to the faceless investors who had yet to come on board.

The Founders were very clear that the public had to get handsome returns – not the usual 20-30% over the IPO price in a year or so, but a 75-100% gain in 12-18 months.

Investor relations: The Infosys way


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Before the NASDAQ listing too, the Founders surprised the nervous underwriters by lowering their recommended price, which was unheard of in the history of underwriting on Wall Street.

The next step was the writing of the prospectus. Infosys declared in the prospectus its commitment to a specific growth rate and profit margin over the next three years. No company before or ever since has been as categorical in its promise. It also promised a minimum dividend of 20% over the next three years without resorting to the ‘barring unforeseen circumstances’ clause that almost all companies use.

These statements represent the Founders’ desire to define the ‘terms of engagement’ clearly, to establish their accountability and enable proper scrutiny of their results. The spirit of imagining and delivering the ‘unthought-of and unasked-for’, both in terms of rewards and respect, is what I think best describes the Infosys philosophy vis-à-vis investors.

The various measures of respect towards investors only multiplied as the journey progressed. As the roadshows for the IPO started, Infosys agreed to hold an analyst meet in addition to the traditional brokers meet. No company since has been as regular in holding periodic analyst meets to share both good and bad news, and to discuss in advance critical decisions with them.

One instance of this came in 1995, when the company decided to pull the plug on one of its customers if it did not get better terms. The client accounted for nearly half of Infosys’ revenue. This was pure hara-kiri! Investors were baffled both by the boldness and the transparency of the company. But by this time, they had the confidence that Infosys would move on to more value-added services with better margins.

One of the greatest statements in corporate communication that I have ever read came in the Annual Report for the year ended March 31, 1994. At the end of the first full year after the IPO, the Directors wrote that the company believed that its “transparency standards would become a competitive advantage”. I remember how some of the ‘big boy’ companies of that time had laughed at such naiveté, only to realize five years later how mistaken they were!

Infosys’ greatest act of investor respect has of course been its practice of giving – first annual and later, quarterly – performance guidance, a practice suspended only recently. It has been the only Indian company to do this diligently and consistently. Many tried to follow suit but none was able to meet the benchmark set by Infosys.

Many in India are grateful for Infosys’ leadership in investor relationship norms and corporate governance.


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This contribution must be valued for one more important reason. When India started the economic liberalization process in 1991, most companies, and the government itself, had little idea about how to navigate along that path. It was Infosys which took bold steps in enterprise, openness, globalization, innovation, social equity, and so on.

India has not lacked great entrepreneurs. But, the spirit to be accountable and ready for scrutiny was, and still is, unique to Infosys. This brings me back to where I started – to the Founders. Their humility has rubbed off on the company they created. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the malice-free silence and decency of response from the Infosys leadership in the face of pressure and even direct attack. When Infosys made the first sponsored ADR offering, the Founders were the first to offer their own shares in all the issues. The gains on those shares would run into hundreds of millions of dollars today.

Practising what one preaches is easier said than done, but the Infosys Founders managed to practise the highest human values year after year. Is it still any wonder why no company has managed to come close to Infosys in investor relations?

You can’t forget some of the senior business leaders in Infosys during Mr. Murthy’s stewardship quoting his words, ‘You can walk on water and execute our strategy even in tough times’.

Mr. Murthy has recharged the company and brought in a young and capable team to lead it. I am hopeful that Vishal Sikka, Pravin Rao and Rajiv Bansal will make Mr. Murthy and the other Founders proud by ‘walking on water’.

October 08, 2014 Vallabh Bhanshali NGN Puranik


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There are, have been, and will be, many large and instantly known companies across the globe. A common feature of all of them is sustained success – which is axiomatic, for if not so, they would neither be large nor well known. However, not all such companies have been universally lauded for a business culture of unwavering integrity. As an example, Standard Oil, founded by the legendary John D. Rockefeller, was certainly one of the largest companies in the world in its time. But while John D. was renowned for his grit, far-sightedness, personal discipline and frugality, corporate integrity and fair business practices were not the hallmark of Standard Oil. There are many such examples, especially in the first half of the 20th century – Anglo-Dutch Shell, Thyssen Krupp, De Beers, the major Japanese zaibatsus, some of the South Korean chaebols, to name some.

With a consolidated revenue of Rs. 50,133 crores for FY2014 (US $8.25 billion) and a net profit of Rs.10,648 crores (US $1.75 billion), the 33-year old Infosys may not yet rank as a global corporate giant. But it is certainly well known in India and across many parts of the world as an IT major which, along with its peers such as TCS, Cognizant and Wipro, has helped place India in the centre of the global IT and business process transformation map.

Let me start with a little bit of history that spans my time as an independent director at Infosys.

As a corporate governance enthusiast and the chief economist of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), I had to interact quite often with Narayana Murthy, then the executive chairman and CEO of Infosys. One fine day in 2000, Murthy asked me to come over to the fledgling Bangalore campus to give a closed-door talk on corporate governance as well as the global economic environment to the executive directors of the company. I accepted with great excitement and some trepidation – the latter turning out to be fully deserved, with the rapid-fire questions that came from the irrepressible CFO of the time, T. V. Mohandas Pai, in tandem with Phaneesh Murthy, accompanied by a googly or two from Nandan Nilekani. It was a combative and fun talk, and I could see Narayana Murthy enjoying every minute of this gladiatorial thrust and parry between his favourite boys and I.

A week or so later, he called me up to say that the nominations committee of the board, the executive directors and he were keen that I joined the board. Infosys? The best known, most lauded IT company of the country at the time? I accepted with alacrity and danced a private jig.

That was when Infosys’ revenue had just crossed the US $200 million mark. And today, as I prepare to exit the board, having completed 14 years as an independent director of this great company, it stands at US $8.25 billion – and all set for getting into the double-digit territory.

Infosys and the importance of integrity


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The next few paragraphs are a bit of history. It is necessary, for it shows how a determined group of people with never-ending streams of productive energy – the Founders, the key executives, the hundreds of thousands working on the production and delivery of software and handholding clients across the globe – have put company over self and public over private to fashion a great enterprise.

2000 : Revenue crosses US $200 million.

2001 : Revenue crosses US $400 million.

2002 : Revenue crosses US $500 million. Infosys launches Progeon, which is the precursor to today’s Infosys BPO subsidiary. Nandan takes over as the CEO, Kris Gopalakrishnan becomes the COO, and Murthy is the Chairman and Chief Mentor.

2004 : Revenue crosses US $1 billion. There is a big function in the Bangalore campus celebrating this milestone.

2006 : Infosys is 25 years old. Revenue doubles to US $2 billion. It took the company 23 years to reach its first billion in revenue, and 23 months to reach its next billion. Employees are now over 50,000. Murthy reaches 60 and formally retires as the Executive Chairman, but is asked to remain as the Non-Executive Chairman.

2007 : Kris takes over as CEO. Nandan becomes the Co-Chairman, along with Murthy. For the first time, quarterly revenues cross US $1 billion.

2008 : Revenues cross US $4 billion. Annual net profits cross US $1 billion.

2009 : Employee strength now crosses 1,00,000.

2010 : Revenues cross the US $5 billion mark.

2011 : Murthy retires as Non-Executive Chairman. Hands over the baton to K. V. Kamath. Kris steps down as CEO to become Executive Co-Chair. S. D. Shibulal (Shibu) takes over as the CEO. Revenue crosses US $6 billion. Employee strength exceeds 1,25,000.

2013 : Murthy brought back as the Executive Chairman to effect a process of restructuring while continuing the growth momentum.

2014 : Revenue now at US $8.25 billion. Employees are at over 1,61,000 worldwide. Cash and cash equivalents cross US $5 billion. Shibu steps down as CEO and MD and hands over charge to the company’s first non-founder chief – Vishal Sikka, aided by U. B. Pravin Rao as the COO. Kris, Shibu and Murthy step off the board and, with that, the era of the founders comes to an end.

I have been fortunate in witnessing this growth of Infosys over the last 14 years, from a hot summer Sunday when Murthy in kurta-pajamas and Mohan in a T-shirt and shorts were on an extended site inspection of the Bangalore campus that was then being built, to today, when the company has best-in-class facilities across 32 nations across the world.


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The one thing that has been common to this great company throughout its journey – something that it has never wavered from – is a deep and innate sense of integrity.

What do I mean by this? It is a simple value proposition that I have seen in the founders and the management of this company time and time again: be scrupulously honest and say the truth; do what is morally right for the company; have a mindset that puts public purpose well above private wants; under-promise and over-deliver; and have zero tolerance for the slightest lack of integrity, from howsoever high the person may be within Infosys.

Let me share with you an example of integrity. Infosys was the trailblazer in giving revenue and Earnings Per Share (EPS) guidance to investors. Up to the first quarter of FY2013, there were quarterly guidances; since then, there is an annual guidance. Some of the independent directors on the board were against giving guidance, and I belonged to that small club. But neither Murthy nor any of the executive directors would have anything to do with it. For them, guidance was a sacred commitment of the company to its investors – the sword by which they were determined to fight or fall. And they lived up to it.

It was all very well when Infosys met or exceeded its guidance, as it so often did, quarter after quarter. But when it occasionally did not, Murthy, Nandan, Kris, Shibu, Mohan, Srinath Batni, V. Balakrishnan (Bala)

would not budge an inch from saying it loud and clear in the press releases or in the post-result investor conferences. I have tried often enough to use the versatility of language to suggest a draft press release that would downplay the ‘miss’ – to no avail. As far as Murthy and his lads were concerned, “Guidance is sacrosanct. When we exceed, let others see it. When we fail, we should have the courage to state it upfront. Loudly.”

Indeed, the joke among some members of the board was that, in the difficult quarters, Murthy (and later Nandan, Kris as well as Shibu) would insist on stating the guidance miss so prominently in the press release that investors and market players would be forced to first look at this shortfall before seeing anything else. I once asked Murthy, “Why do we want to crucify ourselves?” He replied, and I remember each word of what he said, “Omkar, if we live by being truthful, we will sometimes get crucified.”

It is this kind of steadfast and dogged integrity that makes Infosys so special – irrespective of which Indian IT major holds the pole position.

Let me end with another example of unwavering integrity. It involves Infosys and me. In 2004, eager to pre-pay a loan that I had taken for the purchase of an apartment, I decided to sell some Infosys shares. Which I did. However, in the process, I completely forgot that it was within the quiet period – just a few days before a quarterly board meeting.


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Within an hour of completing the transaction, it struck me that I had unwittingly made a mistake. I immediately called Murthy, Nandan and Deepak Satwalekar, who headed the audit committee, to tell them of the blunder. I was asked to immediately repurchase the shares irrespective of the price. Three days later, at the Infosys board meeting, I had to give a full account of what happened, with data. This was followed by a polite but firm interrogation by the company’s legal head and a senior partner of a law firm to determine whether it was a genuine mistake, and that I had no insider information whatsoever of the results. When these facts were established to the satisfaction of the board, I was asked to formally apologise and to donate a sizeable amount to any recognised charity. In addition, Murthy asked me to send a letter to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) explaining what I had mistakenly done; and subsequently meet the SEBI Chairman and the relevant executive director to apologise face-to-face. All of which I gladly did.

Remember, this was a time when SEBI’s insider trading rules were far less rigorous than now. Yet, Infosys went through a best-in-class process, with firmness, thoroughness and fairness. That day, my respect for Infosys increased even more. For it truly showed a company which believed in a simple tenet: “Integrity begins at home, and at the top”.

It doesn’t matter which IT company is the bellwether stock. It was Infosys for well over a decade. It is a competitor now. It may be Infosys yet again. But at a time when the founders will have bade adieu and Vishal and Pravin are at the helm, I am sure that the resolute dedication to integrity will forever remain the leitmotif of the company. To me, that is what makes Infosys so special. And that, plus the deep friendships, are what I shall cherish.

October 08, 2014 Dr. Omkar Goswami

Creative concept and design by Communication Design Group, Infosys Limited. © 2014 Infosys Limited, Bangalore, India. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, without prior permission of Infosys Limited. Infosys acknowledges the proprietary rights in the trademarks and product names of other companies mentioned in this book.

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