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OPER059) click on the button below,

Case Code :OPER059 For delivery in electronic
Case Length :14 Pages format: Rs. 400; and select the case from the list of
Period :1995-2006 For delivery through courier
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Technologies 25 for Shipping & Handling
Pub Date :2006 Charges
Teaching :Available Themes
Note
Countries :India/Global -
Industry :Software
Abstract:
G
The case examines the global a
delivery model (GDM) of the d
leading India based software g
e
company - Infosys t
Technologies. Infosys used s
GDM as a strategic outsourcing
p
tool; using it, the company o
could take the work to the place w
where it could be best e
performed at lowest cost with r
e
minimum risk. d

By using GDM, Infosys b

y
delivered the highest process
and quality standards, while G
leveraging differences in cost, o
o
quality and skill sets of g
manpower in different global l
locations. The case presents an e
in-depth information on the
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It also discusses the challenges faced by the company from
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Contents:
Page
No.
The 'Leader' 1
Background Note 2
The Global Delivery Model 3 Please note:
GDM - Making the Model Work 6
Expanding GDM 7
The Benefits 7 This case study was compiled from
The Road Ahead 8
published sources, and is intended to be
Exhibits 10
used as a basis for class discussion. It is
Keywords:
not intended to illustrate either effective or
Infosys Technologies, Global Delivery Model, Software
Development, Business Innovation, Global Project ineffective handling of a management
Management, Outsourcing, Offshoring, Systems Integration, situation. Nor is it a primary information
Capability Maturity Model, Global Development Centers,
Proximity Development Centers, Offshore Development source.

Centers, Knowledge Management

The 'Leader' - Next Page>>

"The Global Delivery Model that has been at the heart of our execution is more than
just a way of getting work done offshore. It is a genuine business innovation that
delivers a superior value proposition at higher quality and lower cost. By leveraging
global resources and global strengths, it creates a new degree of freedom."1
- Nandan Nilekani, President, CEO and Managing Director, Infosys, in 2006.
"Infosys can obtain skilled labour at better rates than its customers can in their own
region and the focus of the GDM is maximizing skill while minimizing cost."2
- ZapThink, Massachusetts-based IT Market Intelligence Firm, in 2005.
The 'Leader'

In February 2006, Gartner3, a research firm

focused on technology industries, published its
'Magic Quadrant for Offshore Application
Services, 2006'.

This report assessed 30 leading offshore

application service providers. For its magic
quadrant, Gartner evaluated service providers on
the basis of parameters such as completeness of
vision and their ability to execute4.

India-based Infosys Technologies (Infosys) was

placed in the 'leaders' quadrant, signifying clear
vision of the market direction and building
competencies to sustain its leadership position in
the market
(Refer Exhibit I for the criteria used in the Magic Quadrant, and Exhibit II for traits of
the companies placed in the 'Leaders' quadrant).

Gartner's magic quadrant analyzed the

competencies of the service providers based on
their Global Delivery Model (GDM). Gartner said
that Infosys' 'strong management capability
relative to the other pure-play offshore providers'
was one of the key demonstrated capabilities of
the company.

S. Gopalakrishnan (Gopalakrishnan), Chief

Operating Officer and Deputy Managing Director
of Infosys, said, "I am happy to see Infosys being
recognized as a leader in this Offshore
Application Services Magic Quadrant, the first
time that Gartner has published one to focus on
this area. This is an important indicator for the
mainstream acceptance of GDM by clients."5
GDM provided a superior value proposition at higher quality and lower cost. The
companies adopting this model leveraged their own global resources and strengths
to achieve higher profitability.
Infosys' Global Delivery Model - Next Page>>
Infosys' Global Delivery Model ICMR HOME | Case Studies Collection
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Case Code : OPER059

Case Length : 14 Pages

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The 'Leader' Contd.. Period : 1995-2006

Organization : Infosys Technologies

Pub Date : 2006

The company had decided to enhance its GDM capabilities by
Teaching Note : Available
applying it to new services and adding in new global delivery
locations. Commenting on the GDM, Manjari Raman, a Countries : India/Global
Boston based management writer said, "What made Infosys' Industry : Software
GDM disruptive was its framework for distributed project
management - the ability to deploy multi-location, multi-time-
zone teams to execute projects efficiently and at low cost."6 To download Infosys' Global Delivery

Model case study (Case Code:

OPER059) click on the button below,

and select the case from the list of

available cases:

Price:

For delivery in electronic format: Rs.

400;

For delivery through courier (within

India): Rs. 400 + Rs. 25 for Shipping &

Handling Charges
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Case Details:
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Excerpts Case Code : OPER059

The Global Delivery Model Case Length : 14 Pages

Period : 1995-2006
In the GDM, large scale
software development projects Organization : Infosys Technologies
were divided into different
Pub Date : 2006
categories. Falling under the
first category were the tasks that Teaching Note : Available
were to be carried out at the Countries : India/Global
location of the client. Under the
second category were the tasks, Industry : Software
which needed to be carried out
closer to the client. The third
category consisted of tasks that To download Infosys' Global Delivery

could be done in remote Model case study (Case Code:

locations, where process-driven
OPER059) click on the button below,
technology centers with highly
skilled manpower were easily and select the case from the list of
available (Refer Exhibit IV for
available cases:
details of the tasks carried out
onsite, near-site and at offshore
locations). The work on projects
was carried out 24 hours a day,
with teams located at different
locations across the world,
working round-the-clock on the Price:
project.
Nandan Nilekani, President, CEO and Managing Director of For delivery in electronic format: Rs.
Infosys, commented, "The work can be moved anywhere.
This allows for a degree of freedom in the way a business is 400;

conducted. The work can be moved depending on where it
would be cheaper to do so, or to a place that has unutilized
capacity, or special skills. This is the kind of innovation
(GDM) for which we are taking credit for."...
For delivery through courier (within
India): Rs. 400 + Rs. 25 for Shipping &
Handling Charges

GDM - Making the Model

Work
For an offshore development
project, a team from Infosys
visited the client in order to
determine the requirements of G
a
the project. After obtaining the
d
required specifications, some of g
the team members stayed back e
with the client to coordinate and t
determine any changes that the s
 client demanded in the project, p
while the project managers o
returned to the GDCs. w
e
At the clients' location, there r
e
was an on-site coordinator who
d
communicated with the PDCs
and ODCs regularly... b
y
Expanding GDM
G
In 2003, Infosys launched GDM Plus, an enhanced service
o
delivery model, a combination of more services and o
excellence in execution. Infosys defined GDM Plus as an g
integrated delivery model that encompassed vertical solutions, l
expanded vertical footprint and execution excellence. e
According to Infosys, GDM Plus was its strategic response to
changing market conditions and the competitive landscape to
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Please note:

This case study was compiled from

published sources, and is intended to be

 used as a basis for class discussion. It is

not intended to illustrate either effective or

ineffective handling of a management

situation. Nor is it a primary information

source.

Excerpts Contd...
The Benefits

According to analysts, GDM was cited as one of

the key factors behind the rapid growth of Infosys'
revenues. In a span of 25 years, the company grew
to generate revenues of US$ 2 billion in 2005-06.
Infosys' revenues grew almost four-fold in the
past four years (Refer Exhibit VII for five year
revenues of Infosys). The company continued
attracting a talented workforce in India and other
countries. The number of employees of Infosys
grew to 52,700 as of March 2006 against 10,700
in 2002. In the fiscal year 2005-06, Infosys
derived more than 40% of its revenues through
new GDM based services like package
implementation, independent validation, business
process management, infrastructure management
and systems integration...
The Road Ahead
Realizing the potential of GDM, several other Indian IT companies also began
providing offshore services. Indian companies could charge a premium of 10-20%
for their offshore services. But with these services becoming mainstream, there was
competition among major players and customers became less willing to pay a
premium. It was not long before multinationals also entered the fray. Several MNCs
like Accenture , IBM Global Services , Electronic Data Systems , have started
operating from India and began offering the same offshore rates as Indian
companies.
But Infosys remained confident that consultants and companies abroad could not
match their GDM capabilities. They would need to build the model from scratch, by
retrenching the manpower in their countries and hire equally talented employees in
other locations with cost advantages. The multinationals would need to redesign
their operations in order to replicate Infosys' GDM, which would be a very difficult
task...