Outsourcing: Naresh Lakhanpal And Hiro Notaney Of Patni Computer Systems (Part 6)

By guest author Tony Scott

Hiro: The dual nature of the cloud is where we spend a lot of time with the customers, saying, Okay, we can deliver in the cloud. Yes, that will create greater efficiency, but there’s also this other side where the technology itself can make you more efficient – it can make a particular process, not just the delivery of it – work in a way that has inherent advantages. So, when we talk to our customers, we try to make it as explicit as possible what they need and how it all works, as opposed to just saying, “Oh, the cloud, we’re right there.”

Naresh: I think that is good way to gauge at the industry’s direction. We’ll all be carrying smart devices, and no question about it, it’s awesome. But the only reason this is enabled is because we all “saw the light” about the value of mobile smart devices, and at the same time saw an increase in bandwidth that enabled these devices.

Our job is the same thing. Our job as an organization is to provide our customers with the appropriate skills, technology, and solutions they need in a manner that makes them more efficient, removes blinders, and helps them see.

For that same reason, the profile of the CIO has changed, and I think that’s the critical thing. CIOs are no longer just looking inward at apps. If you are a CIO, you’re looking at, What is my uptime in the network? Do I score five, six, or nine for reliability? Do I leverage the full suite of opportunities or capabilities that the marketplace is going to offer? I think that has been the biggest distinction, it’s going after the goal of providing something better, faster, and more efficiently.

Tony: That should also allow you to move up the value chain. Given this change you’ve seen in the CIO suite in terms of how they’re looking at things, combined with the infrastructure change that is happening, how are you taking advantage of that, and can you give examples of what you’ve done?

Naresh: Well, I think that the biggest thing has been the profile of the CIO is very much focused now on the efficiency of the organization, how the CIO’s team aligns with the broader business needs. How they interact with us is different. They’re articulating business issues to us, whereas in the past it was, “I’m having a problem with this application or this piece of software; can you figure how to make my storage work better?” Now it’s more like, “I’m trying to figure out how to adjust my cycle time in the marketplace” or “We need to have a better view of how we can scale and throttle our manufacturing capabilities.”

Tony: So it’s business driven as opposed to IT driven?

Naresh: Yes, because IT enables the business. That’s where the profile of the CIO changed. A lot of our customers recognize that, and that’s what they’re coming to us for. Those conversations are being enabled on our side because of the expertise we bring to the table. For example, in manufacturing, our people are very good; there’s no question about it. I can march those folks in and they can have a business-level conversation, understand the infrastructure within the environment and figure it out fairly quickly. That’s at the account and the salesperson level – not even bringing in the true experts.

We’ve got other customers who look to us, and they’re saying, I’m getting ready to undergo a transformation, but I’m really concerned about the cultural impact on my company. Okay, we can help there, too. It’s not just bringing in our group of technology folks; we also need to talk to our training people to understand how this can happen, and you need to talk some of our key executives – because we’re going through the transformation ourselves.

It’s a holistic view, and I think that’s that’s where the outsourcing industry has really changed. You have focus on value in a holistic manner. It’s no longer about twenty bucks an hour. It’s about customers asking, “What is my actual output going to be, and what is the quality? Do we know that when it comes out of your testing that it actually works?”

Tony: Let’s talk about that, because this goes back to what we were talking about in the beginning about size and scale. Do you think the scale issue is starting to hit some of your larger competitors because they have this giant, open mouth that they have to feed?

Naresh: Well, I’ll answer it a bit differently. I think what customers start to appreciate is the fact that we don’t put them in a box and say, You will work with us in a rigid manner. It won’t happen here – that’s not our culture. Our culture is that we care, we want to understand, and we want to get involved as a partner. That human touch is a big difference we offer.

This segment is part 6 in the series : Outsourcing: Naresh Lakhanpal And Hiro Notaney Of Patni Computer Systems
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