TCS, Infosys, HCL Work From Home to End? Know-How IT Companies Plan to Reopen Offices

TCS, Infosys, HCL Work From Home to End? Know-How IT Companies Plan to Reopen Offices

 

Even though the COVID-19 situation in the country has improved dramatically in recent months, businesses have begun urging their employees to return to work in stages.

Major IT firms like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys have encouraged their employees to enter the workplace.

 

Coronavirus Makes Work Work-from-home — India Inc’s ‘new normal’?

Work-from-home (WFH) used to be considered an employee benefit, but those days are long gone. Longer hours, larger workloads, fewer breaks, and phone calls past logout time — those days are long gone. At first, what had been exciting has become tiresome since this has become their ‘new normal.’

“Because there are no set working hours, we work the entire day.” Aanchal Sharda (24), an associate at Mumbai-based consulting firm Think Analytics, says, “No routine, nothing!”

As word of COVID-19 spread, several businesses chose to allow most of their staff to work from home for at least a week before the nationwide lockdown on March 25 2020.

Some companies conducted daylong trials with a two- to three-day buffer to identify difficulties with business-related data availability, connection, and infrastructure to remain ahead of the curve.

“You have to be there in the office to [access] data available on platforms like Reuters and Bloomberg terminals,” says Vinay Bafna (30), who works in ICICI’s stock research section. While his company decided not to allow such access at home, he said he knew of other companies that did.

According to a Bengaluru-based Wipro consultant, even technology-enabled sectors like IT-ITeS (information technology and IT-enabled services) suffered initially.

“There’s an old adage that any company that offers IT services is lousy.” “There were a lot of data security risks involved, especially for those working with BFSI [banking, insurance, and financial services] clients,” the consultant explains.

It’s back to business once these early concerns are overcome. But, as time has passed, the distinction between personal and professional life has become increasingly blurred.

“There are no longer any obvious borders.” Even though my work doesn’t start until 9.30 a.m., I start getting texts at eight a.m. People from other teams are now calling me late at night. It used to be a one-time occurrence, but now it’s the standard,” says Neha Abrol (29), a product manager at India’s leading private sector banks.

She says that while her company designated one hour in the afternoon as a “no calls hour,” most employees did not adhere to it.

Managers have always viewed WFH with considerable mistrust before COVID-19 for so many reasons. However, the practice has been tested in the last two months, and opinions have shifted.

While the workplace has a WFH policy, Ruchi Negi (26), who works for a multinational investment bank in Bengaluru, claims that the practice has never been encouraged.

“Because it was a little frowned upon, we only used [the WFH option] on days when we didn’t have a lot of work.” “I hope that is no longer the case – productivity hasn’t decreased,” she adds.

Silicon Valley has once again become the forerunner in terms of working practices. While Facebook, Google, and Salesforce have extended WFH to their employees until the end of the year, Twitter has gone above and above, saying that its employees can choose to participate in it permanently. TCS, a prominent IT company, based in India, has revealed ambitions to have 75 per cent of its employees work from home by 2025.

COVID-19, according to prominent management consultant Kavi Arasu, has caused significant workplace disturbance. “First and foremost, there will be an emphasis on hygiene. Organizations have already begun to establish norms and regulations in this regard. Second, we’ll see a lot of flexibility when working from home or in remote regions. In the long run, WFH and working at a location where people can physically come together will be combined,” he believes.

Even so, these professionals are hopeful that they will be able to return to work soon. The lack of domestic help to aid with household duties has exacerbated the aversion to working from home. Most people believe that WFH should be a more flexible choice in the future because the work environment — including talks and coffee breaks with coworkers throughout the day — is a key component in job happiness and productivity.

Prishta Grover (23), a Gurugram-based analyst at RBS, says, “If you enjoy your profession, you’d rather go to the office and hunt for the best atmosphere.” Currently, the area available for interaction has been reduced from the walls of office cubicles to one corner of a desktop screen.

Even though India’s lockdown regulations are being modified, it could be months before the cubicles are reunited with their residents. The picture of employees grouped together in most corporate offices symbolizes the workplace. However, the pandemic has forced businesses to reconsider how they will adapt to the ‘new normal.’

“Only staff in vital functions will work from the office,” says an employee at a big investment bank in Mumbai. About 20-30% of the folks on a certain level will return for the following year.”

“Our in-house cafeteria has been closed, and people are encouraged to bring home-cooked meals.” We might also limit the number of persons who attend meetings in person. “Most interactions would be over video-calling, even for customer-facing professions,” says Elstan Antony, an HR representative for a large life insurance company in Mumbai.

Commuting to work is another daily reality for professionals in large Indian cities. While the federal and state governments have considered measures to reintroduce public transportation while adhering to rigorous physical separation standards, many believe this will simply not work, given how densely populated these cities are.

Currently, the dread of the virus outweighs the need for cubicles. Those who commute long distances to work in metropolitan areas want to keep using WFH until the infection rate drops.

However, a return to the pre-COVID-19 workplace looks improbable. According to Arasu, this could signal a shift in how managers and organizations view work and evaluate individual performance: “The current work model, which considers physical presence in the office to be a key requirement and metric for performance and rewards, has begun to fade. Work needs to be redesigned to fit into people’s homes. That would necessitate creativity and effort.”

 

 

Know the work from home plans of the major IT companies:

 

1. Infosys

It is a multinational IT corporation based in India, specializing in business consulting, information technology, and outsourcing. The company was founded in Pune and is based in Bangalore. Infosys will be the second-largest Indian IT company by 2020, behind Tata Consultancy Services, and the 602nd largest public company in the world. The company’s credit rating is CRISIL AAA / Stable / CRISIL A1+.

On August 24, 2021, Infosys became the fourth Indian company to reach a market capitalization of $100 billion.

 

History

Infosys was founded in 1981 by seven engineers in Pune, Maharashtra, India, with a $250 investment. Infosys Consultants Private Limited was established on July 2, 1981.

In 1983, it relocated its headquarters to Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

In April 1992, the firm changed its name to Infosys Technologies Private Limited and then to Infosys Technologies Limited when it went public in June 1992. In June 2011, it was rebranded to Infosys Limited.

In February 1993, an IPO was launched with a share price of 95 (equivalent to 580 or US$7.70 in 2020) and a book value of 20 (equivalent to 120 or US$1.60 in 2020). The IPO was undersubscribed, but Morgan Stanley, a US investment bank, “bailed it out” by purchasing a 13 per cent stock share at the offer price. Its shares were first traded in June 1993 at a price of 145 (equal to 890 or US$12 in 2020).

In 1999, American depositary receipts for Infosys shares were listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It was the first Indian company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

By 1999, the stock had risen to $8,100 (equal to 30,000 or US$390 in 2020), making it the most expensive stock on the market. Infosys was one of Nasdaq’s top 20 businesses by market capitalization at the time. To give European investors better access to the company’s shares, the ADR listing was moved from Nasdaq to NYSE Euronext.

On July 28, 2010, then-British Prime Minister David Cameron paid a visit to Infosys’ Bangalore headquarters and addressed the company’s employees.

In 1999, it made $100 million in revenue, $1 billion in 2004, and $10 billion in 2017.
In 2012, Infosys announced the opening of its 18th foreign office in the United States, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to serve Harley-Davidson. In 2011, Infosys hired 1,200 people in the United States, and in 2012, the company hired another 2,000 people. Infosys announced its expansion in Indianapolis, Indiana, in April 2018. The project will cover more than 120 acres and create 3,000 new employment, up from the earlier estimate of 2,000.

Infosys launched EdgeVerve Systems, a product subsidiary focused on enterprise software products for business operations, customer support, procurement, and commerce network sectors, in July 2014. Finacle Global Banking Solutions assets were officially transferred from Infosys in August 2015 and formed part of the product range of EdgeVerve Systems.

 

Products and services

Companies in the financial, insurance, manufacturing and other industries use Infosys’ software development, maintenance, and independent validation services.

Finacle, a universal banking system with several modules for retail and corporate banking, is one of its well-known offerings.

 

The following are some of the company’s most important products and services:

· NIA – Next Generation Integrated AI Platform
· Infosys Consulting Cloud
· Infosys Information Platform (IIP)
· EdgeVerve Systems
· Panaya Cloud Suite
· Skava
· Engineering Services
· Digital Marketing

 

Geographical presence

As of March 31, 2018, Infosys had 82 sales and marketing offices and 123 development centres worldwide, with a strong presence in India, the United States, China, Australia, Japan, the Middle East, and Europe.

Projects in North America, Europe, and India accounted for 60 per cent, 24 per cent, and 3 per cent of its sales in 2019, respectively. The revenue balance came from the rest of the world, which accounted for 13% of total revenue.

Infosys’ position in Russia to serve the energy industry there was questioned in 2022. Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the company, unlike Western corporations like Oracle, has refused to leave the country.

 

Infosys Phased Plan

Infosys has begun calling individuals to offices as early as this month. At the moment, only senior personnel are coming to work. Infosys Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy told reporters after presenting the March 2022 quarter results that 95 per cent of the company’s employees work remotely, with only 5% of senior executives reporting to offices.

He explained that the corporation has a three-phased work-from-home strategy. “We started the first phase in April, and persons who live near DCs (development centres) or who live in upcountry towns adjacent to DCs are urged to come to the office twice a week. We’re already seeing some interest in this. Senior executives are on their way in. Huddles, for example, are already in use by teams.”

In the second phase, he said, the corporation will encourage people living outside of DC towns to begin making plans in the coming months to see if they can return to their base development centres. “This is dependent on individual circumstances, among other things.”

In the long run, they are considering a hybrid work paradigm, depending on the clients, regulatory climate, and many other factors. Currently, 95% of the workforce works from home, with only 5% of senior executives reporting to offices.

After following phases of return to the office, Infosys Executive Vice-President and Head (HR) Richard Lobo previously stated that the company envisions a hybrid model in which roughly 40-50 per cent of employees will likely work from home.

 

2. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

 

TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) is a Mumbai-based Indian multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting firm. It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group, with 149 locations in 46 countries.

TCS is India’s second-largest corporation by market capitalization and one of the world’s most valuable IT services brands. It was ranked 64th overall in Forbes’ World’s Most Innovative Companies ranking in 2015, making it the highest-ranking IT services company and the top Indian company. It is placed eleventh on the Fortune India 500 list as of 2018. After its market capitalization reached 6.793 trillion (equivalent to 7.7 trillion or US$100 billion in 2020) on the Bombay Stock Exchange in April 2018, TCS became the first Indian IT company to reach $100 billion in market capitalization and the second Indian company ever (after Reliance Industries in 2007).

In 2016–2017, Tata Sons’ parent company owned 72.05 per cent of TCS, while TCS generated more than 70% of Tata Sons’ dividends. In March 2018, Tata Sons sold $1.25 billion worth of TCS stock in a bulk transaction. TCS became the first Indian IT company to reach a market valuation of $200 billion on September 15, 2021.

 

History

1968–2005

Tata Consultancy Services Limited was founded in 1968 as “Tata Computer Systems” by a section of Tata Sons Limited. Early contracts included punched card services for TISCO (now Tata Steel), work on an Inter-Branch Reconciliation System for the Central Bank of India, and bureau services for Unit Trust of India.

In 1975, TCS developed the SECOM electronic depository and trading system for the Swiss company SIS SegaInterSettle, as well as System X for the Canadian Depository System and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. TCS worked with TKS Teknosoft, a Swiss firm that it later purchased.

In Pune, India’s first specialized software research and development centre, TCS established the Tata Research Development and Design Centre in 1980. In 1981, it established India’s first client-specific offshore development centre for Tandem clients.

TCS then collaborated with Integrity Software Corp, a software company based in Canada that TCS eventually acquired.

The factory model for Y2K conversion was created by Tata Consultancy Services. In advance of the Y2K bug and the introduction of a unified European currency, they developed software tools that automated the conversion process and permitted third-party developer and client deployment. Under the guidance of Corporate Vice President and Transformation Head Subbu Iyer, TCS decided to offer a Decision Support System in the local market near the end of 1999.

It became a publicly-traded company on August 25, 2004, and will remain so until 2021.
In 2005, TCS became the first Indian IT services company to enter the bioinformatics field. In 2006, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation tasked them with developing an ERP system. By 2008, the company’s e-business operations had generated over $500 million in yearly sales.

TCS made its initial foray into the small and medium business market in 2011 with cloud-based services. On the last trading day of 2011, it surpassed RIL to become the most valuable Indian corporation by market capitalization. In the 2011–12 fiscal year, TCS achieved annual revenues of more than US$10 billion for the first time.

In May 2013, TCS was awarded a six-year contract worth over 11 billion rupees (US$140 million) to deliver services to the Indian Department of Posts. The company climbed from 13th to 10th place in the top 10 worldwide IT services companies in 2013. It was the first Indian firm to reach a market valuation of more than $5 trillion in July 2014.

In January 2015, TCS ended RIL’s 23-year dominance as India’s most profitable firm.
TCS established a partnership with Aurus, Inc., a payments technology company, in January 2017 to provide payment solutions for retailers utilizing TCS OmniStore, a first-of-its-kind unified store commerce platform. TCS China was formed as a joint venture with the Chinese government in the same year.

TCS reported a 24 per cent year-on-year (YoY) profit increase in the third quarter of FY19, totalling 81.05 billion (equivalent to 86 billion or US$1.1 billion in 2020). Four Stevie Awards presented TCS with the 2019 American Business Awards.

TCS surpassed Accenture in market capitalization on October 8, 2020, to become the world’s most valuable IT company, with a market capitalization of $144.73 billion. TCS momentarily eclipsed Accenture in market capitalization on January 25, 2021, to become the world’s most valuable IT business with a market valuation of $170 billion. TCS surpassed Reliance Industries as India’s most valued corporation on the same day, with a market capitalization of $12.55 trillion (US$160 billion). Tata is also one of India’s major job providers, employing 43,000 people in the first half of FY22.

 

TCS Work From Home Model

Employees at TCS are also encouraged to return to work. The company stated that it is still committed to adopting its innovative 25X25 concept and introducing hot workstations.

This 2525 model requires that no more than 25% of the company’s associates work from an office at any given moment and spend no more than 25% of their time in the office.

“However, bringing workers back to physical offices and gradually transitioning into the hybrid work paradigm is a crucial part of the road to the 25/25 model,” TCS stated.

On the subject of occasional operating zones and hot desks, TCS stated it has built up agile work seats around the world that allow associates to work and collaborate with coworkers from any TCS location.

“Our agile workspace is a digital infrastructure that is intelligent, automated, and cloud-based, adaptable to changing safety policies and regulations, resilient to cyberattacks, and enables work-from-anywhere operating models.” According to the statement, they have set up Occasional Operating Zones (OOZ) and hot desks.

 

3. HCL Technologies

HCL Technologies (Hindustan Computers Limited) is a Noida-based Indian multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting firm. It is an HCL Enterprise subsidiary. It began as a research and development division of HCL before becoming an independent firm in 1991 when HCL joined the software services market. Over 187,000 people work for the corporation, with offices in 50 countries.

Forbes’ Global 2000 list includes HCL Technologies. It is one of India’s top 20 publicly traded companies, with a market valuation of $50 billion as of September 2021. As of July 2020, the company and its subsidiaries have a consolidated annual revenue of 71,265 crore.

 

History

HCL Enterprise

HCL Enterprise was founded in 1976.

The first three subsidiaries of parent HCL Enterprise were:

· HCL Technologies – initially HCL’s R&D division, it emerged as a subsidiary in 1991
· HCL Infosystems
· HCL Healthcare

The corporation tried to focus on hardware, but software and services are a major priority for HCL Technologies.

In 2007, revenues totalled $4.9 billion.

HCL had revenue of $6.5 billion in 2017 and employed over 105,000 employees in 31 countries.

HCL had revenue of $9 billion in 2018 and employed over 110,000 employees in 31 countries. In July 2001, HCL Enterprise Solutions (India) Limited was established.
HCL Technologies is currently a subsidiary of Vamasundari Delhi through a series of intermediary corporations. Shiv Nadar owns Vamasundari (Delhi), which owns the majority of shares in most HCL group firms.

HCL Technologies bought a few IBM products on July 1, 2019. For AppScan, BigFix, Commerce, Connections, Digital Experience (Portal and Content Manager), Notes Domino, and Unica, HCL Technologies assumed complete responsibility for research and development, sales, marketing, delivery, and support.

Early years of formation

In 1976, a team of six engineers led by Shiv Nadar formed a company to manufacture personal computers. They were all former employees of Delhi Cloth & General Mills. To earn funding for their core product, which was first listed as Micro comp Limited, Nadar and his team (which included Arjun Malhotra, Ajai Chowdhry, D.S. Puri, Yogesh Vaidya, and Subhash Arora) began selling teledigital calculators. The company was renamed Hindustan Computers Limited on August 11, 1976.

HCL Overseas Limited, a provider of technology development services, was formed on November 12, 1991. It began operations after receiving the certificate of establishment of business on February 10, 1992. The firm’s name was changed to HCL Consulting Limited two years later, in July 1994, and then to HCL Technologies Limited in October 1999.

HCL Technologies is one of four firms that make up HCL Corporation; the other two are HCL Infosystems and HCL Technologies. HCL Healthcare was founded in February 2014 by HCL. HCL TalentCare is the company’s fourth and most recent endeavour.

HCL Technologies originated as the R&D division of HCL Enterprise, a business that contributed to India’s IT and computer industry’s development and growth. HCL Overseas Limited, a provider of technology development services, was formed on November 12, 1991. It began operations after receiving the certificate of establishment of business on February 10, 1992. The firm’s name was changed to HCL Consulting Limited two years later, in July 1994, and then to HCL Technologies Limited in October 1999.

HCL Technologies is one of four firms that make up HCL Corporation; the other two are HCL Infosystems and HCL Technologies. HCL Healthcare was founded in February 2014 by HCL. HCL TalentCare is the company’s fourth and most recent endeavour.

HCL Technologies originated as the R&D division of HCL Enterprise, a business that contributed to India’s IT and computer industry’s development and growth. In the year 2000, the company established an offshore development centre for KLA-Tencor Corporation in Chennai, India.

Gulf Computers Inc. was purchased in 2002.

HCL Technologies’ cooperation with Google Cloud will be expanded in March 2021, bringing HCL Software’s Digital Experience (DX) and Unica Marketing cloud-native platforms to Google Cloud.

HCL Plan

“One of our key objectives is the safety and well-being of our employees and their families,” stated HCL Tech, another IT giant. They are committed to maintaining their business routine, ensuring that their clients’ services are not disrupted. And they are now keeping an eye on the situation and will continue to function in a hybrid manner.”