Day 4

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This was a big day for my partner and I, as we were going to be presenting to Infosys in the afternoon. First, we had a stop at Intel.

Intel India doesn't have its own website from Intel, like 3M had, so the link is to Intel India’s website. The campus is fairly large. There we had presentations from couple of people and were given a tour of the Testing facility - pretty sweet to see all the latest and greatest tablets, smartphones, and notebooks.

Intel’s mission is to create computing technology to make life easier for everyone on the globe. They invest a lot in rsearch and design. The site we were at in Bangalore is the largest non-manufacturing site outside USA. Much insight was re-laid on how starting an office is challenge and getting the right talent needed is even more of challenge. In order to be a Fellow at Intel, a very respected position in the company, the person has to make a choice – to either follow the technical side or to follow the management side. One can only become a Fellow after making a bunch of contributions to the company and one has to be handpicked for it.

Many people are saying the PC is dead, but that means the market is expanding into o smartphones and tablets. The big thing here is that there must be similar experiences across devices, there must be security – so Intel must be able to get processors in all areas. While maintaining a focus on humanity – this was a very prevalent theme at every business in India the humanity aspect of business.

To focus on Humanity, Intel gives a LOT of money back to various organizations. They also have an interesting donation program. So let’s say that I work for Intel and I volunteer for 20 hrs. One week at a local charity, I would record my volunteer hours and Intel would take what I would have earned in those 20 hrs. And make a financial donation to the charity – pretty cool. This is likely a reason why Intel is so successful. Is the #2 best Company to work for the #2 Best Company (behind only Google).

Intel requires a ton of software development, but surprisingly enough they don’t just recruit from the top school. They will recruit from tier 1,2,3 level schools as well as they work with the universities to develop curriculum that will ensure the pipeline of new entrants into the workplace are well prepared. Because of its culture, Intel is a very sought after company and people stay at Intel for many years – there is quite a high retention rate. The part I liked best about this is they encourage global movement within the company, as expanding people’s physical boundaries, will also expand their professional boundaries making them more of an asset to a global company in the global business environment.

Even if people don’t move across the globe, they are still required to grow at Intel. There is a lot of working across time zones for project, yielding to more nontraditional working schedule. This has prompted Intel to create a more work/life balance culture, even allowing employees to work from home. Intel is able to do this because every project they undertake is clearly mapped out and key players know exactly what is expected from them, and likely when it is due. Intel has created centers for excellence which tap into cross functional divisions within the company, but around the globe. There is a lot of matrix reporting within the company. This allows for agile manufacturing and PMP certified office employees – which are indicative of the complex processes Intel has. Throughout the history of Intel India, the objections of the location have evolved. This location is key to working with the government and getting investment for technology, developing the organization and allowing things to group. Initially it was set up and ran much like a US office, but now it is becoming more and more its own Indian office.

The second part of our presentation dealt with Sales and Marketing. I found this to be even more fascinating. In India there is a big market for young people – India is much younger than China, but there are many deep and distinct divides. Bollywood is very popular; most are Hindi and they cater to many cultures within the country. There is a big use for using this platform for marketing and branding. Cricket is also very popular and another platform for marketing – it is also good for promoting unity. In India there are many festivals, and to have strategic marketing, it would be wise to have a presence at the festival. Other popular platforms for young people in India are Google+, and LinkedIn – Indians make up a big part of the user ship in these social media networks.

An interesting phenomena we learned about was how India invented the missed call. In India, a person can never be charged for an incoming phone call. This made it very easy for working class people to purchase a phone. Whenever they need to get in touch with their boss, they would call the number, let it ring once and hang up. The boss would see the missed call and call the employee back. The employee was never charged for the call.

The tablet market in India is growing fast as is the first time buyer market. Actually the first time buyer market is quite large in India. Intel divides the market into the Affluent, the Aspirers and the Strivers. PC Penetration is only 10% right now, but the buy cycle is a long time, as people often have to save up for it. Most of the people who have advanced technology in India are the globals – the early adopters. The middle class is determined to make a better life for their children, so they will be more often than not the core of the first time buyers. Aspirers are very cautious.

For lunch we headed to Electronic City where we were able to enjoy some pizza hut pizza. I had pepperoni and it tasted yummy. My partner and I had to eat fast so we could work on our presentation – nothing like waiting until the last minute.

Then, it was off to Infosys. Infosys is a very large technology, business consulting firm. Here, my partner and I proposed that Infosys create a department called BID – Business integration Department, where they take small companies and align them with enterprise customers who happen to be government contractors. Infosys thought it was a great idea !

Infosys is not a product company – they are a problem solving company for clients. Everything is highly regarding toward the customer relationship. Innovation to address a specific need. Business model is based upon a strategy which flows from employees to clients and then to partners. Infosys strives to be relevant to client’s needs. Payment is done per transaction and is very flexible depending up on the situation and the client and the services being provided. Infosys likes to have a five year strategy. Employees are in the labs and tap into the employee knowledge through the centralized system Infosys. New ideas are top down and bottom up innovation. Co-create the Centers of Excellence with clients to learn from clients

Some times with competitors in the environment, if the service requires a joint venture / collaborative effort. 97% of Infosys business comes from repetitive clients; seldom do they require new clients, because the business model is heavily reliant on relationship building. The top ten clients receive direct contact from the board. Infosys invests in talent and because to gain trust with their employees.

The US is the largest spender on IT outsourced and 80% of those employees are based in India. There is often a balancing act of going global and remaining relevant locally. Not able to crack the Chin market for a few years. Transfer money to local market and recruit local talent for employment. Very little spent on marketing but didn’t’ work in China. They had to transfer money to local markets and recruit local talent/ Very little spent on marketing but didn’t working in China. Relationship based Research clients. Very big on the culture and value system and competency in both. After a presentation by Infosys and video about their founding and sustainability efforts, we were given a tour of their 45 + building campus in Bangalore – the main hub for Infosys.

When we got home it was still pretty early, so I went out and did some shopping at the emporium and then bartered with some merchants. It was a LOT of fun to be able to do that. Luckily, I was fast and got in and got what I wanted for the price I was and was able to return before the monsoon hit. The hotel staff had provided us with a cocktail hour so one of the guys and I decided to partake.

Following cocktails, we were off to the Hyatt for a full 5 course Indian dinner. It was very yummy. When we returned, one of the guys had purchased some Cuban cigars and some of us enjoyed the end of our trip by smoking one. I didn’t finish mine…after that it was off to bed.

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