Cognizant co-founder says customers now concentrated on innovation

IT global leader Cognizant co-founder Fransisco D’ Souza feels that the industry will soon witness a massive change, as clients will not longer be content with simply cutting costs. He emphasized that while the emphasis was on competence and cost control thus far, the spotlight is now shifting to innovation.

In an interview with The Economic Times in Davos recently, D’Souza opined that the IT sector is passing through structural transforms. Substantiating his view, he said that customers are now aware that simply trimming expenditures or boosting competence was not enough, as they have realized that innovation is critical for keeping pace with the market and competitors. In fact, customers are now asking the IT service providers to undertake innovations to help their businesses prosper.

Francis D’Souza, who is at the helm of the almost $4 billion IT firm that often provides stiff competition to top Indian IT firms like Infosys and Wipro, pointed out that innovative products such as the iPod and the iPad have been responsible for transforming business rules and it has become essential for the industry to keep pace with such changes. Citing the conservative approach of the music industry towards digital music initially, the Cognizant co-founder emphasized that now not only the music industry, but all industries, including the healthcare and life sciences, have to comprehend the need for digitalization. According to him, all these developments denote a single aspect globally – the need for considerable outlay in know-how.

D’Souza said that even in emergent markets, such as China and India, companies complete for the most up-to-date innovation. Many businesses don't have the legacy systems and business processes as their Western competitors and thus are freer to compete on the latest technology. D’Souza felt that while they try to discover their new direction, it presents a period excellent prospect for the IT firms in India.

In response to a query, the Cognizant co-founder admitted that while they have heard much regarding the ‘new normal’, the fact was that no one, not even the analysts or economists, have the faintest idea of what that will be. While asking if there was any way to assist them to change, D’Souza promises that though it would be a protracted passage, his IT firm Cognizant would always be present in each step of the way.