Premji warns Pune against going the B'lore way

PUNE: Referring to infrastructure facilities here, Wipro chairman Azim Premji today warned Pune against going the `Bangalore' way.

“The quality of roads here is not better than those in Bangalore. I have come here after 11 months and the quality of the roads here leaves a lot to be desired. Pune is getting attractive as a software destination. Unless the infrastructure improves, Pune is heading for problems as serious as in Bangalore,” he said.

Premji was delivering a lecture on `Achieving global excellence through IT', a function jointly organized by the Computer Society of India, Pune Chapter and Software Exporters Association of Pune.

He appreciated the strong positive trend towards globalization of Indian companies. Premji, however, pointed out that the cost factor is becoming a serious threat to domestic firms.

“Costs in Vietnam are 55 per cent lesser than that in India. Philippines offers the same price as India while in Malaysia, it was 40 per cent more expensive than Indian software companies. But it (Malaysia) is now offering costs that are equal to that of India. We are in for serious competitive pressures from low cost countries,” he said.

Premji also said that China is posing a serious threat to the Indian software industry. He warned against underestimating China's potential.

Regarding the growth path, Premji emphasized the importance of building a non-linear service model. He suggested that companies could do more fixed price projects and build productivity tools to deliver better quality at a lower cost.

Premji suggested that the industry could work towards building public opinion to with the help of the media to improve infrastructure.