Axon to boost consulting for Infosys: Forrester

BANGALORE: According to IT reserach organistaion, Forrester Research, the Infy - Axon merger indicates Indian companies' aspirations to have a bigger share of the global IT services pie.

Comments Sudin Apte, Sr. Analyst, Forrester Research, “The deal clearly marks aspirations of top Indian firms to play a big role on the global IT services scene. They are re-building themselves as their age-old selling proposition based on low-cost, quality, and process superiority gets commoditized. This deal is the first yet substantial step towards building superior business transformation capability to match traditional back office services such as application development and maintenance."

According to Forrester, the acquisition will significantly enhance Infosys’ high-end business consulting and global delivery capability. As per their estimates, the acquistion now brings over a hundred new clients and missing industry verticals such as public sector to Infosys’ fold. And with a substantial Axon employee base in Europe, Forrester opines that Infosys is better equipped to address the "much wanted European client demand of a combination of local Europe presence and offshore scale".

Forrester indicates the need for  “on-shore presence + offshore scale” is a key success imperative for European business. And with Infosys marching towards that, pressure on top Indian as well as European firms, has increased.

In addition, the deal is neither too small to be inconsequential, nor mammoth one impossible to manage. Forrester believes that the deal, involving more than 2000 people and continuation of current Axon management, will not fall apart at least on the ground of high leveraged and client-connected staff leaving.

"While Infosys has no experience of managing such a large acquisition and integrating two diverse culture firms, given the current Axon management is committed to stay for a period over two years, there is good possibility of reasonably smooth integration, ” concluded Apte.