From a vegetable oil manufacturer in 1945 at Amalner (Western India) to become one of the largest IT services firms in the world, Wipro’s inspiring tale is surely one of its kind that you would want to see on big screen. The journey began with Azim Premji taking the charge of Wipro after his father’s demise which was then Western Indian Vegetable Products Limited. The firm then forayed into soaps and other consumer care products. However, it was during the early 1980s that Mr. Premji entered the Indian IT industry by manufacturing and selling minicomputers. In the 1990s, they leveraged their hardware R&D design and software development expertise and began offering software services to global clients.
Decades later, With an extensive track record of 25 years in IT Services, Wipro is focused entirely on the global Information Technology business. Today, it may seem that Wipro is a leader in their forte, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing. They had to work very hard to build the credibility as a brand in international markets. Even when ‘brand India’ wasn’t fully appreciated, Wipro worked doubly hard to prove itself as a leader with the world-class information technology behemoth. Employing over 170,000 people in 100 countries, Wipro now serves more than 1300 clients across industry segments including most of the Fortune 2000 organization.
Currently, Wipro harnesses the power of cognitive computing, hyper-automation, robotics, cloud, analytics and emerging technologies to help their clients in adapting to the digital world. The IT giant is globally recognized for ‘Connecting the Dots’ for its clients: integrating deep technology and domain expertise, applying insights from across industries, and consistently delivering world-class integrated, end-to-end capabilities and services.
A One of its Kind Leader
Azim H. Premji, the Chairman of Wipro Limited, has been at its helm since the late 1960s. He turned what was then a small cooking fat coming into something unimaginable. Mr. Premji also serves as a director of Wipro Enterprises (P) Limited, Wipro GE Health Care Private Ltd., and in other entities of the promoter group. Mr. Premji has established the Azim Premji Foundation, which is focused on improving public school education, working directly in six states of India which have over 350,000 schools. The Foundation also runs the not-for-profit Azim Premji University, focused on programs in education and related fields of human development. He has also set up the Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, through which impactful non-profits working in a few chosen fields, including nutrition, support to vulnerable groups and governance, are given multi-year grants. Over the years, Mr. Premji has received numerous honors and accolades, which he considers as recognitions for Team Wipro.
Delivering Engineering, Technology, and Business Process Solutions
The digital age is transforming whole industries while making them ready for the future to come. In this new age, business leaders are always in search of partners who will help them transform and thrive in the new “as a service” economy. At Wipro, the team helps clients revolutionize the “digital” in their business and partner with them to solve their real-world business challenges by combining strategy and design, and delivering engineering, technology, and business process solutions. Wipro’s digital and cognitive computing solutions put the client’s journey at the heart of each strategy: from delivering insights to shaping interactions to unlocking innovation. Wipro’s innovation strategy is underpinned by a best-in-class ecosystem, where they develop strategic alliances with other global firms, nurture start-up investments through Wipro Ventures – a hundred-million-dollar fund used to access and deliver the latest innovations from the brightest tech companies, M&A plays, and knowledge partnerships with industry and academia.
Addressing the Digital Needs of Clients at Every Point
In today’s ‘As-a-service’ economy, Wipro is well positioned to address the digital needs of customers. The firm’s competitive landscape is very dynamic and changes with emerging client needs. Ranging from traditional large global technology service provider peers to emerging digital boutiques, established management consulting firms, niche specialist businesses, and emerging startups, Wipro plays in a diverse competitive landscape. In the last 18 months, this multi-billion company has invested over $1Bn in Acquisitions. Their proven track record in delivering complex transformational projects across Process, Apps & Infra and platforms enable them to realize the “start green and stay green operational dream” for their clients. Wipro HOLMESTM Artificial Intelligence Platform (HOLMES), a market leading automation platform, also continues to be a strong differentiator. Wipro’s entrepreneurial culture, their ability to truly partner with the larger technology ecosystem stemming from the rich heritage & track record that reflects the ease of doing business with the clients positions them well to address the next phase of transformation and growth in the industry.
Modernizing the Core while Driving the Future
Technology has become increasingly central and core to enterprises across industry segments. Also, consumerization of IT has led to a blurring of boundaries between business needs and technology enablement. This has led Wipro to place a strong focus on efficiency in the “Run” side of their clients’ operations while also driving transformation on the “Change” side of the clients’ businesses. The “Run” Strategy is about “Modernizing the Core” of the clients’ process and technology landscape, i.e., helping clients achieve significant efficiencies in their core operations through various levels across our core market segments. While the “Change” Strategy is about “Driving the Future” and is focused on helping the clients drive digital transformation enabled by digital capabilities and assets delivered by Wipro and its partner ecosystem. Nonetheless, Wipro continues to lead the market and provide customers with the best-in-class solutions.