Also in this letter:
■ Over 90% of India Inc is back in the office
■ Hiring has declined at IT services majors
■ Zoom is piloting drone projects in India
Satya Nadella on hybrid working, competition in cloud space and more
In the interview with ET’s Priyanka Sangani and Surabhi Agarwal, Microsoft chief Nadella, widely credited with transforming the iconic software maker into a $198 billion technology powerhouse with a focus on mobile and cloud, said investment in digital infrastructure and skilling is equally important in the current macroeconomic scenario.
A powerful force: There’s no question that digital technology is the most malleable resource at humanity’s disposal, and that’s certainly true in India, said Nadella, noting that digital technology is a “deflationary force in an inflationary economy” and can help “navigate uncertainty”.
A hotbed of innovation: The quality of the entrepreneurs and companies across India, and the innovation they’re producing is world class, said Nadella, noting that India is realising its own potential by investing in skilling and infrastructure with programmes such as Digital India.
Use tech to build skills: Learning in the flow of work is critical to addressing the global skills shortage, said the Microsoft chief. “The technology that’s enabling your business also needs to help you build skills across your organisation. You can’t just assume people are going to build knowledge capital on their own. You have to be intentional about it,” he said.
Cloud rising: There’s no question that the adoption of cloud-based services in India is growing rapidly, Nadella told us, pointing out that Microsoft was the first major cloud player to establish data centres in India. “Driving broad, inclusive economic growth is how we established ourselves as the number one cloud player in India, and it’s how we’ll continue to measure our success.”
A humbling experience: Nadella, who was conferred with the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award, last Friday, said he was honoured “to be recognised among so many extraordinary people.”
Despite resistance, over 90% of India Inc is working from office
They may have gone in kicking and screaming, but employees at more than 90% of companies in India are back in the office. Some of them are back full time and others on a hybrid basis. Only about 9% of firms had employees working remotely as of August 2022 compared to 38% in January, per a survey by HR solutions company Aon.
Strong resistance: The survey also showed that an imminent return to office had led to high attrition levels. For companies that announced a return to office over the last few months, attrition stood at 29% in August, compared to 19% each for those working remotely and those who returned to office in a hybrid setup.
Close to 70% of the 700 companies covered in the survey worked in a hybrid mode in August 2022 compared with 47% in January. The data were shared exclusively with ET.
HR speak: “While employees have the flexibility of working from home, many choose to come to the office for a change in environment to keep spirits high,” said Pavitra Singh, chief HR officer, PepsiCo India. The company operates in a hybrid mode, with more than half its employees in office on a usual workday.
Executives from RPG Group, Mercedes-Benz India, Tech Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki also told us their companies have maintained flexible approaches.
“All our offices are open… We have not seen any drop in employee productivity in a hybrid setting,” said S Venkatesh, group president, HR, RPG Enterprises.
ADIF sees top exit, to restructure executive council
Tech industry body Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), which acts as a watchdog over Big Tech’s influence in India, will revamp its executive council after Sijo Kuruvilla George, one of its top executives left the firm, sources told us.
George joined the industry body as executive director in April last year. A few others from his team are also reported to have left the association following his exit.
“George was leading the alliance, and providing vision and leadership to the tech group’s efforts to boost the domestic startup ecosystem,” says the ADIF website.
Restructuring underway: “George has left and there is a revamp underway, which is expected to close in a few weeks,” said a source aware of the matter.
The ongoing restructuring also comes at a time when ADIF’s executive council members have seen differences arise over the growing influence of a leading payment firm in the industry body, sources said, without naming the firm.
Complaints against Google: ADIF had earlier approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against Google’s controversial Play Store billing policy.
Google had announced plans to introduce its billing policy, which, among other things, included a 30% cut for in-app purchases. After facing protests, Google delayed the implementation of the policy till 2022.
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Net hiring by IT majors dips 24% in H1
Net employee additions by the top IT service providers dropped by about a fourth in the first two quarters of the current fiscal year and is expected to fall by nearly half over the full year. The next two quarters have historically been weak for the $227 billion software exports industry.
Top four ease up: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro and HCLTech reported around 81,700 net employee additions during the first half, down nearly 24% from 1,07,616 net hires during the same period in the previous financial year, an ET analysis showed.
The four companies reported a record 2,40,000 net headcount growth in FY22.
Analysts speak: Experts said that net additions in the July-September (second) quarter were also lower compared to the first quarter.
“We shall see a further drop in the net headcount addition in the next two quarters compared to last year as most end clients are very cautious due to the macro-economic situation,” said Sunil C, chief executive, TeamLease Digital.
TeamLease also expects a 50% reduction in net hiring over last year due to cost optimisation measures and the postponement of digital transformation projects across customers.
Attrition figures: During the second-quarter result announcements, IT leaders indicated stable attrition numbers, which are expected to fall through the fiscal year.
TCS and Infosys reported net additions of 9,840, and 10,032, respectively, in the July-September quarter, while the figure for Wipro and HCLTech stood at 600 and 8,359, respectively. The figure is lower in comparison to an average of 26,000, 13,600, 10,200 and 9,800, respectively, added every quarter last fiscal year.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Zoom is piloting projects with drone systems in India
Zoom Video Communications is looking at the bigger picture. Sameer Raje, general manager and head, India & SAARC, told us the company is piloting a few projects in India to find use cases with drone systems.
Beyond meetings: The use cases, Raje said, were “simply phenomenal”, be it in using Zoom on drones to capture details about factories and pipelines or for geotagging in land surveys. “It’s not (just) a meeting application. As technology evolves, it’s (Zoom) evolving in various formats,” said Raje. He, however, added that the pilots are at a very initial stage.
The company has also launched Zoom Events in India. The product, an all-in-one platform that combines Zoom Webinars, Zoom Meetings and Team Chat in one solution for event organisers, has the ability to produce live events for internal or external audiences of almost any size.
Raje said India was one of the most important markets for Zoom because of the customer base and the kind of clientele the company has here. This was one of the primary reasons for the Nasdaq-listed company to launch Zoom Events in India, he said.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
Oyo to add 400 properties in leisure markets by December: Amid growing demand for leisure travel, Oyo is planning to add around 400 properties in the leisure segment by the end of this calendar year, people privy to the information told us. Oyo, which has added around 600 properties in leisure destinations so far this year, will now focus on 19 locations, including Goa, Shimla, Amritsar, Puri, Tirupati, Udaipur, Mysore and Gangtok.
CERT-In urges users to be wary of fake messages: Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the country’s nodal cybersecurity agency, has asked users to remain cautious as the festive season kicks in. The cybersecurity watchdog said users were being targeted through fake messages that claim to contain festive offers, but these messages ultimately lead to suspicious websites that can potentially steal sensitive data such as bank account details, passwords and OTPs.
Global picks we are reading
■ Japan to further relax crypto rules by easing listings of tokens (Bloomberg)
■ Uber rolls out ad business to reach more riders (FT)
■ Ask an AI art generator for any image. The results are amazing and terrifying (WSJ)
