Mindtree's digital business is expected to contribute as much as 50 per cent to the IT services company's revenue in the next 2-3 years, up from about 35 per cent or one-third at present.
In the Oct-Dec quarter (FY16), Mindtree's revenue grew 24.8 per cent year-on-year to $184.4 million led by key focus areas such as digital.
"We believe Mindtree, in a way, was born digital when we started operations in 1999. The aspiration was to build a next-generation services company and we chose to build large Internet solutions for enterprises. That today forms some part of our digital business," Krishnakumar Natarajan, CEO and MD of Mindtree, told BW Businessworld.
Natarajan has been instrumental in building the digital business of Mindtree and he plans to take it further in the days to come.
Effective April 1, Natarajan will step down from the position of CEO and MD to become the Executive Chairman, thereby assuming a more broad-based role within the company.
In his new role, Natarajan will focus on building and mentoring the digital teams within Mindtree with an aim to retain and strengthen their leadership in the digital space.
Natarajan, the company's outgoing CEO and MD, will also work towards solving unique customer problems by bringing in greater innovation, both from within and outside the company, by partnering with the startup ecosystem. He will also lead Mindtree's efforts in automation, a key element of the digital portfolio.
"Automation is not just about making people redundant but it's about preparing them for change in roles and implementing solutions which take care of people as well as deliver the right efficiencies and productivity to our customers," Natarajan said.
Analysts believe digital spending is growing at a rapid pace and the addressable market is huge.
"Global digital transformation spending is growing at a whopping +30 per cent year on year and presents net new opportunities for service providers. While technologies such as cloud, analytics and mobility have become mainstream in the last 5 years, digital spending is getting aligned to newer possibilities of enhanced customer experience and operational efficiencies using data-driven modern technologies," said Praveen Bhadada, Partner & Practice Head, Global Digital Transformation, Zinnov.
"Service providers who are able to execute on a concrete digital transformation strategy, demonstrate modern technology prowess and leverage ecosystem connects stand to gain from it," he said.
BW Reporters
Ayushman is an award-winning business and tech journalist based in Bangalore, with diverse experience in journalism across newspaper, magazine and news wire. He is the recipient of the 15th annual Polestar Award in Jury's category for excellence in journalism in 2013. He is also an NSE-certified capital market professional (NCCMP) and driven by his interest, he has also attended hands-on workshops on cloud computing to stay on top of technology journalism
