Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise Architecture

An Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a blueprint that defines the operations and structure of an organization. The idea behind having an EA in place is to be able to analyze the organizational resources and objectives in a better and organized way.

Forester Definition

“EA is a planning, governance, and innovation function. It is an essential function for improving IT effectiveness and efficiency”

Gartner’s Definition

"EA" is the process of translating business vision and strategy into effective plans for enterprise change’

The largely accepted view of EA comprises of 4  business perspectives. See diagram below.

Business Architecture (Business)

Describes the functional structure of the organization in terms of what the organization does (Business Services) and how it executes its services (Business Processes). The Business Architecture gives you a good idea of how the various business processes are interlinked and inter-weaved in certain instances.

Information Architecture (Information)

Refers to the organization of enterprise data. Describes how information is stored and also gives a good understanding on the flow of information.

IT Applications Architecture (Applications)

Describes the suite of IT applications and tools used by the organization to either gain business competitiveness or to solve business problems. App Architects need to unsure that they design AA to be scalable, reliable, manageable, and available. Also an important consideration would be look at the ease with which applications can be integrated with new applications and external environments.

IT Infrastructure Architecture (Technology)

Infrastructure Architecture refers to the design of the support software and hardware required to keep IT application available for use.  

Why Indian Software Vendors score low on keeping Promises

Do Indian IT Vendors Lie to their Customers?

Well if you think about it. “Lying” would be a rather strong word. 

However, there is a common mistake that most Indian IT Vendors do commit. Most vendors end up over-committing during the customer acquisition phase and fail to deliver on their promises at the time of implementation. In short, these companies “Over-Promise and Under-Deliver”. This leads to dis-satisfied customers and to the loss of future/repeat business. Considering the fact that most Indian IT Companies get more than 90% of their revenues through repeat business (Wipro 98%, TCS 95%, Infosys 97%) these companies should make sure that they promise only what they can actually deliver.

    
So why does this happen and what can IT companies do about it? 

The primary cause of such failures is poor communication between the sales and implementation teams. The Business Development Teams over-commit during sales interactions without adequate consultation with the Implementation Teams. To avoid such issues Sales Executives should ensure they get approvals from implementation experts before making any commitments to prospective customers. It would also be a good idea to groom professionals with a blend of IT Sales and Implementation experience and have them interface between Sales and Implementation Teams to ensure better coordination and flow of information.

Relationship Marketing at Wipro - A few Recommendations

Wipro Technologies is a global information technology, consulting and outsourcing company with 145,000 employees serving around 970 customers in 54 countries. I joined Wipro Technologies as a fresh Engineering Graduate in 2006. I have had excellent experiences working in Wipro so far. In the next 7-8 years I am determined to gain the experience and skills required to lead the Marketing function of Wipro Technologies. I have chosen to analyze Wipro as by doing so I will get the opportunity to start thinking like the Chief Marketing Officer of Wipro.

This paper will highlight Wipro’s Marketing efforts in the past, the current competition/challenges and recommended strategies to overcome the challenges.

Past Marketing Strategies – Focus on Branding and New Customer Acquisition

As per the brand tracking survey conducted in 2006 Wipro’s awareness level among the survey population of key non-clients was 35%, whereas the leading Indian competitor, Infosys, had an awareness level of 50%. International competitors such as IBM and Accenture were way ahead with near perfect awareness levels. It was certain that if Wipro wanted to be recognized among the Top 5 global IT companies, Wipro needed to scale up its branding efforts and achieve a distinctive positioning.

Highlights of Wipro’s Brand Campaign.

• Branding efforts were focused on grabbing the attention of CXO’s or in other words the organizational decision makers. Since a CXO’s job required considerable travel, airport lounges, cabs and hotels became the primary channels for the campaign.

• Wipro organized global academic and industry events to improve visibility among current and future CXO’s. The Applied Innovation Council comprising of Wipro, industry experts and thought leaders was launched to analyze industry trends and work on innovative solutions to address new consumers, markets and business challenges. Wipro Council for Industry Research was set up in partnership with leading business schools such as Harvard, Wharton, LBS and INSEAD to run joint thought leadership research studies.The focused branding efforts helped Wipro move to a new level as reflected in the Brand Audit by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates which showed that Wipro ranked second only to IBM in favorability amongst prospective clients. This enhanced recognition in turn increased new customer acquisition rates. Wipro currently adds an average of 45 customers every quarter.

Current Situation

Competitor Strategy 

Tata Consultancy Services ,Infosys , HCL and Cognizant Tech Solutions are Wipro’s main rivals. TCS’s strategy for longer-term growth is to expand its geographic reach, industry coverage and service capabilities. It also plans to deepen existing client relationships. Infosys is moving towards a non-linear growth model, which is the norm among its peers. It has undergone major restructuring, wherein it has consolidated businesses into three distinct service lines to aid its transition from a pure-play technology company to a consulting firm.

Apart from the major rivals there are numerous smaller, low cost IT service providers. These providers deliver “Good Enough” services and leverage their low prices as the Unique Selling Proposition. They are often able to sway away customers from premium service providers such as Wipro.

Current Challenges

•        Low-Cost Competition and Customer Retention

Wipro has achieved high brand recognition and a strong customer base however it struggles against low-cost competition. While Wipro has established price floor limits and does not agree to cut prices below these limits , low-cost IT service providers are usually ready to service clients at prices that are 15-20% lower than Wipro prices. Customers are on the lookout for vendors offering cheaper prices and are willing to shift to low-cost providers if their services are “Good Enough”. Wipro needs to devise a strategy to tackle low cost competition. 

•     Shift from IT-Outsourcing to Business-IT Consulting 

     

      Wipro has developed high-end business advisory & consulting capabilities, however majority of the        customers still perceive Wipro as just a technology service provider. The Marketing Function needs to          promote Wipro’s consulting services and transform customer perceptions.

Recommendations for the Future (Next 2 Years) –

Wipro needs a dual-pronged strategy – one that both challenges low-cost competitors in the “good-enough” segment, while also letting Wipro compete as a premium player leveraging value and performance leadership.  Wipro needs a marketing strategy that achieves following objectives

• Develop long-term ties with existing customers, maximize customer satisfaction and achieve “Zero Customer Attrition”. In comparison to the earlier strategy which was focused on customer acquisition, there should be increased emphasis on customer retention. Wipro should not lose customers to low-cost competition.

• Promote Wipro’s deep Business Advisory and Consulting expertise as its key competitive differentiator from rivals

Proposed Marketing Campaign – “Bring the Friends Closer“                                                                                                                                                           

1.   Maximize Customer Satisfaction and Service Value –Customer feedback has always reflected the notion that Wipro Teams are excellent at delivering quality software solutions but struggle to provide meaningful advice on how customers can use IT to do their businesses better. With the formation of the Wipro Consulting Services (WCS), Wipro can now provide high value Business Advisory and consulting services as an add-on to the regular technology services and therefore maximize customer satisfaction. The Marketing team will advertise Wipro’s consulting services and change current perceptions of Wipro as a mere provider of software services. Based on the customer retention requisite existing customers will be allowed discounts on availing consulting services.

2.       Strategic Partnerships – Account Managers/Client Engagement Managers will be incentivized to establish strategic alliances with top customers. The Wipro IT360TM framework that helps define and measure value from IT investments will be used to demonstrate the benefits of a long-term alliance with Wipro. Wipro will fulfill the entire Information Technology needs of the partner. Deep ties will minimize the chances of customer attrition.  Partners will be expected to share domain knowledge and industry best practices with Wipro. Wipro will leverage these insights and best practices while servicing other customers.

3.    Top Ten Focus – The Top Ten customers account for 22 percent of the total revenues. These are our priority customers and we can’t afford to lose them. The Wipro Marketing Team will evaluate the customer perceived value by performing detailed customer value analysis of the Top Ten customers. This will reveal Wipro’s strengths and weaknesses relative to its competition. All functions within Wipro will work together to eliminate exposed weaknesses and build on the strengths leaving no scope for customer defection to competition.

4.   Increase Focus on Client Frontline Teams – Marketing Teams will target frontline client teams. As mentioned earlier Wipro Marketing/Branding campaigns have been mainly targeting C-Suite executives. However from my experiences working at the client side in the US, I have learnt that frontline customer teams that work directly with the Wipro Teams are equally important as their feedback forms an important part of the vendor selection process.  As per my recommended approach Wipro will constantly seek feedback from the frontline clients and ensure all feedback is acted upon adequately. To build deep relations with its clients , Wipro will also organize “Experience India” programs in which clients will be invited to work out of Wipro facilities in India so that they can understand the Wipro culture and meet their offshore(India based) Wipro colleagues. The customers will also be offered Holiday packages to tourist destinations in India. Wipro Teams working at the client side will be educated not only on the importance of understanding the voice of the customer but will also be trained on the basics of client engagement and relationship building.

5.    Institutionalize Customer Defection Management Program –Wipro Teams will perform surveys to extract and investigate the reasons of customer defections. Defected customers will be incentivized to participate in these surveys. Special Teams comprising of senior Wipro executives will evaluate the survey results and use the findings to devise strategies to pursue and win back the lost customers.

6.    Standardize the Referral System - Wipro will perform loyalty/influence analysis on its customers. The analysis will result in a list of Wipro customers who are not only willing to provide good referrals about Wipro but also have strong industry influence. Wipro teams will pursue these customers to get recommendations that can be shared with prospective customers.  

7.     Networking -Wipro has a large and highly diversified customer pool of nearly 970 customers. Wipro will organize quarterly business networking events that will facilitate interactions among the customers. This will be a good opportunity for customers to meet senior leaders and possibly make business leads. These networking events will also be a platform for Wipro to provide customers deeper insights into Wipro’s business values, objectives, strategy and future value offerings. 

Conclusion

While most Indian IT vendors are still employing transactional/short-term customer engagement models I believe my recommended strategy to position Wipro as a long term – high value player will yield high dividends in the next 2 years. Low-Cost competitors may be able to provide services to the clients at lower prices but will not be able to replicate Wipro’s high-value consulting/technology service offerings. Therefore these small players will find it extremely difficult to cannibalize Wipro’s customer base.   With its focused relationship marketing efforts Wipro will take a lead over its rivals such as TCS and Infosys in establishing long term strategic alliances with customers and will become the partner of choice.     

Karma Yoga - Teach Them How to Dance

Lets enhance their Self-Esteem by Teaching them How to Dance 

In the past one year we have interacted extensively with the children in Nallur. We have mostly focused our efforts on teaching them various subjects such as Science, Mathematics and English. However in certain instances we have also engaged them in fun activities such as sports and dancing. From these interactions I have observed that the children in Nallur are very intelligent and are quick learners. They are able to grasp concepts in Maths and Science quiet easily.

But there is an area where I believe the kids at Nallur are naturally gifted. They love dancing and are actually very good at it. I have always been amazed by their ability learn and perform difficult dance steps without any formal guidance.  They truly seem to have a flair for dancing.

I believe we should nurture this talent and try to help these kids realize their true potential in dancing. I am definitely not suggesting that we reduce the regular efforts we put in to teach them Science, Math’s and English.  But I do recommend the institution of a dance school in Nallur. We have already formed a science club which I am sure will help students gain a lot of insights on various scientific concepts from experts. The next step could be to set up a dance learning center at Nallur and organize dance classes there.  I was actually talking to some of the villagers today to see what they thought about the formation of a dance school in Nallur. The villagers sounded really excited about the idea.

So the question that arises is this. Agreed that the kids are naturally talented, how will getting better at dancing help them in their life?

To this the simple answer is that we want to ensure the holistic development of the children. It’s about boosting their self-confidence and making them realize how good they can really be at something. It’s about catching them young when they can be groomed most optimally.  It is a well-known fact that teaching young children how to dance not only boosts physical development, but also instills emotional maturity and social awareness. Dancing also helps them improve their cognitive skills. 

“Dance provides young children multiple perspectives. It is a foundation of experience necessary for the future development of more advanced skills and a way to affirm an inner life and alternate realities”.(Stinson 1990)

As a part of the Karma Yoga project isn’t this what we want to do? Don’t we want to enhance the self-esteem of the children in our village? Don’t we want them to develop enhanced sensory cognition, awareness and consciousness that will help them throughout their lives?        

I feel this can be achieved by organizing dance classes at Nallur and by setting up a dance school. We can collaborate with professional dance teachers and experts to teach various forms of dancing. Great Lakes students can also pitch in. 

I have seen the enthusiasm the children in my village have for dancing. The talent /enthusiasm of the children coupled with professional guidance will ensure the success of this initiative.    

Strategies to Deal with Differences at the WorkPlace

The Avoidance and Repression Strategies

Often strategies such as avoidance and repression are used to deal with differences. These strategies are flawed as they only provide an escape to the problem without actually solving the problem.

Dangers of Avoidance Strategy                                                                           

Avoidance of problems often takes the form of associating with individuals of similar background, experiences, beliefs and values. This strategy enables an environment of mutual support predictability. This strategy is employed by people who are risk averse.  Another avoidance strategy is to separate individuals who create sparks with each other.  However this strategy minimizes the opportunity for individuals to learn from each other and grow.  

Dangers of Repression Strategy

Repression of differences occurs when an individual or organization enforces measures to stop disagreements from emerging. Most organizations do this is by enforcing conformity and standardization of rules and policies. They ensure all employees adhere to these policies in the same way. Statements such as “these are the rules everyone in organization need to adhere to”, employees should work on this project in a professional and collegial manner” create boundaries and limit collaborative behavior. Repression can also lead to conflict and low employee motivation which can prove quite costly for organizations. 

Example of Avoidance Strategy- Indians in the US

For example I have seen from my experiences of travelling to the US that Indians tend to form their “Indian groups” and tend to remain in these groups avoiding interactions with people from other nationalities. Doing so gives them a sense of security and convenience as this way they are surrounded by individuals of similar background, beliefs and values. However this strategy does not let them learn from the experiences of people who are of different nationalities. There is so much Indians can learn from other communities and there so much scope for collaboration. Think of an Indo-Chinese restaurant in Manhattan. Wouldn’t it be a great idea to set up a restaurant in the heart of New York that serves both Chicken biryani and Szechuan chicken fried rice? Can’t the Indians and Chinese collaborate by exchanging ideas ingredients and spices to conceive a completely new Indo-Chinese dish.  Avoidance leads to a loss on these opportunities to collaborate.

Example of Repression Strategy gone Wrong -Turbans Not Allowed in the US Army

Sikhs are not allowed to wear turbans in the US army. While the US army sites reasons of conformity and standardization for disallowing turbans this does look like a clear example of discrimination. The Turban is an article of faith for the Sikhs. Sikhs serve in the Indian, British and Swedish army without having to face such discrimination.  Sikhs all over the world were outraged by the decision of the US army to not allow turbans. We can imagine how this must have gone down with the Sikh soldiers and officers in the US army. The morale and enthusiasm of serving in the army would have definitely diminished.