Indian IT giant eyes NZ

Infosys hopes to build on its Gen-i deal and is looking at acquisitions

Within India's booming technology sector, the rise of Infosys is a corporate fairytale - and the IT powerhouse is eyeing acquisitions in New Zealand.

Seven software engineers with nothing but vision and a paltry US$250 ($305) formed a company in 1981 that today records billion-dollar annual profits and employs about 150,000 staff.

A pioneer of IT outsourcing, the Bangalore-based firm has clients in 32 countries across the globe and is now looking to flex its muscles in the South Pacific.

With a strong focus on research and development, Infosys is ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the world's top-20 most innovative companies.

The IT titan develops technology solutions ranging from back-end services for banks to tools for helping firms manage and track their online marketing campaigns.

It has more than 20 New Zealand clients and earned upwards of $50 million in revenue from them during the past financial year.

Its biggest play in this market came in June last year when it purchased Gen-i's software solutions business and signed a strategic partnership with the firm - Telecom's information-technology arm.

The deal trebled Infosys' New Zealand-based staff to about 150 and the Indian giant is now eyeing up further acquisitions.

Infosys' Australia & New Zealand chief executive, Jackie Korhonen, admits the company has been far more active across the Ditch and was late to make its move in this country.

However, she hopes that by leveraging its existing relationships with transtasman organisations, Infosys will be able to pick up more business in New Zealand.

"The financial services sector is one that springs immediately to mind because if you look at many of the banks and insurance companies in New Zealand they're part of Australian organisations," Korhonen said.

Infosys also hopes that through its partnership with Gen-i it will be able to pick up more business from the New Zealand Government, one of the country's biggest spenders on IT.

While Infosys is looking to hire more local staff, the number will depend on the business contracts it is able to win.

Although the country's struggling economy may limit the pace of the firm's foray into New Zealand, Korhonen was convinced the Infosys offering would be attractive to local companies.

"We've got a lot of access to global talent, to tools, to intellectual property, processes in world-class methodologies," she said.

"That's what we want to bring to bear in the New Zealand market and apply all the stuff we've done over the last 30 years to projects for our clients in New Zealand."

Former head of Gen-i Chris Quin believes New Zealand should look to land more partnerships with companies such as Infosys.

"They're world-class at it," he told the Herald this year.

Quin also noted that despite the sale of Gen-i's software business, jobs have stayed in New Zealand.

Although Infosys has worked with large organisations such as Telecom and Westpac, one of its board members, Srinath Batni, said there were huge opportunities for it to do more business with small New Zealand firms.

"If you look at New Zealand there are a lot of small companies, with very good innovative products being developed," Batni said.

"The problem for New Zealand companies is the access to the world market and today no one simply buys products ... customers want a solution around a product," he said.

"So there is a situation there where we can identify some of those products in some of the industries where we are very active and so we can create a solution using [a New Zealand company's] product and the product gets sold as part of our solution."

By using such an approach, Batni said, local companies could have a crack at markets they might have struggled to access on their own.

As well as commercial relationships, Infosys is also forming ties with New Zealand academic institutions.

The company is recruiting students from the University of Auckland for the first time this year for its InStep programme, which has been running since 1999.

According to one of the company's seven founders, co-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan, taking care of employees is a key plank of the Infosys philosophy.

"We believe that once you create an institution ... you must look at longevity as one of the measures of success," Gopalakrishnan told the Herald from the company's headquarters in Bangalore.

"All the stakeholders, especially employees, need that long-term relationship with the company."

Similar importance is placed on maintaining strong relationships with clients and the community, and Gopalakrishnan said values of transparency and integrity dictated the company's whole operation.

"We want to earn the respect of all stakeholders," he said.

"In fact if you look at our mission statement, [our goal] was be a respected global corporation, that's it, we didn't say we'll be the largest, or the most profitable."

This doesn't mean Infosys has struggled either to grow or turn a profit.

At the same time as the West's economic engine has run out of steam, Infosys' business has raced ahead - its revenues doubling between 2007 and 2012 to US$7 billion.

And Gopalakrishnan was confident the company would continue to thrive.

"It's only our imaginations that's the limiting factor," he said.

"Because all aspects of our life - including medical healthcare and how we interact with each other - all of these are going to change in the next 30 years ... when there is so much change, there is also a lot of opportunity for creating new products, new services and business."

IT giant's education drive open to Kiwi students

Infosys' InStep initiative gives engineering or technology students the opportunity to travel to one of the company's facilities in India and immerse themselves in a research project with the company over two to three months.

Up to 12 students from Australasia may be selected for this year's programme and to make the trip this summer holiday.

Education is a core part of Infosys operations as it seeks to raise the skills of both its employees and the IT industry.

As well as its programme for international students, its Campus Connect initiative works with more than 400 Indian engineering colleges to improve the employability of students and "make a difference" to India's IT ecosystem.

"In 2005 [a survey] said only 25 per cent of graduates are employable ... our intent is to raise the industry readiness of the students coming so that the Indian IT industry can grow," said Srikantan Moorthy, a senior vice-president at the company.

All engineers who join the company get 23 weeks of training at the world's biggest corporate campus run by Infosys in Mysore.

The 136ha facility, with vast gardens, 60,000 trees, grandiose architecture and a floating restaurant, hosts 500 instructors and 200 classrooms. The thousands of trainees have access to swimming pools, music classes, bowling alleys and a cinema.

Hamish Fletcher travelled to Bangalore and Mysore this year as a guest of Infosys.

By Hamish Fletcher Email Hamish

Converting Community and Customers into Reliable Referrals

Finding new customers for any business, big or small, is the lifeblood of  its success and sustainability. Without new business and making new sales there is no way a business can endure.

As important as that is and has always been, the retention of existing customers and mining those customers for referrals has become much more important.

Companies are awakening to just how valuable this is, and are investing more in retaining existing customers at a much higher level of customer engagement and service. GM has put this at the top of their priority list, and is shooting for 68 percent!

Small business marketing expert and founder of the Duct Tape Marketing System, John Jantsch, talks about the 7 Steps To Creating a Marketing System.  This system and these steps are fundamental to finding qualified customers and then converting them into referrals. Jantsch defines marketing as: “getting someone that has a need to know, like, and trust you”.

Developing referrals from people who have a need to like, know, and trust you should be relatively easy and effective, as long as you have a system and you are consistently earning that trust.

Fast forward to the 21st century, where mining customers and referrals can now come from social media platforms and communities, too. Yep, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest, Blogs, Podcasts all can be very fertile referral sources. Our social networks give people more opportunity to “know, like, and trust” us through what we write and say, and what others write and say about us.

Are you working both worlds to develop referrals?

Dennis McEniry, President Online at Estee Lauder Companies, talks about the role social media plays in its brand: ”The number one influence on beauty consumers in every market around the world is advice from friends. With social media, not only are they able to get timely brand information directly from brands, but also all of the validation from authorities and friends”.

Here are five things you can do to develop referrals from your community and customers. 

1.   Build Relationships Versus Transactions
If people do business with people they like, know, and trust, as author Bob Burg says in his best selling book The Go Giver, then building relationships rather than having transactions is the way to do that and get referrals.

2.   Use Testimonials
Use the power of satisfied customers and loyal followers. Keep updating your testimonials on LinkedIn and put them up on your Websites.

3.   Ask People 
Identify key people that you can ASK for referrals, a testimonial, or recommendation, who you have no problem endorsing back or referring back, and ASK them.

4.   Network, Network, and Network 
Blend your online and in person networking strategy and get personal with people. Meet people in person and use the social media platforms as a bridge. They will remember how you make them feel.

5.   Develop the Referral Habit
Make developing and getting referrals an integral part of your daily activities. ABM-always be networking and always be requesting referrals.

The conversion rate of referrals from satisfied customers is about 50 percent. Use your existing relationships to turn customers into your sales force!

Always be asking the right people the following questions:

“Who do you know that could benefit like you have from this community, product, or service”?

“Could you recommend or make an introduction to them for me?”

Spend more time mining  reliable referrals and watch what happens!

Referral Photo via Shutterstock

China and India Are The $10 Trillion Prize

Of all the plans General Motors had to rebuild itself-management invested millions into Oldsmobile and Pontiac before shuttering the two divisions-the most surprising success emerged from the rebirth of Buick. Buick survived due to an inadvertent sales growth in China. GM further invested in the division by sharing new, smaller models with Opel (An irony: Opel once shared models with another now-shuttered division, Saturn). This example shows how businesses can benefit when customers discover their products rather than forcing the market to notice.

To understand the aspirations of the growing Chinese and Indian middle class, be sure to consider the book “10 Trillion Dollar Prize: Captivating the Newly Affluent in China and India.” It was written collaboratively by Michael J. Silverstein,  Abheek Singhi, Carol Liao, David Michael, and Simon Targett, leading members of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The publishers' copy impressed me with the level of detail applied to its mission to understand the increasingly influential middle class consumer market and the development of its leading industries. It's a thorough book, though its focus is meant for corporate firms rather than smaller businesses that are expanding globally.

How Chinese and Indian Household Budgets Are Transforming The Globe

Besides having names that are 5 letters long, India and China share economies which “in the next ten years…will have a substantial middle class for the first time in their history.” In fact, the book's title references the estimated triple economic growth by 2020. The authors clearly highlight the drivers for that history:

“These middle-class consumers will account for nearly half of consumer spending in the two countries by 2020. It is their new-found productivity and earning power that is underpinning the dramatic growth in consumer spending and providing people … with their extraordinary ambition, drive, and optimism.”

Relying on their consultation experiences dating to 1980 for China and 1996 for India, the authors outline how Eastern economic growth factors into what happens in the West. The authors advise that businesses be more aware of which markets display increasingly intense price competition, and note how the occurrence affects a company's strategy.

“….it will become evident how the growth in demand from Chinese and Indian consumers translates into higher prices on all kinds of goods and greater demand for commodities-and the resulting supply squeeze on energy, water, and food. These supply shortages will ultimately trickle down….Such whipsaw inflation… will present companies in the West with new challenges-not only in China and India but also in their own backyard……In the United States, the lowest 40 percent of households earn $40,000 or less and, on average, spend roughly $3,000 per year on food….If, let's say, they faced a 10 percent increase in food costs (and that is a conservative estimate, given the possibility of a 50 percent increase in average corn prices over the next ten years), they would have to allocate an additional $300 per year…the boomerang effect to food: anywhere from half a week's to a full week's pay. Suddenly, all kinds of companies will have to face consumers who, no longer able to afford their products, will start to scrimp, save, and bargain hunt.“

This sounds a bit intimidating, but the authors are mainly reflecting upon the global economy:

“In the wake of the global economic downturn, consumers in other emerging markets-as well as in the United States and Europe-are also bargain hunting, which means that companies must provide a unique value proposition: products that square the circle by being affordable and high-quality.”

Entrepreneurs Increasingly Adept at Leveraging Their Markets

That squaring is buoyed by the enthusiastic attitude of India and China's business leaders. “Prize“ presents leaders who confidently address risk while applying marketplace and economic awareness in their businesses, whether it is the Family Li Imperial Cuisine, that competes with other developing restaurants in Shanghai, or in corporations lead by executives who had brought their formal US education back home. Caring how the business impacts community is at the heart of these considerations. Anand Mahindra, grandson of the successful Indian tractor and truck manufacturer's founder, noted in his Rise initiative how market share and enhancing quality of life should be linked:

“We are not simply focused on quantitative objectives such as market share. It is about giving back, improving life. In the agriculture group, for instance, it is about creating a second green revolution. We will rise by enabling other people to rise.”

Quotes like this teach the reader how these suggestions come alive in practice, such as the advantages of packaging entry-level products for Paisa Vasool-the highest Indian praise for quality and value.

Small Business Trends readers should also pay attention to the comments on the consumer classes, particular those who aspire beyond entry-level. The noted observations compliment those of Shashi Bellamkonda about his experiences in India. (Read his post Selling to The Bottom of The Pyramid.)

Who will benefit from reading “10 Trillion Dollar Prize”:

• Entrepreneurs who are interested in developing a deeper understanding of the differences among Indian and Chinese consumers.
• Large businesses established in Western markets that want to connect to Indian and Chinese consumers more effectively.
• Economic enthusiasts seeking a primer on India and China.

I did wish that more resources tailored to small business were mentioned. The information provided is great.  The text is written with executive level suggestions and corporate resources in mind-one BCG playbook suggestion is to meet customers up close and personal to understand behavior and choices.  A small business could use the suggestions as guidelines for selecting successful larger firms that have expanded into these markets. But even a large firm may want to learn about other organizations beyond the authors' own BCG firm to help apply this advice.

All in all, “10 Trillion Dollar Prize” is an excellent starting point for understanding how China and India are powering the global economy.

Answers to Your Frequently Asked Trademark Questions

Do you ever wonder what will prevent another company from using your business name? How about if you're legally permitted to use the name you picked for your business? Or do you know when you can use the TM symbol with your brand or product name?

Assembled here are all the answers to the most frequently asked questions when it comes to trademarking. If you're a small business owner, read on to learn more about the trademark, and most importantly, if you need one for your business.

What is a trademark? 

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design (or a combination of any of these) that identifies the source of a product or service and distinguishes it from competitors.

What can be trademarked? 

Trademark registration can be granted on distinctive names, logos and slogans. You might want to seek a trademark for a product name, company name, company logo, or tagline.

For example, “Nike”, the Nike swoosh design, and “Just Do It” are all trademarks owned by Nike to distinguish their products from other athletic companies. But keep in mind that trademark protection only applies to a particular category of goods and services. Nike Inc. may own the mark on a variety of shoes, clothing, sporting goods, etc. But there's also a Nike Corporation in Sweden that's involved in heavy machinery, like hydraulic lifting jacks.

What's the difference between a registered and unregistered trademark? 

Trademarks don't actually have to be registered with the USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office). If your company creates a logo or name that you want to use exclusively, you can attach the TM symbol and this essentially gives you “common law” rights.

However, trademarks that are registered with the USPTO enjoy stronger brand protection (see “What are the benefits of registering a trademark?” below)

Also keep in mind that in order to claim first use to a name, the name has to be “trademarkable” (i.e. not already in use by someone else) and needs to be in use in commerce. For example, if you think of a cool company name, you will need to actively market and sell a product or service using that company name for your common law trademark to be valid.

How do I know if a name is available for me to use for my company, product, or service?  

Before you incorporate or register your business with your state, you'll need to check the state's database of company names and make sure the name you want isn't already in use. Name conflicts are one of the main reasons many LLC, corporation, or DBA applications get rejected. At this point, you should also conduct a free trademark search to check if your business name is available to use at the federal level.

It's also important to know that you can still infringe on someone else's mark even if they've never formally registered it with the USPTO. For this reason, you should also run a comprehensive nationwide trademark search into state and local databases (beyond just your own state). This should include common law and county registrars.

When should I or can I use the trademark symbol? And what's the difference between TM and ®?

Before you have registered a trademark with the USPTO, you may use the TM symbol. After a trademark is registered with the USPTO, you have the right to use ® in your trademark. Many companies choose to use the TM or ® symbol with the first appearance of the company or product name in a document, and then drop the symbol for each appearance after that.

What are the benefits of registering a trademark? 

By registering for U.S. Federal Trademark protection, you'll be eligible for several benefits, including:

• Treble damages in some cases of infringement
• The right to use ® in your trademark
• A streamlined process for securing your domains and usernames at social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
• Significantly stronger protection than ‘common law' (aka. unregistered) marks. This can make it much easier to recover your property, let's say if someone happens to use your company name as their Twitter handle.

If I've already registered my name with the state, do I still need a trademark? 

When you incorporate, form an LLC, or file a DBA (Doing Business As) for your new business, this process registers your business name with your state's secretary of state. Before approving your application, the state checks that your name is distinguishable from all other business names registered in the state. Once approved, the business name is yours, and yours alone, to use within the state. This prevents anyone else from using your name within your state, but it doesn't offer any kind of protection in the other 49 states.

If you've started a business that's physically tied to your state (i.e. a hair salon or restaurant) and have no plans on expanding into other states, registering your name with the state or county might be enough brand protection for you. However, if you're planning on conducting business outside your own state (i.e. you sell a product or you provide services and some of your clients may live elsewhere), you should look into trademark protection with the USPTO.

How are trademarks registered and how much does it cost? 

To register your business name, you'll need to file an application with the USPTO: you can file either directly with the USPTO or have an online legal filing service handle it for you. Expect to pay approximately $325 per class in application fees that your mark would fall under and the process can take anywhere from 6-12 months once you submit your application.

It's also smart to perform a comprehensive trademark search before starting the application process to make sure your name is available (you won't get an application refund just because your name isn't available).

While the process of registering a trademark is more involved than registering a DBA, rights to your name will be enforced by both the federal and state governments. As you're getting your company off the ground, remember that your name represents your brand and business, so take the right steps up front to protect your identity.

Trademark Photo via Shutterstock

Document Management and Collaboration Survey Reveals That Most Businesses Aren\'t Getting It Right

A recent survey on document management by Knowledge Tree, the Raleigh, N.C. based cloud computing services company, has thrown up some interesting insights into how business efficiency is hampered when teamwork and documents are put together. The study involved 1400 customers spread across six continents.  The results imply that the current emphasis on collaboration and teamwork to generate and finalize business documents are handicapped from the outset by the processes involved.  Here are some interesting findings from the survey:

1. The Office is not a place for “lone wolves”. Professionals are like wolves. They perform better in teams. It takes more than one person to generate the kind of content that modern businesses demand. Whether one likes it or not, teamwork gets things done in modern business. This is especially the case when it comes to generating proposals, contracts and other business documents, where teams are involved 94% of the time, according to the survey.
2. Revise, Revise and Revise. It doesn't matter if you like it or hate it, but a true part of collaboration is revision of working documents. A staggering 90% of all documents go through an average of 3-5 revisions at least. A few actually go through more than a dozen revisions.
3. Teamwork reduces the burden, right? Wrong. An overwhelming majority (79%) of the respondents find it difficult to work with teams on document drafts.  Almost 75% of people find it hard to collaborate with their teammates. Frustration levels are inordinately high when it comes to dealing with feedback from within the organization. Too many people have problems with teamwork for this to be put down as a personnel issue. The reasons lie elsewhere.
4. When the people are right, and the process is wrong. Teamwork and collaboration is dependent on established processes that facilitate communication within and beyond the teams in an organization. The survey discovered a multitude of methods used by business organizations to facilitate collaboration and feedback on documents, with email as the preferred choice more often than not.
5. Putting two and two together, the culprit is….. Email! The response to the survey was unambiguous in its results. At 61%, email is the most used vehicle for circulating draft documents AND it is also the least effective. Only 13% of email users found their approval processes to be efficient. When it comes to feedback, email users are twice as likely to get frustrated.

The survey revealed a clear and demonstrable lack of efficiency in most document management processes that collaboration relies on at present in business organizations. Email comes up as the prime reason mainly because it is the most used process. Other issues, like document access and security, also reign high as issues.

“Document management is a challenge for all businesses. This new data reveals that email adds unnecessary obstacles that impair productivity and affect the bottom line,” said Daniel Chalef, chief executive officer of KnowledgeTree. “Real-time co-authoring and collaboration tools bring a structured approach to document management that amplifies efficiency and helps companies rule their documents.”

Document management is no different than any other business process you have in place. In order for it to be successful, the process needs to be clear and simple and you need to use the right tools to ensure it's a process that your team can follow.

How does your team manage documents? What works for you?