Get it right in the first instance: TCS mantra for government orders

India as a market for IT services is different from the US and Europe, and is skewed towards projects (led by the government) rather than accounts. Hence, when working on large mission mode government projects, Tata Consultancy Services’ (TCS’) focus is always on getting it right in the first instance.

This means the system architecture has to be spot on, and the focus has to be on user interface (UI) design and testing, because any project in India has to cater to a scale that is unheard of anywhere else.

“The strategy for us has been to get it right the first time. When you look at these projects, this is critical as most of the systems will be used by citizens and, hence, the scale will be huge,” Tej Bhatla, business unit head of TCS, told Business Standard.

Batla believes that while the large projects started by the government are transformative, real digitisation of the government services ecosystem is yet to begin. “By real digitisation we mean use of AI (artificial intelligence)/ML (machine learning), IoT (Internet of things), data analytics. So far, it has been about getting the data. Since we have that foundation, the big tech initiatives will begin. This is just be the tip of the iceberg,” he added.

TCS is already working with various government departments (central and state) on proof-of-concepts on the use of IoT and analytics.

The firm is among the first IT services players to work on large mission mode projects and has undertaken projects like the digitising the Department of Post, e-Passport, first generation income tax portal, Ayushman Bharat, and National Stock Exchange.

However, questions have been raised on the perceived difference in Indian IT firms’ handling of global projects and Indian ones.

Bhatla disagrees with the comparison. “It is challenging not because of working with government departments, but because of the scale. One fundamental issue that differentiates the Indian market is that these large projects are systems integration (SI) projects. It typically involves going through the entire setup (hardware and software), the data centres, people management, implementing the solution, training the people and also running the project for the stipulated time,” he added. One constant complaint in recent times that Indian IT services firms have faced is that several mission mode projects are filled with glitches. In the case of TCS, there were glitches in the initial days of e-passport implementation or creation of the MCA-21 portal.

When asked if there is a solution to this, Bhatla said scale is a challenge, but one needs to get the central pieces like architecture, UI, correct set of performance tests right. “E-Passport, Ayushman Bharat are successful examples. I think because we have been an early player in this segment, we have the right experience to take on such projects, but there is learning in each project.”

India accounted for 5 per cent of TCS’ revenue in financial year 2020-21 (FY21), other than the public sector small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are a big focus. “SMEs have been a huge focus of TCS in India and this segment is going to grow. But to be successful in India pricing has to be correct. In that context, we have seen the subscription model catching up in a big way,” said Ujjwal Mathur, vice-president and country head – India Business, TCS.

TCS has been saying that because project-driven market revenue from the region has been cyclical it is a portfolio of projects. “The Indian business is a portfolio of projects, rather than a portfolio of accounts. And once a project comes to an end, the business also comes to an end, and you need to rebid,” said Mathur.

Batla says working on large projects has its advantages as it can easily be replicated in other geographies. “What you build in India can be replicated across the globe, the build-up of skills that happen due to these large projects can be taken global. Working on these projects has been a learning for TCS,” said Batla. Business Standard