HCL Technologies identifies new geographical areas for growth

HCL Technologies is looking at North Asia, Central America, Eastern Europe and Africa as the new geographies for the future. In a media briefing held in Mumbai, the company’s Chairperson, Roshni Nadar Malhotra said the plan was to grow in these regions, in addition to where the company already has an existing play.

The pandemic has resulted in a huge upside for Indian IT companies with digital being a big area of focus. According to her, the period, while being challenging, sees a demand environment that is robust. HCL Technologies closed FY22 with a revenue of $11.48 billion, an increase of 12.8 per cent, while net profit of $1.8 billion or up 4.3 per cent. The EBITDA margin stood at 24 per cent for the fiscal.

On the rationale for looking at the said geographies, the company’s CEO, C Vijayakumar told Business Today that “HCL Technologies had a decent presence in a market like South Africa and it was time to captalise on that to take it to the next phase.” The global IT spend, he pointed out, has a scenario where 85 per cent of the money is with 15 per cent of the companies. “There is a need to capture any significant addressable market. We are already big in those like US, UK and Australia.”

On the opportunities in central America, Vijayakumar explained that customers have leveraged the global delivery model in Indian and eastern Europe. “The next stop is central America and we need to be there. Likewise, Mexico is another market and offers an advantage because of its proximity to the US,” he said.

Based on conversations with its clients, Malhotra pointed out that the feedback was very clear. “It has been about accelerating the digital transformation program. A big concern is how to source the right talent,” she said. On what makes HCL Technologies different, her view was that the company “was diverse, possessed expertise in key areas such as cloud, digital and engineering, which are serious barriers to entry for competition.” BusinessToday