Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Sales & Marketing
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding
Information technologies outsourcing is one of the emergent fast-growth industries in the global high-tech economy. India is the leading country for IT outsourcing and Infosys is the largest Indian company in this sector. The branding challenge for Infosys is to leverage its reputation for predictable excellent results for IT outsourcing. Management identified overall company top-line revenue growth as a way to achieve 30%-40% annual increases, but allocated only a negligible budget for marketing communications. The key to the global brand strategy would not be through brand image advertising, but through communications of product strategy developments to large global IT outsourcing companies. The goal for Infosys is to be on the shortlist of providers for the large, most sophisticated for IT services assignments.
Authors :: Jeff Saperstein, Padmini Murty, Viren Desai
Swot Analysis of "Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding" written by Jeff Saperstein, Padmini Murty, Viren Desai includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Infosys Outsourcing facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Competitive strategy, IT, Operations management and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, there is backlash against globalization, increasing energy prices, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, geopolitical disruptions,
increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Infosys Outsourcing, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Infosys Outsourcing operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Infosys Outsourcing
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Infosys Outsourcing
Strengths Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Infosys Outsourcing in Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding Harvard Business Review case study are -
High brand equity
– Infosys Outsourcing has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Infosys Outsourcing to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Learning organization
- Infosys Outsourcing is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Infosys Outsourcing is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Infosys Outsourcing in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Infosys Outsourcing to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Infosys Outsourcing to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Infosys Outsourcing has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Training and development
– Infosys Outsourcing has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Infosys Outsourcing in the sector have low bargaining power. Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Infosys Outsourcing to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Organizational Resilience of Infosys Outsourcing
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Infosys Outsourcing does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Infosys Outsourcing digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Infosys Outsourcing has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Infosys Outsourcing are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Infosys Outsourcing is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Weaknesses Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding are -
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Infosys Outsourcing has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Infosys Outsourcing has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Infosys Outsourcing supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Infosys Outsourcing vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Infosys Outsourcing has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Infosys Outsourcing is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Infosys Outsourcing 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding, it seems that the employees of Infosys Outsourcing don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Infosys Outsourcing has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding, in the dynamic environment Infosys Outsourcing has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Infosys Outsourcing has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Need for greater diversity
– Infosys Outsourcing has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
Opportunities Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding are -
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Infosys Outsourcing is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Infosys Outsourcing can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Sales & Marketing segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Infosys Outsourcing can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Infosys Outsourcing operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Infosys Outsourcing in the consumer business. Now Infosys Outsourcing can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Infosys Outsourcing can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Infosys Outsourcing can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Infosys Outsourcing can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Infosys Outsourcing to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Infosys Outsourcing can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Infosys Outsourcing has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Infosys Outsourcing to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding case study. Infosys Outsourcing can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Infosys Outsourcing can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Infosys Outsourcing can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Buying journey improvements
– Infosys Outsourcing can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Infosys Outsourcing to increase its market reach. Infosys Outsourcing will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Threats Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding are -
Environmental challenges
– Infosys Outsourcing needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Infosys Outsourcing can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Infosys Outsourcing business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Infosys Outsourcing will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Infosys Outsourcing has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Infosys Outsourcing needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Infosys Outsourcing.
Regulatory challenges
– Infosys Outsourcing needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Sales & Marketing industry regulations.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Infosys Outsourcing is facing in Sales & Marketing sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Infosys Outsourcing can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding .
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Infosys Outsourcing high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Infosys Outsourcing can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Infosys Outsourcing with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Infosys: The Challenge of Global Branding is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Infosys Outsourcing needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
