Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
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Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India?
"In August 2010, Phaneesh Murthy, chief executive officer (CEO), iGATE Global Solutions (iGATE), was on a flight to India. He was reflecting on the strategic options before him of late, with regard to the future of iGATE. The options were two-fold. Should iGATE continue to focus on its traditional markets of Americas and the European Union (EU), or should it change track to focus on India? The U.S. and the EU markets had been growing at less than four per cent since 2008, and this would likely continue until 2013. However, iGATE had developed a product tailored to the specific needs of customers in the developed world who were facing economic downturn. Known as iTOPS, it was showing the promise of adding to both the top line and bottom line of iGATE. The IT-enabled services market in India was growing at an average of 14.5 per cent for the period of 2008-2013. The promise of top line growth had drawn many global BPO companies to India. iGATE would be just another player in India with plain vanilla offerings and without any differentiation. The domestic market was competitive. The commoditization of its BPO products and services had, of course, opened up an opportunity to develop a product tailored to Indian needs but iGATE had no such offering in the pipeline. It is in this context that Murthy wondered what strategy he should pursue: iTOPS or India?"
Swot Analysis of "Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India?" written by Hari Bapuji, Balaji Koka includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Igate Itops facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Emerging markets, Growth strategy, IT and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? casestudy better are - – geopolitical disruptions, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, technology disruption, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India?
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Igate Itops, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Igate Itops 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 Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Igate Itops
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Igate Itops
Strengths Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Igate Itops in Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? Harvard Business Review case study are -
Ability to recruit top talent
– Igate Itops is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Igate Itops to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Igate Itops to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Igate Itops has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Diverse revenue streams
– Igate Itops is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? 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.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Igate Itops in the sector have low bargaining power. Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Igate Itops to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Igate Itops has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Igate Itops 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Igate Itops is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Igate Itops is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Igate Itops in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Analytics focus
– Igate Itops is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Hari Bapuji, Balaji Koka can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Digital Transformation in Strategy & Execution segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Igate Itops digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Igate Itops 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.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? 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 Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? HBR case study mentions - Igate Itops takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Hari Bapuji, Balaji Koka suggests that, Igate Itops is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Igate Itops needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India?, in the dynamic environment Igate Itops has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Igate Itops has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Igate Itops 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.
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 Igate Itops supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India?, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Igate Itops vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? 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 Igate Itops 's lucrative customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Igate Itops, firm in the HBR case study Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Igate Itops is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India?, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Strategy & Execution 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.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Igate Itops has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Igate Itops even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Opportunities Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? | 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 Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Strategy & Execution industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Igate Itops can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Igate Itops has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Igate Itops to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? case study. Igate Itops can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Loyalty marketing
– Igate Itops has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Igate Itops can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Igate Itops 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. Igate Itops 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.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Igate Itops to increase its market reach. Igate Itops 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.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Igate Itops 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Igate Itops has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Igate Itops to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
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 Igate Itops in the consumer business. Now Igate Itops can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Igate Itops to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Igate Itops 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.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Igate Itops in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Igate Itops can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Threats Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? are -
Consumer confidence and its impact on Igate Itops demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
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. Igate Itops 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.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Igate Itops 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 Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? .
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 Igate Itops with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Igate Itops in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Igate Itops is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
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 Igate Itops business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Igate Itops can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Increasing wage structure of Igate Itops
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Igate Itops.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Igate Itops in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Igate Itops needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India?, Igate Itops may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? 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 Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? 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 Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? 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 Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? 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 Aiming for the Top: iTOPS or India? 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 Igate Itops needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
