Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values
Documents the evolution of Infosys Technologies, from its humble beginnings in 1981 to its position in 2004 as one of the most admired companies in India, with revenues exceeding $1 billion, profits of $270 million (CAGR in revenues and profits of approximately 60% over the past 10 years), and a workforce of more than 25,000 employees.
Swot Analysis of "Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values" written by Rama Velamuri, Jordan Mitchell includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Infosys Intellect facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Globalization, Operations management and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values casestudy better are - – wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing transportation and logistics costs, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
increasing commodity prices, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Infosys Intellect, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Infosys Intellect 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 Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Infosys Intellect
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Infosys Intellect
Strengths Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Infosys Intellect in Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values Harvard Business Review case study are -
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Infosys Intellect digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Infosys Intellect 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.
Learning organization
- Infosys Intellect 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 Intellect is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Infosys Intellect 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 Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Infosys Intellect is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Diverse revenue streams
– Infosys Intellect is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values 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.
Training and development
– Infosys Intellect has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values 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.
Innovation driven organization
– Infosys Intellect is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Analytics focus
– Infosys Intellect 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 Rama Velamuri, Jordan Mitchell 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.
Strong track record of project management
– Infosys Intellect is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Infosys Intellect has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Infosys Intellect has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values 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.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Infosys Intellect 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 Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values are -
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values 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 Intellect 's lucrative customers.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values, it seems that the employees of Infosys Intellect 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.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Infosys Intellect is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Infosys Intellect needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Infosys Intellect to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Need for greater diversity
– Infosys Intellect 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.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Infosys Intellect has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Lack of clear differentiation of Infosys Intellect products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Infosys Intellect needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Infosys Intellect, firm in the HBR case study Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Rama Velamuri, Jordan Mitchell suggests that, Infosys Intellect 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.
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 Intellect supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Infosys Intellect vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values HBR case study mentions - Infosys Intellect 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.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Infosys Intellect is planning to shift buying processes online.
Opportunities Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values | 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 Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values are -
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Infosys Intellect has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Infosys Intellect to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values case study. Infosys Intellect can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Manufacturing automation
– Infosys Intellect can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Infosys Intellect 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 Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Infosys Intellect to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Infosys Intellect can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Infosys Intellect to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Infosys Intellect to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
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 Intellect can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Infosys Intellect operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Infosys Intellect 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 Infosys Intellect in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People 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 Infosys Intellect can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Infosys Intellect 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 Intellect 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Infosys Intellect can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
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 Infosys Intellect 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.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Infosys Intellect is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values 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.
Threats Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values are -
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 Intellect.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Infosys Intellect 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.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Infosys Intellect in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Infosys Intellect can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Infosys Intellect 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 Intellect can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
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 Intellect with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
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. Infosys Intellect needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
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.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Infosys Intellect 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.
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 Intellect business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Regulatory challenges
– Infosys Intellect 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 Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
Increasing wage structure of Infosys Intellect
– 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 Infosys Intellect.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values 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 Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values 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 Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values 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 Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values 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 Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values 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 Intellect needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
