Satyam will take two years to compete against TCS, Infy & Cognizant: CEO

HYDERABAD: Beleaguered Satyam Computer, which was taken over by the Mahindras a year ago and renamed as Mahindra Satyam, is still facing major operational challenges, said CEO CP Gurnani. He said the company will take two more years to rejoin the race against erstwhile peers TCS, Infosys and Cognizant. “At the time of acquisition, we had presented a three-year transformation plan. The company still needs another two years to level out on some scorecards. It has been structurally reorganised to reduce the management layers between the CEO and a trainee engineer from 14 to seven. These changes have happened for transparency, collaboration among teams and for better customer centricity,” he said. Mahindra Group vice-chairman Anand Mahindra and Tech Mahindra CEO Vineet Nayyar, along with corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid, flew down to Hyderabad on Monday to mark the first anniversary of Satyam’s takeover by the Mahindras. The toughest challenge facing Mahindra Satyam is attrition. Analysts say while the industry average attrition is 13-14%, the company’s attrition rate could be higher at 30%. While there has been some client issues, the firm said it has been able to retain almost all customers post takeover. Mahindra Satyam is, however, hopeful of meeting the financial restatement deadline, slated for June-end. “There are other aspects related to the recovery of Mahindra Satyam that we have to tackle with either our law or that of another country. Whatever could be constructively done, and in collaboration with whichever wing of the government, has been done. We are trying to ensure things can move fast,” said Union corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid. Anand Mahindra is more bullish. “I don’t see any reason why we should not aim for the top. We started with a handicap. While we were working on recovering ground, people were building their companies. But we also have a secret weapon that is the mission orientation of people at Mahindra Satyam.” Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra group, Anand Mahindra said Mahindra Satyam can be in No.1 position if the support and cooperation of employees continues in the same way. "Nobody is going to dispute the fact that why we should not be able to become number one. First, we started with a handicap, we came out of the crisis with a secret weapon, which is mission orientation of Mahindra Satyam," Mahindra said. Praising showers on employees, he described them as unsung heroes as they stuck to the company even when it was sailing in rough weathers. The Mahindra Satyam SEZ, which is spread across in 26 acres, will have 4,00,000 sq ft built up area. the first phase of the campus will be ready for occupation in six months and will have seating capacity of 5,000 employees

Sources: Economictimes