Suresh Vaswani
Joint CEO – IT Business & Member of the Board
Wipro Ltd.
How does being in France help your business?
For a company like Wipro – supplying integrated business, technology and process solutions on a global delivery platform – France is a large under-penetrated market. It’s a market which has been open to outsourcing but which is still very limited in the context of a global delivery model. However, with the increasing need to be competitive in today’s economy, we’re seeing more and more interest in that model from French customers.
More importantly, some of the world’s biggest and best companies come from France. BNP, SocGen and Credit Agricole are amongst the best in the European banking industry. Lafarge, Total and Sanofi-Aventis are leaders within their respective industries. Helping these organizations to sharpen their competitive edge and being a strategic partner in their transformational journeys would be a source of great pride and satisfaction. Because France is a highly competitive market, what we learn there can serve as a lesson for other markets in Europe. So France is a key focus for Wipro.
What changes have you noticed in France over the past 10 years?
One of the key changes is the opening up of the economy. French companies are becoming more and more international and global. They are open to new ideas and are adapting. The work permit process has also been simplified, enabling a more globalized work ethic and culture. These changes have been very advantageous for us.
Why is France an attractive investment?
France’s biggest asset is its combination of engineering and creativity. At our center in Rennes, we have access to top talent in the fields of IT and telecoms. That mix of engineering and creativity is something which France and India have in common. They’re both cultures which are grounded in the basics of engineering: how you design a product, what new products to develop for the future, what new technologies to use, and so on. They share a common spirit of innovation through technology and a common culture of engineering. For us, that makes France a great business destination and a very big market.
Is France business-friendly?
We think France is a business-friendly economy. We would never have been able to achieve so much if it was not. You need to get an understanding of the market and the business code. You need to make strategic investments and localize your approach. The most important thing of all is winning the trust of the business community. Once you have established that, then there’s no looking back. Our experience in France has been great and we continue to build upon it.
What’s the recipe for success in France?
The main thing is building a close relationship with your customers. That means having a local base and investing in human resources who are capable of understanding your customers’ point of view and developing that relationship. Understanding your customer doesn’t just mean speaking the same language. It means understanding their business and their culture too. So the key investment is in constructing teams who can bring us closer to our customers. It’s about localizing our model to create strong customer relationships.
