Building the great Indian software brand

Indian software services companies invest a mere 1-2 percent of revenues in branding initiatives. Ergo, India Software Inc. lacks a focused approach towards branding and it’s high time we get moving aggressively on this front, says Pankaj Mishra

In his book Branding in Asia, Paul Temporal addresses a critical issue in branding software services. How do you differentiate a company from others when all it does is sell solutions, which other players are also doing? This question has been dogging India Software Inc. for more than a dozen quarters now.

The India Software Inc. brand is a result of the Y2K boom, coupled with the Indian offshore story. The brand attributes, namely cost-effectiveness and English-speaking skilled manpower, have contributed to whatever the India brand stands for. A conscious effort in branding software services started almost two years back, when most outsourcers were having a tough time differentiating one Indian company from another. As a result, Infosys, Wipro and TCS were running into each other for almost all major bids. “Branding today only means differentiating and it has become more crucial than ever,” says Sangeeta Singh, vice president corporate marketing, Wipro Technologies.

“Today, there is a need to communicate India’s potential to serve the entire spectrum of IT requirements from outsourcing to consulting to markets across the globe. Nasscom’s global communications effort will also aim to address any concerns that the industry and governments in foreign markets may have and attract more technology investments to India,” says Kiran Karnik, president of Nasscom.

Branding means differentiating, and this has become more crucial than ever, says Sangeeta Singh

Challenges
The biggest challenge for India Software Inc. remains a synergy between the ‘umbrella India brand’ and various players who have different attributes and positioning. While Nasscom has to play an instrumental role in finding this synergy, it will have to shed its ‘Big Boys club’ image in order to do so.

The recent emergence of an anti-offshoring lobby in the US also poses a threat to the India Software Inc. brand. Nasscom has hired a PR agency in the US for creating awareness about the benefits of offshore outsourcing. New Jersey is already in the process of passing a law that will prevent offshore outsourcing of government work to India. Reports also suggest that even the state of Washington is mulling a similar law with broader implications.

And then there’s the China challenge, which keeps cropping up whenever one starts talking about challenges. “China is a serious threat to India’s cost-effective proposition in the long term, if not immediately. Promoting India as an offshore destination, especially with the emergence of China, remains a daunting task,” says Srinivas Uppaluri, general manager marketing, Infosys Technologies. He adds that sustaining a conducive political environment and infrastructural issues also pose a serious threat to the India Software Inc. brand.

Aligning smaller Tier 2 and Tier 3 players with the mainstream India brand (promoted by Nasscom) is another big challenge towards establishing the country brand. Their processes will have to be in line with the brand characteristics already established by large Tier 1 players.

Tier 1 branding
Credibility and global delivery are two important attributes established by Tier 1 players over the last few years. TCS is perhaps one of the pioneers in global offshore outsourcing and has spearheaded the Indian offshore story for at least a decade. Then came the likes of Wipro and Infosys, who shared the pie with TCS. Those were the good old Y2K days when the demand-supply equation favoured Indian vendors, and credibility [of a vendor] was never high on an outsourcer’s mind.

But things have changed drastically in the post-Y2K scenario. “Outsourcers are now looking at credibility while making a choice between vendors. The brand attributes of India Software Inc. today are excellence in global delivery and a solution orientation,” says Uppaluri of Infosys.

Many successful technology services brands worldwide have leveraged mergers and acquisitions as a powerful tool to gain mind share for addressing new markets. For instance, IBM’s acquisition of PwC Consulting has imparted Big Blue’s services business an enviable consulting brand. When consulting firms like Razorfish and Sapient were begging to be acquired, many analysts believed that some of the large Indian companies could gain by acquiring them. However, none of them did so, though a few approached Sapient, exploring the acquisition opportunity. “M&A gives a different twist to branding, and it definitely is an effective branding strategy,” says Singh of Wipro.

Moving up the value chain by building consulting expertise can also help in value positioning. The last few quarters have seen many Indian companies stressing upon their consulting expertise in their brand communication.

Tier 1 players have also started partnering with various business schools like Wharton and Berkeley University. Infosys has an award programme with Wharton, while Wipro’s Vivek Paul delivers lectures at various international business schools. These industry-academia partnerships have helped Tier 1 firms build their respective brands.

Tier 2 branding—Can NASSCOM help?
Whenever a large outsourcer looks at India, one filtering criterion is vendor size. Recently, a Tier 2 firm based in Bangalore lost business because the outsourcer overlooked vendors having a turnover of less than $100 million. The only way a Tier 2 or Tier 3 firm can compete effectively is through niche expertise. “Small players have no choice but to focus on niche markets. We cannot compete on cost as we lack scale,” admits Prashanth Prakash, CEO of NetKraft. Nasscom, according to him, lacks an effective policy to address the smaller players, especially when it comes to branding issues. “India Software Inc. is not only about the top firms, it should also include players like us. Nasscom has definitely failed to address this issue so far,” he adds.
“Nasscom has to be more proactive in streamlining smaller players towards the India Software Inc. brand. It has to help these companies identify their core competencies,” adds Jayesh Chakravarty, head-India and APAC, Mindtree Consulting. Nasscom should also encourage smaller players to interact with established players like Wipro and Infosys. Apart from exploring sub-contracting opportunities, this initiative would lead to a uniform brand communication for India Software Inc.

The Big Five
As India Software Inc. still struggles to formulate a branding strategy, it may be worthwhile to study the evolution of brands like Accenture, EDS, CSC and IBM Global Services. While IBM Global Services’ branding emerged out of its entrenched hardware brands, consulting firms like Accenture banked on their auditing brands.

Moreover, these companies have built a truly global image by hiring professionals from local markets. “It is not about opening a satellite office and hiring a country representative. There has to be a serious presence in overseas markets for imparting a global image,” says Chakravarty.

Besides, companies like Accenture move very closely with the industry. Their practice groups have evolved after years of understanding and empathy with clients. For instance, whenever an Indian company bags a project in a specific vertical (say banking), it becomes a practice group. The global giants, on the contrary, participate in industry forums, gain expertise in vertical processes, and then name a practice group.

Relationship marketing also holds the key to branding initiatives at giants like Accenture, EDS and IBM Global Services. “Companies like Accenture make inroads through ‘board level’ contacts,” explains Uppaluri.

Building Brand India
A strong country brand helps companies that operate in it. Over time, a strong country brand equity also helps retain market share and command price premiums. According to a Nasscom-McKinsey report, building a strong country brand includes a distinctive and credible proposition that is consistent with the brand, aggressive and targeted communication and consistent, aligned execution.

“One of the major objectives of our global communications campaign is to communicate the business value and competitive edge that Indian IT vendors are offering to global enterprises in a tough market environment. Nasscom has formed a core committee within the Executive Council, which will spearhead activities in the campaign,” says Arun Kumar, chairman of Nasscom. However, Chakravarti of Mindtree feels that Nasscom should not act as a ‘super advertising agency’ for India Software Inc. and suggests that Nasscom and the software services industry will be better off by focusing more on Tier 2 firms and helping them.

Building a country brand in software has never been attempted by any nation so far. The CII recently talked about its plans for branding India with a punchline—Served from India. The apex body is already designing a logo and an application for a copyright has been filed. But this has to be a combined effort, along with Nasscom and its members, both large and small ones. This streamlined approach of the associations is important before the campaign hits the overseas markets.