How did a technology services organisation redefined
itself to glory?

With near flat revenues and falling profit margins, a mid-tier IT solution and services organisation needed a critical review of its sales and marketing strategy and significant transformation thereafter.

This mid-tier IT solutions and services organisation is one of the oldest IT solutions and services organisations with outsourcing proposition. While most of today’s Tier 1 players like TCS, Infosys, WIPRO, HCL and others were busy riding the Y2K boom and cost advantage volume game, it was taking unique solutions to the international markets executing critical programmes like Transport for London congestion charges. It was known to be very strong on software development and had started its journey by excelling in complex software development as against traditional application management route.

Over the recent years, it made significant investments in sales and marketing leadership in the western markets and made a number of acquisitions in the US markets. All but one of its acquisitions failed to deliver the shareholder value. When the financial meltdown of 2008 happened, this niche player had tough times like many other Indian outsourcing players. It recovered from making a loss to a profit-making organisation within two years but suffered a bit of setback in going back to its glory days. It started facing threat in its current accounts from the large players. It had strong credentials in the insurance space but could not achieve scale in the North American markets and gain new customers in its strong turf of Europe.

It was at this time that the CEO decided to make a direct intervention and commissioned us to do a strategic review of its sales and marketing operations and draw out a transformation blueprint. We engaged with the local and global leadership and the middle management and took a structured approach of analysing the organisational challenges.

An internal team was mobilised to draw out a transformation blueprint collaboratively with the middle management within a period of three months. The transformation blueprint had to deliver the business outcomes of revenue growth of 10% in four quarters from almost flat revenue growth and a 300 basis point increase in net profit margin. Key elements of the transformation blueprint included:

• Sharp Sales and Marketing Focus
• Value Proposition Based Go To Market
• Direct and Thought Leadership Based Go to Market:
• Organisation Re-design, Sales and Delivery Re-Alignment:
• Objective Performance Management and Rewards Framework

The Outcomes

One year after the blueprint was drawn-up and put into implementation, the organisation delivered significantly improved business outcomes

• The redefined organisation was recognised by the market when its market capitalisation increased by 120% against the average industry market cap growth of 25%
• Revenues grew by 11% on yearly basis against flat growth of earlier year
• Sales and marketing spend as a percentage of revenue dropped by 12%
• Net profit margin increased by 190 basis points
• A total of 16 new customers were added as against 5 of the previous year