Infosys, which has been featured 34^th in Wired magazine's list, is one of the 40 companies that are reshaping world economy

Mumbai: On the back of a 41-per cent increase in income from overseas projects in the first quarter ended June 2003, Infosys Technologies (www.infosys.com) has now another reason to cheer.

A world leader in consulting and IT services, Infosys has been included in Wired magazine's 'Wired 40: Companies Reshaping the Global Economy' list. It is the first and only Indian company to make it to this prestigious position. The ranking appears in the magazine's July 2003 issue.

Says Arun Jethmalani, the CEO of Value Notes (www.valuenotes.com), an independent research firm: "Infosys' success has been based on the fact that it has been able to implement and execute on a vision." Quite true. When Infosys chief mentor N R Narayanamurthy and his colleagues started their business, they had more than making a livelihood in their minds - they had a vision.

About the strengths of Infosys, Jethmalani says: "The company's basic strengths lies in [putting in place] extremely strong processes, covering every aspect of its business; not just software development, but marketing, public relations, image building and management, and human resources."

The company, certainly, has struck the right balance in all its diverse functions - a difficult proposition for many startups. About the lessons aspiring Indian entrepreneurs can learn from the precedent set by Infosys, Jethmalani says: "The cue Infosys offers is that it is possible to create high-quality, globally-respected businesses in India. And, secondly, you no longer need to be born into a business family to become a successful entrepreneur."

ESOPs and health clubs
Ranked 34th in an august list that includes Google, Nokia and Yahoo in the first, second and third positions, the write-up for Infosys mentions the company as a representative of the migration of high-salary technology jobs from the US and Europe to the low-cost destinations of Asia. This movement has augmented Infosys' income 14 times over the past five years, due mainly to customers like Boeing, Dell, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Visa.

The magazine also mentions that while competitors are expanding into call centres and circuit design, Infosys is marketing consulting services and software that caters to everything from banking to inventory management. The company, the write-up adds, has even imported US perquisites such as employee stock option plans (ESOPs) and onsite health clubs.

Out of the original 40 companies listed this year, only 10 reappear from the last year's list. The technology boom and the dotcom bust have taken a heavy toll on the high-flyers who made it to the first list. This year there are 13 new entrants, out of which Infosys is one. In its preface the article says the original intention was to feature companies driven by innovative thinking, not marketing brawn.

The first three in the list are:
Google: Developed by founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google's algorithms define simplicity: They rank a page's importance according to how many others link to it, presenting a understandable list of results.

Nokia: Of the 1.1-billion cellphone users in the world, nearly two in five have Nokia handsets. That's the largest market share in the business. Even Samsung and Microsoft want a share.

Yahoo!: With years of losses behind it, Yahoo!'s revenue is increasing nearly 50 per cent per year. Even the most ordinary ideas seem to work. Sponsored links implanted on search pages, employment ads, personals - all these are gaining by 30 per cent or more in annual revenue.