January 9, 2008

Day Five: Wipro & Infosys
I woke to the automated wake-up call at 5:30 and prepared for the busy morning of checking emails and suiting up before our 6:45 departure. While the roads were reported to be abysmal, we arrived at Wipro an hour early. Small dwellings and dusty shops lined the road before we turned into a compound of well-appointed two-story buildings. A new office was being built to house an additional 8,000 employees. We waited in line to have our pictures taken for name badges and were questioned about our electronics: apparently laptops are a big no-no given the confidential nature of their client work. The presentation by Sailesh Menezez, Sr. Manager, covered the history and outlook of the Indian economy as well as the Wipro story. I took copious notes of the fascinating presenation and interaction. We were treated to coffee and snacks prior to departure. The stark contrast of the Wipro campus and the free-roaming pigs, cows, and dogs outside reminded me where I was. A transcript of the Wipro Technologies interaction is found here.

Driving to Infosys we passed beautiful and expansive offices of Intel, Accenture, AOL, CapGemini, Northern Trust, and Intuit, neighbored by tin roof huts, piles of rocks, and partially completed construction. This came as a surprise to me. When I had heard that "Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of India," I had expected to see the entire city planned and orderly. While the air seemed fresher, the lights seemed brighter, and many people were very well-dressed, there remained the poverty, pollution issues, and infrastructure challenges we had seen in Mumbai.
Driving into Electronics City, the home of Infosys, HP, and other big names, fit my predilection closely. The campus itself was unbelievable, with too many buildings to count spread over 80 acres. I found out later that this is one of their smaller campuses; Mysore has 350 acres! A classmate described the entire image as "sleek," with which I would agree. Everything from the tight security, electronic carts and bicycles for cross-campus travel, and spectacular appointments of the auditorium to the timely scheduling of each interaction developed the image that these guys really have it together. Notes from the Infosys interaction are found here.

From my cultural interactions, it has been fascinating to learn how inefficient a lot of processes are. For example, at a government store with several small sections that I went to yesterday, I bought a small item and the particular counter gave me two receipts. I took them downstairs to the counter where you pay and stood in line for a couple minutes. After I paid, I took the stamped receipt and stood in another line to pick up what I paid for. Could you get any more convoluted? Another example: I wanted to buy a cup of coffee from a coffee shop. No one was at the counter when I walked in, although five employees shuffled around preparing specialty drinks. Another guy walked in behind me and held up some money. I did the same and made sure I was waited on first. They took my order: a cup of black coffee. They told me to sit down and wait. I refrained from shouting, "just give me my coffee," as I so badly wanted to. About three minutes later they gave it to me. My first thought was that they should constantly be making coffee and be ready to get me out the door immediately. My second response was that I am incredibly impatient given that only 5 minutes had elapsed.

While I am learning a lot about the global economy, international business, and business in India, I still do not understand how the average middle class Indian lives. We are staying in excellent hotels, we see run-down apartment buildings and shacks. Where would our hosts shop for groceries? Where do they dine? What creature comforts do they have? I will post this when I learn.