TCS, IT industry's flag bearer

Last week, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) crossed the psychological milestone of $100 billion in market capitalisation, becoming the most valuable company in India. It also entered an elite corporate club and is ranked 64th in the world. Its market cap is more than the GDP of 128 countries, and only 65 countries have a GDP higher than the company. It is equal to one-third of India’s budget expenditure for the current year and more than this year’s defence spending of India and Japan put together. These figures give an idea of the company’s achievement, which should be a matter of pride for the country. A country is also known by the companies it has, at least in corporate and financial circles. TCS also has a great legacy, being from the Tata stable, and it has steadily forged ahead of its older siblings ever since it was incorporated and listed in the stock exchanges.

The half-century of TCS is the story of India’s information technology and software industry, which has been a dominant business theme of the world in the last few decades. It has beaten its rivals in the country, some of whom are also among the best in the business, with the right strategies, dynamism, steady and hard work and an efficient and committed leadership. Standards of excellence are more or less the same for all top-rated IT companies, but TCS had something extra which helped it to grow at a scorching pace in the last few decades. The outsourcing industry in India has often been ridiculed for the low-level work it has done and is still doing. But it has had a historic role in the world of international business and industry and in India’s economy. It made the best use of the opportunities that the world presented and turned out to be a major provider of jobs, creating them in tens of thousands every year. No other industry in the country has had the economic and social impact that the IT industry had, and no other industry did as much for individual empowerment as it did. TCS has led others in all this.

The industry is facing challenges with rising competition, changes in technology, unfavourable rules, business practices and policies being advocated in the US and elsewhere. India’s IT firms have to adopt new strategies and evolve and develop in newer ways to stay relevant and thrive in the changing environment. They have proved in the past that they are capable of adapting well and successfully to new situations. The record of growth achieved by TCS is proof of that.