For us, recession is an opportunity: Dell CIO
Robin Johnson, the CIO of Dell, says that his company drives over one-third of its $500-600 million IT application budget out of India. Dell spends over $1 billion every year on IT.
By Pankaj Mishra, ET Bureau |
BANGALORE: Dell, the world���s second-biggest computer maker, is increasingly looking at over 1,200 professionals at its Indian centres to not only support the company���s critical business systems globally, but also help Dell identify and address newer business opportunities. Robin Johnson, the CIO of Dell, says that his company drives over one-third of its $500-600 million IT application budget out of India. Dell spends over $1 billion every year on IT. Excerpts.
Has the recession affected your long-term IT-led programmes? What has been the impact on your budget?
We have seen few recessions in the past, but I do not think anybody has seen anything like this before ��� the expectation levels about ���what is growth��� have been reset. We have also taken a number of cost-saving measures, but for us, this recession is an opportunity.
This is a great opportunity for us to rationalise our application base ��� we have already reduced the number of applications by a quarter last year, and will carry a similar exercise this year too. We spend over $1 billion on IT and almost half of this is spent on applications.
How has India contributed to Dell���s IT programmes?
India is at the front and centre of whatever activities we are doing and are planning for the future. One-third of our global IT workforce is here, and our teams here have been making significant contributions. For instance, our teams in Bangalore and Hyderabad contributed almost 80-90% of application work in the areas of sales, manufacturing and services.
Last year, the B2B projects saw 100% work being done out of the country. Increasingly, I am looking for knowledge about the marketplace here. I look at India as a thought leader of what products and services we should be delivering.
Many enterprises are looking at their technology captives as non-core assets and are selling them off. What are your views?
These days, we find many discussions around whether captives work or not. I feel differently ��� this argument about whether to have captives is relevant if you do not have a commercial operation in India. For us, India is a big market and a very important base for our IT operations.
What are the parameters for any new technology investment decision taken by you at Dell?
I start by asking what���s relevant for us as a business, is it a fit and whether the solution will be better and faster than what we have currently. And, if the answer is neither of the above, then I would like to know if it���s a better idea for our business to pursue. It���s very important to spend a lot of time in understanding business roadmap.
Has the recession affected your long-term IT-led programmes? What has been the impact on your budget?
We have seen few recessions in the past, but I do not think anybody has seen anything like this before ��� the expectation levels about ���what is growth��� have been reset. We have also taken a number of cost-saving measures, but for us, this recession is an opportunity.
This is a great opportunity for us to rationalise our application base ��� we have already reduced the number of applications by a quarter last year, and will carry a similar exercise this year too. We spend over $1 billion on IT and almost half of this is spent on applications.
How has India contributed to Dell���s IT programmes?
India is at the front and centre of whatever activities we are doing and are planning for the future. One-third of our global IT workforce is here, and our teams here have been making significant contributions. For instance, our teams in Bangalore and Hyderabad contributed almost 80-90% of application work in the areas of sales, manufacturing and services.
ADVERTISEMENT
Last year, the B2B projects saw 100% work being done out of the country. Increasingly, I am looking for knowledge about the marketplace here. I look at India as a thought leader of what products and services we should be delivering.
Many enterprises are looking at their technology captives as non-core assets and are selling them off. What are your views?
These days, we find many discussions around whether captives work or not. I feel differently ��� this argument about whether to have captives is relevant if you do not have a commercial operation in India. For us, India is a big market and a very important base for our IT operations.
What are the parameters for any new technology investment decision taken by you at Dell?
ADVERTISEMENT
I start by asking what���s relevant for us as a business, is it a fit and whether the solution will be better and faster than what we have currently. And, if the answer is neither of the above, then I would like to know if it���s a better idea for our business to pursue. It���s very important to spend a lot of time in understanding business roadmap.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
