Vishal Sikka’s biggest challenge would be to have a smooth transition and bring Infosys into bellwether status: R Chandrashekhar, NASSCOM

In an interview with ET Now, NASSCOM President R Chandrashekhar speaks on the latest developments in Infosys. Excerpts:

ET Now: Vishal Sikka is now heading Infosys. Would you say it is a good choice?

R Chandrashekhar: Certainly. We in fact congratulate Mr. Sikka and Infosys on having got this search process to a close. It is a very good development and we would look forward to working with him and with Infosys.

ET Now: A radical change may or may not work sometimes. Why do you think this is a good development?

R Chandrashekhar: The fact that this search process, which has been talked about for such a long time, has come to a close and that, a person with the credentials of Mr. Sikka has been appointed is by itself a good development.

ET Now: What would be Mr. Sikka’s biggest challenge at Infosys right now?

R Chandrashekhar: To have a smooth transition and to bring Infosys into the bellwether status that it has always enjoyed will be a challenge. This is something that we would certainly want to see and we would be positive in working with Mr. Sikka and Infosys on that.

ET Now: Coming from a SAP background, which is more like a product company, will Mr. Sikka, who will be spearheading an IT services company, be faced with a very difficult task?

R Chandrashekhar: This whole distinction between a pure services company and a pure product company is getting blurred with the increasing demand from customer overseas. So the need is to not just look at this from the point of view of services and products, but the whole ecosystem and see how the Indian industry can actually deliver that business value and the innovation the clients are demanding. A broad view would certainly be of help to him in that context.