Wipro loses Nike’s SAP maintenance project due to delays

Wipro has lost a SAP maintenance project from Nike after it delayed implementing the business software for the sports shoe and apparel maker, two people familiar with the matter said, with one analyst pegging the deal size at between “$10 million and $40 million”.

This development comes at a time when IT services firms are increasingly pushing for annuity contracts from clients amid growth challenges in the traditional services business. “There has been almost a year’s delay in implementation of SAP software for Nike and post completion, the company (Wipro) has lost the maintenance part for the same software to a rival,” one of the persons cited above told ET. “Nike decided to discontinue the SAP maintenance work a few months ago,” he said, adding that the software services major will, however, continue servicing other technology projects for Nike. “Wipro does not comment on specific client engagements,” said the company in response to a detailed email sent by ET. An email to Nike seeking details went unanswered.

Clients have been pushing software services providers to cut costs on maintenance projects, often expecting vendors to use automation tools to improve productivity. SAP or Oracle implementation projects, at times, see changes in business requirement from clients that could result in different scope of work, analysts said.