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I am very happy to be with you for the TechForum. It has been a very important annual event for us in Wipro for the last four years. Each year, it has grown from strength to strength and the ideas generated during the TechForum have added tremendous value to our Customers. I am happy that the TechForum is happening within the Wipro Campus this year than in hotels outside. I am sure it gives more people a chance to participate in this and share the excitement and reflect the new culture of frugality.

We are all honored by the presence of Bharataratna, Dr. Abdul Kalam amongst us. Dr. Abdul Kalam, apart from being an eminent scholar, scientist and leader is one of the most important architects of modern India. In his inspiring Vision of India in 2020, Dr. Kalam sees a pivotal role for technology in taking India to the forefront of developed nations. Dr. Kalam has shown us the way to ensure that what the mind can conceive, it can achieve. I welcome Dr. Kalam to TechForum.

Last year has been one of major learning for all technical and business people. The exuberance of late 1990’s has given to pragmatism. IT and Technology were considered panacea for all business problems. Some time back McKinsey has done very interesting study on the return of investments from IT investments in various industries. The data shows that not everyone has benefited equally.

So, as a consulting company for both CIOs and CTOs, our appreciation of what the IT and technology investments do for the enterprise is very crucial. For that, we must think one step ahead. We must think of our Customers’ Customers. We also need to ask ourselves what value we offer to our Customers and how does that help them in adding value to their Customers. In addition to delivering what the Customer asks, we must think what returns our projects are giving to our Customer. Cost has become increasingly important.

In the next few days, I am sure you who are right in the midst of the technological changes will have detailed discussions on how to successfully meet the challenges posed by them. For my part, I see at least two technology and business aspects that will have a major impact on us in future and could be significant game changers for our business. The first is the next generation of Internet driven by Web Services. I see enormous opportunity around it. If the first generation of Internet enabled seamless sharing of data by all, the Web Services will enable seamless application integration, so that the computer programs can work among themselves with no human intervention and with great ease.

The second important game changer I want you to keep in mind is China. I am not talking about China as a competitor but, instead, as an important user of technology. Intel has recently announced that China has exceeded Japan as its bigger market. The US continues to remain No. 1. That makes China the No. 2 country for Intel. Given that our services are needed by all technology producing and using countries, we need to look at China differently. The technology verticals like Telecom, Embedded and TISP should look at China closely.

Let me also touch upon Innovation. We have made fairly good progress in the Innovation initiatives. We have launched a number of themes around which Innovation projects are being taken up. I am happy to see the success we have achieved in Home Networking area. My congratulations to the team that worked on them. I think, in Innovation Process, we have a good framework to analyse in which projects we should invest. Innovation is after all, applied creativity, applied to the needs of our Customers. Customer-led or market-led focus is very valuable and can be used by many more. I urge many more to adopt the Innovation process much more widely.

Finally, I had a look at the exhibits shown in the TechForum. I am impressed by the number of Technology IPs our teams has created. Hopefully, this is just an indication of what more can be done.

Speech By Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro Limited At The Inauguration Of Wipro Techforum 2002 In Bangalore On March 7, 2002

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