Exclusive: TCS Will Double in Size in Latin America in Next Three Years

In an interview with Nearshore Americas following the opening ceremony for TCS’ newest Global Delivery Center, in Queretaro, Mexico, Ankur Prakash, VP and chief operating officer of TCS Latin America, revealed that the company plans to generate $1 billion a year and employ more than 20,000 people by 2016 in the region. The company employs about 9,000 people today in seven Latin America countries.

Prakash said the company’s growth is “very closely linked with the satisfaction and growth of workers. We have been very strategic in insuring that we deliver to our customers with certainty.”  He said that explains why TCS targets only a short list of prospective clients and limits its focus to serving their needs.

“We understand and appreciate that we will have will have to deliver the best in class to each and every customer… and by doing that we cannot be talking to every single company in the world,” said Prakash.  “We have to insure that we give the best in class to every single customer and every single project. That is the only sure way to success. There are no shortcuts. There is no way you can have a plethora of customers and plethora of companies and you can serve them equally well.”

This selective strategy differentiates TCS from other companies that spread their nets wider. “We have to choose, and tradeoffs have been in place and the list that we have generated in customers has been impressive,” he said.  “They are all leaders in their industries and sectors.”

Prakash said the company will continue to provide basic IT services like applications development and maintenance, service desk and support, but the company is expanding its offerings to include new infrastructure services, BPO, KPO (knowledge process outsourcing) and “important new services like mobility and Big Data.”

The establishment of TCS operations in Uruguay about ten years ago was the first in a series of openings in various LatAm markets that put TCS on the map as the first major tier one global player to commit to the region.

The key to successful growth, he said, was “being very close to the customer, ensuring that we speak the same language in terms of industry understanding not only in terms of specific language English or Spanish. And we ensure that we keep up the hunger we have created to serve the customer even better.”

Today’s customer, according to Prakash, wants ever more from their vendors. “In today’s world, people and companies want to do more than this. That is the mantra. So if you have to go and achieve that on a sequential basis and on a sustainable basis, the only way to do that is focus and be very close to the customer.”