Business restructuring underway at Persistent Systems

PUNE: Mid-size technology firm Persistent Systems is in the middle of a restructuring process under new CEO Chris O’Connor who took charge in April this year. “The first quarter was focused on meeting people and understanding the pinch points, and now the second quarter has been about releasing that pressure,” said O’Connor.

The company has adopted a solution-oriented approach to working with clients which has resulted in an increase in deal sizes. “We are looking at the creation of total revenue, not just reseller or organic or IP-led revenue. All of this comes together as a solutions-led discussion with clients, which could be around software implementation with business partners to integrating it with business processes,” said O’Connor, an IBM veteran. “We are creating a revenue stack with clients which would be a growth and margin benefit mechanism for us and a differentiator in partner relationships and how we attack.”

Alongside, there is a thrust on getting role alignment correct internally and amplifying the brand.

“We’ve been working at building and deconstructing at the same time as we redefine jobs and capabilities,” said O’Connor.

Sandeep Kalra, who joined the firm six months ago as president-technology services has been tasked with increasing deal sizes as well as mining existing accounts. “We have seen an expansion in the top 10 accounts. We are now organised by verticals and horizontal service lines and are offering multiple service lines to the same customer from just one or two earlier,” said Kalra.

The company now maps a client’s overall IT spends against its own portfolio to determine what the other areas are where it can contribute, he said.

Revenue contribution from the top 10 clients increased to 53.4% in the quarter to September from 50.2% a year ago. The contribution of the top 5 accounts increased to 44.3% from 40% during this period.