Comments on: Why Wipro, Infosys and TCS are “Axis of Evil” for Indian startups!

By: Tuhin

Tuhin — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:09:30 +0000

Now that I no longer work for TCS, I can fearlessly say what I said earlier is right . Truly people like Raj Agrawal from IIT and other useless people like Prabhat Maharana are utter nuisance and leeches who suck the great talent pool of India in the name of platform analytics. Raj and Prabhat should be fired from TCS immediately.

By: Neha

Neha — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 18:04:13 +0000

I stumbled onto this page after trying to find out if the media reports any gaffes by the biggies…. I could find only one – the report on the Passport Seva Project….on reading the comments for the article, I realized that blogs will be the place to be… why am I doing this…. Coz I recently resigned from one of these biggies, and couldn’t stop thinking about the opportunities these companies are missing in terms of upgrading the multitudes of “talent” that they are hiring. What I realized while going through the blog and and the comments is that the blame game will never stop, coz that’s what we have been programmed to do: Something goes bad, blame luck. You have great creativity, but always face criticism coz u didn’t get straight A’s, blame the education system. You got into a crappy company, blame your placement officer. You missed the onsite bandwagon because of some nut flatterer, blame the management.
My point is…. there will always be some reason to blame. But the need to blame goes away when you realize that what you wanted couldn’t have happened in any case.
Look at it like this: Suppose, by a stroke of luck, 2 or more incredibly intelligent individuals come together, team up beautifully and come up with something that the world needed desperately, but didn’t actually know that it was in need. What do you get? The cell phone? the internet? the first irrigation system? Maybe these people fared really well after their innovations. Maybe they went bankrupt because some new disruptive technology took over (Read: open source, non-conventional energy, free email….get the gist?)

What I am trying to say is that it’s the individual’s choice whether he or she wants to grow intellectually. You cannot blame the companies for promoting the “rich dud” attitude. If you can take a firm decision to stick to your principles and not be swayed by what others say, well, congratulations. If not, then nothing. Simple as that.
If you want your startup to be successful, stop at nothing. Convince them you’re the best deal, that they won’t have to pay for maintenance. And if you and your team have to work 10 hours a day for this, and someone starts grumbling, well, maybe he/she isn’t really worth your time and money. And look at the bright side… you might have to deal with maybe one or two idiots…. the biggies have to be stuck with thousands.

By: Djbouti Das

Djbouti Das — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:31:55 +0000

@Shashank – Sorry, but you’re just ranting. Instead of competing with the likes of Infy, Wipro and TCS for talent, why not offer the talent something these big companies can’t? A more fun workplace. A vision of how these people will be part of something big.

By: Djbouti Das

Djbouti Das — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:27:49 +0000

@Pankaj – I understand that this is your opinion, but you’ll have to back it up with some sort of statistics/research. While blaming the “Indian mentality” and “change in social values” is easy, backing this up with well researched facts is a different ball game altogether.

By: mantra

mantra — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:34:28 +0000

You r happy because u got a promotion recently. The big three r not the ones who created the concept of cloud computing. if u require 3000 people to create a software that means a lot of …. crap.

Simple.
Mantra

By: nvcgit

nvcgit — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:32:31 +0000

@Rajesh:

You couldn’t have generalized it further. I am 24. I work in one of the Big Three, and we have a large team (~3000 people) that works on cutting edge product technologies. We recently ventured into Cloud Computing, and we are doing extremely high quality work. People in my team generally work for 15 hours a day, and it’s extremely satisfying.

I don’t think any start-up could have provided me this experience. Being in a big organization, allows my Team Manager to take huge risks and create a start-up like atmosphere. We also enjoy all the perks that come along in a big company. Pay is obviously competitive.

In every company, there will be examples like mine. I tried my best to not take up my current job offer because i read about articles like this one. I am the “outgoing”, “dropout”, “misfit”, “geek” type as you put it. I had offers from start up companies run by IITians that wanted to build a new facebook but were willing to pay me lesser than a govt clerk. I decided not to undersell myself and joined this big company.

I am glad I did so. To those thinking of joining these companies – work quality partly depends on luck. But if you work really hard, and put in your best, your effort will always be appreciated.

By: nvgit

nvgit — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:31:13 +0000

@Rajesh:

I am glad I did so. To those thinking of joining these companies – work quality partly depends on luck. But if you work really hard, and put in your best, your effort will always be appreciated.

By: nvgit

nvgit — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:27:49 +0000

@Rajesh:

You couldn’t have generalized it further. I work in one of the Big Three, and we have a large team (~3000 people) that works on cutting edge product technologies. We recently ventured into Cloud Computing, and we are doing extremely high quality work. People in my team generally work for 15 hours a day, and it’s extremely satisfying.

In every company, there will be examples like mine. I tried my best to not take up my current job offer. I am the “outgoing”, “dropout”, “misfit”, “geek” type as you put it. I had offers from start up companies run by IITians that wanted to build a new facebook but promised to pay me lesser than a govt clerk. I decided not to undersell myself and join this big company.

I am glad I did so.

By: Ganesh

Ganesh — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 11:00:12 +0000

What a precise piece of writing. I tend to think if these companies are anyway assisting India building its assets, which is people. They have zero innovation and the only emphasis they have is the cost affordability which will not last longer.

By: Five-ish Team Building Pitfalls Faced By Startups in India | Teknatus Solutions

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:24:43 +0000

[...] etc. or one of the Indian multinationals like Wipro, TCS, Infosys, HCL, etc. (referred to as The Axis of Evil by Vishal Gondal of IndiaGames). Startups obviously haven’t developed a brand name so [...]

By: The "Axis of Evil" | Teknatus Solutions

The "Axis of Evil" | Teknatus Solutions — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:38:38 +0000

[...] by Webmaster on August 7, 2008 Here’s a great post on Pluggd.In by Vishal Gondal of IndiaGames (and my $.02) [...]

By: jyotirmoy

jyotirmoy — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:58:34 +0000

dude china has now proven that doing products is a bigger service to the nation. open your eyes and stop talking about “fundamental economic inaccuracies”… english is not your product either. stupid.

By: jyotirmoy

jyotirmoy — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:46:57 +0000

Best post ever I guess, I read it now

By: cool

cool — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:25:32 +0000

Nice topic even our company they check and leave the employees as if we are the thieves. That was my first job and worked in MNC as one year bond was there. Now thinking to set up a company … Yet not planned…

By: Astha Bhatnagar

Astha Bhatnagar — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:05:18 +0000

I don’t agree to this at all. The so called “Outbots” can never create a billion dollar company. Companies who outsource their work to Infy/Wipro/TCS, are not stupid to pay so much for “outbots”. Every employee is an adult and have full rights and privileges to be a thought leader/innovator in his or her area of work. No one can stop him, infact that’s what is generally facilitated by any organization, in which you work , irrespective of its size.
Contradictorily, I am really afraid of the kind of working environment which you get in small startups. They don’t have that much to spend on such things which leads to dissatisfaction at some point of time, even if you were happy with the quality of work . At the end of it, what count is job satisfaction which is a summation of work quality, work environment, salary and above all job security . Do we see all that coming well in start-ups?

By: The Shifting Goalpost » Why startups in India are not succeeding?

The Shifting Goalpost » Why startups in India are not succeeding? — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:12:01 +0000

[...] – blaming the bigger organisations i.e. blaming others for their failures. Please read this rant Why Wipro, Infosys and TCS are “Axis of Evil” for Indian startups!. [...]

By: amenodimeno

amenodimeno — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:46:05 +0000

That’s good man, keep it going.

By: Puranjay

Puranjay — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:28:07 +0000

What can a startup in India do then? You look at the people working in other startups in US and Israel, and all of them are so enthusiastic – they actually believe they are a part of a radical change in the world. Here, most idiots prefer to sit on their ass and feed on big salaries. More often than not, it is because of that shittiest of Indian social units – the family. Most graduates don’t want to work in a small company because “what will my parents think? Or, what will that idiot Shukla uncle from across the road think when I tell him I work in a startup?”

Fuck Indians man..I’m so thoroughly disappointed..this country hates entrepreneurs and change.

By: Anu

Anu — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:21:53 +0000

It was interesting to read but I like many here already beg to differ. These organizations are not charity groups who have to keep the entire globe happy. These are businesses who have done well for themselves, for their people, for the economy. People in these organizations work equally hard and more and that shows. How else can you explain the exponential growth of these industry leaders. There is passion in work that these guys do and that has kept the momentum going. They are not product companies, they are service companies and hence the resources that fetch all the money are the people who you so casually called “outbots”. They did something different at some point of time to become what they are today. They did not start as a billion dollar company each. So if we are talking about innovation, you know where to innovate. Request you to give the credit where it is due.

By: shailender misra

shailender misra — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:44:24 +0000

I think all that is going to change , thanks to the recession. The clients of these companies are already switching to the fixed cost model. So I think once the clients get a feel that they can get the same service delivered on a fixed cost, they will never go back to the man hour pricing.

By: nagu

nagu — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:27:08 +0000

Interesting..an article talking about “need for innovation: and at the same time “blaming”.

By: Sanjeev Sharma

Sanjeev Sharma — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:02:07 +0000

I totally agree with the writer. But I have something more important to add:
1. Neither TCS, nor Infosys, and not even Wipro; provide any kind of insurance to the dependents of their employees. especially parents are not covered by them. kids are. when we all know that its the parents who are more likely to need the health insurance than the kids.
2. This axis of evil is renowned for trampling on the dignity of employees, by subjecting them to frequent bag searches, frisks, etc etc. its a shame to see long queues outside Infy office (across the road), poor employees are checked as if each one of them is going to plant a bomb in the basement.
3. The HR departments are a farce. a HUGE FARCE. These companies invariably hire the cheapest and most worthless HR staff. esp TCS, I recall one guy who used to communicate with me, and he couldnt write a single sentence without spelling errors. imagine that guy used to type: “EMALE” instead of email.

By: owl007

owl007 — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:35:35 +0000

@Sridhar,
Great input boss.
The real quetion here is not the big 3, but the attitude that I don’t want to spend the effort and make myself heard by clients.
If the startup really does good work, they get heard, or have people not heard of “google” or “hp” which started out of a garage.
The problem with Indian startups is that they do not have orginality and thoroughness of planning which others outside do have and therefore they prosper.
This is typical Indian mentality raised earlier in the responses.
Indian mind wants others/clients to applaud just because they call themselves a startup, but they forget the important question that the clients asks (Even the big 3) – “What have you got to offer?”

By: owl007

owl007 — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:25:51 +0000

@Keith,
Would like you to be so bold about not having “big 3″ and being as happy as you are in US. It is not just the mentality of the Indian people living in India, it includes Indian people living outside India.
If you are so happy not to work for a “big” firm, why switch to US?
This article was about startups I thought, so how is you comment even valid??
Typical laid back attitude since you are not fighting for lively hood.

By: Nitin Sawant

Nitin Sawant — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:47:21 +0000

100% true, I agree with you @Vishal Gondal

By: Tuhin

Tuhin — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:01:54 +0000

Whoever has written this piece using my name is not sane. And i am sure he/or she knows me well enough. As for his intentions, only GOD knows.

Thanks to those who brought this “utter nuisance” to my notice.

I use this forum now to express the fact that the piece attributed to me has been written by someone else, either to malign me or to get me sacked from TCS. When the time comes we may need to “find our the Ip” from where this msg was written.

By: vijayshankar

vijayshankar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:29:48 +0000

@Gaurav, There are lots of ppl who learns some thing and try cant say try to can say attempt to show their work to other. They get some appreciation which makes them happy still they are trying to do some thing like “guy.com” not like u who laugh at others see what shit he/she has done !!

I really hate these ppl who ……………

By: Nitin

Nitin — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 11:06:35 +0000

I don’t believe this, having said that trio takes more than a couple of engineers to replace a bulb I think startups has point to show and get the work done by less. These very companies started more than 25 years back and showed people another direction to think. Had these success stories been not there many would not have even given a chance to start their own ventures. Today when market is creeping for finance you don’t see them laying off (or even if but not in very big numbers) but yes you pick up a startup and you will find how secure ppl are there. Working at startups for 14 hrs a day and losing balance between your work life, making money but no time to enjoy there life.