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NIIT shoots for Rs 10,000 crore mark by 2006

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DQW Bureau
New Update

NIIT Ltd is nurturing an ambitious growth plan that will help it reach the Rs 10,000 crore mark within the next six years. An eight-fold increase in sales within six years will come from NIIT's new 'FastForward' plan articulated by the company's top team following nine months of intense planning.

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"As a corporation we will pursue and give greater effect to a simple corporate strategy of `Quantum Growth Through Empowerment'. The central theme of 'FastForward' was to develop, articulate and roll out an action plan that helps us implement this corporate strategy. 'FastForward' in fact represents yet another phase in NIIT's evolution and builds on earlier, similar initiatives," said Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman,

NIIT.

The NIIT 'FastForward' involved a close examination of the company's business processes, organization structure and aspirations and beliefs of 4,600 NIIT-ians. "We initiated search for the most appropriate structure that would help us scale the next order of magnitude--the Rs 10,000 crore mark. NIIT is focusing on identifying key imperatives for accelerating growth in the new economy. We have identified strategic directions that will help us sustain the growth that we achieved in the just concluded fiscal 1999-2000," added

Pawar.

From October 2000, NIIT's organization structure will consist of Independent Business Units (IBUs) and a Corporate Center. The Independent Business Unit Heads (IBHs) would be accountable to the NIIT Board for strategy, targets and performance and will be equipped with an Advisory Board. The Advisory Board, to be constituted by IBH is responsible for providing external inputs and cross business linkages. Advisory Board members from NIIT (typically from other businesses) would enhance the synergy unique to the NIIT business model, while outside members would enforce the crucial outside-in perspective. The IBUs will have their own staff functions like human resources, finance and commercial.

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Pawar said that the IBHs will infuse high levels of energy, idealism and aggressiveness into their businesses. The IBHs will have increased independence coupled with increased accountability. "The goal is to let each IBU within NIIT imbibe key imperatives of the new economy that demand nimble, flexible units capable of adapting quickly to the changing times," he added.

NIIT's Global Learning Business and Global Software Business will have the following IBUs: Education and Training (led by Suren Singh Rasaily), Project K12 (led by L Balasubramanian), Software Solutions (led by Arvind Thakur) and Knowledge Solutions (led by Ashish Basu). Software Solutions Business will consist of five Business Units (US, Europe, APAC, Japan and India) and one Financial Services Vertical. Opportunities in IT education for school children have led to the creation of a new IBU 'Project K12' within the Global Learning Solutions Business.

The corporate center will pursue NIIT's long term strategies. It will have a few highly experienced heads of staff functions and will act as brains trust of the organization and would be available to the IBHs to draw upon the NIIT values, wisdom and experience. NIIT's Board members--Pawar, VK Thadani, P Rajendran and Thakur--will act as the Contact Directors for IBUs with oversight responsibilities. Contact Director will interface between the Board and the

IBH.

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This re-structuring, in tune with NIIT's existing revenue levels, represents the third phase in NIIT's organizational evolution. The company had adopted a divisional structure in 1989 when it was a Rs 16.9 crore entity, based on help from eminent external consultant Prof RP Aiyer, the then Director of IIM Calcutta. This model helped to scale NIIT's revenues to Rs 167 crore by 1995, a 10-fold growth in a span of six years.

In its second phase of organization building, NIIT adopted the global matrix structure. Based on Prof CK Prahalad's Core Competency Model, this structure served NIIT well for the past five years helping it grow seven-fold netting a total of Rs 1,237 crore in revenue.

The new structure is being implemented based on NIIT's own experiences, enriched with relevant inputs from one of the world class consulting corporations. It is expected to help NIIT scale the Rs 10,000 crore ambition it has set for itself for the next six years, just as earlier structures helped NIIT achieve new revenue levels. 

The India Geography Heads, have developed their ideas, driven mature businesses and innovated beyond them. Having built good leaders under them in different businesses, who will now handle their Geographies and report directly to their IBHs, India Geography Heads are moving ahead to assume higher responsibilities at NIIT's Corporate Centers and Businesses.

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