Editor’s note: Bozhidar Hristov is a Senior Analyst at Technology Business Research.

HAMPTON, N.H. – Infosys, which is expanding its presence in the Research Triangle Park area with a new office to open in Brier Creek, recently selected a mediator, not a product innovator leader, to improve its dysfunctional family-like corporate dynamics

Sales execution continues to dictate Infosys’ (NYSE: INFY) go-to-market strategy as new CEO Salil Parekh takes time to set the course of Infosys’ long-term existence. As Infosys enters a critical year for its transformation, the company will continue to invest in innovative portfolio offerings and regaining talent’s trust. Differentiating, however, will remain Infosys’ biggest challenge as the company’s profit-first culture hinders its ability to innovate at scale and disrupt the IT services market.

In TBR’s 4Q17 Infosys IT Services Initial Response, we will provide in-depth analysis on key developments during the quarter, such as Infosys’ appointment of former Capgemini executive Parekh as CEO and managing director. To succeed, though, first and foremost Parekh must be really good at playing the company politics, since, as we recently saw, NRN Murthy is still the “real” CEO behind the scenes. Additionally, we provide analysis on what a successful plan might look like for Parekh and how with a new name and leverage of third-party platforms, Infosys gives its BPO subsidiary a fresh start.

Clients trust helped Infosys boost revenue growth as the company invested in talent to regain employee faith

In a typically soft quarter due to holiday furloughs, Infosys revenue increased 8% year-to-year in U.S. dollars to $2.76 billion in 4Q17, as the company managed to extract additional wallet share from its top client, which generated 3.4% of total sales in 4Q17, up from 3.1% in 4Q16.

Additionally, Infosys continued to mine its client base to cross- and up-sell digitally infused services, resulting in 160 basis points year-to-year increase for business stemmed from existing clients to 98.3% in 4Q17. Infosys reported Digital revenue crossed 25% of total sales, with new services and new software expanding 60 basis points combined sequentially to generate 11.6% of total in 4Q17.

North America growth remained almost flat at 5.2%, while cost-cautious clients in Europe going through industry consolidation opened up new opportunities for Infosys, evidence by regional revenue growing 18.7% year-to-year during the quarter.

From an industry vertical perspective, insurance and telecom remain Infosys’ bright spots, growing 20.4% and 24.6% on an annual basis, respectively, in 4Q17, mainly driven by client demand for platform-based services in connection with adopting new business models.

Infosys’ cost of services increased 160 basis points year-to-year to 64.4% as percentage of revenue in 4Q17, as the vendor bore the cost associated with compensation increases and variable payouts as result of company’s efforts to stabilize attrition.

(C) TBR