This is a story about two of the top five India-centric IT service providers: “A” and “B.” “A” had a strong start in industry vertical “V” with a few marquee accounts that, overtime, helped it achieve dominance in that vertical. “B,” realizing that it could not take the dominant position in vertical “V,” concentrated on other verticals instead. This diversification strategy did not generate the desired outcome for “B”; it turned out vertical “V” had more opportunities than the other industry verticals. Consequently, the gap between “A” and “B” grew wider and wider.
Ultimately, “B” decided to change its strategy and concentrate on increasing its share in the vertical “V.” The dilemma for “B” was whether to deploy its resources for new opportunities in vertical “V” or deploy them on its competitors’ accounts. “B” decided on the latter. Instead of hunting new small-sized and medium-sized accounts, “B” decided to go for a specific “Client” that happened to be the biggest account for “A” with more than $250 million in annual billing. Along with the revenue, the winning of “Client” would signal the arrival of “B” in the industry vertical “V,” as well as the potential decline of “A” in the eyes of other clients.
“B” decided to take the bull by the horns. This is the story of what “B” did and how “B” did it.
