TCS, Wipro seek more patents as IT firms ups R&D spend

Tata Consultancy Services, India’s largest software exporter, and Wipro, its smaller rival, have increased spending on research and development over the last three years and have filed more patents.

TCS increased its R&D expenditure to ~1,278 crore in 2016-17 from ~909.25 crore in 2015-16 as it invests in newer technologies in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, data science and high performance computing. TCS filed 3,359 patent applications in 2016-17, up from 2,842 a year ago. In 2014-15, it filed 509 patent applications.

Wipro has increased R&D spending to ~333.8 crore in 2016-17 from ~251.3 crore a year ago, investing in AI, the Internet of Things and autonomous devices. Wipro filed 603 patent applications in 2016-17, up from 514 in 2015-16.

TCS was granted 478 patents in 201617 against 206 and 341 patents each in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively.

“The number of patents TCS has filed and gained has gone up significantly. We also have a good number of patents in the pipeline,” said N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, last week. Wipro did not comment citing the silent period.

Infosys has embraced open source technologies, also joining the Open Invention Network (OIN) to share IP on Linux programs and support “patent non-aggression”. This will also reduce research costs and focus on building technologies with community participation and strengthen its offerings.

Irrespective of their expenditures, all companies have been focussing on the Internet of Things and AI.

“Creating internal platforms for digital technology services such as the Internet of Things has become a priority for Indian IT services providers as their clients are averse to third-party platforms. A good chunk of their R&D spending is focused on building platforms internally,” said Pareekh Jain, research director at HfS Research India. “Patents will help companies differentiate their offerings,” he added.

Industry executives said the need for digital transformation was making Indian firms invest in innovative products and solutions for their customers.

“More companies are spending on innovation, which is shaped by the digital transformation,” said Karthikeyan Natarajan, senior vice-president and global head of integrated engineering solutions at Tech Mahindra.

THE NUMBER OF PATENTS TCS HAS FILED AND GAINED HAS GONE UP SIGNIFICANTLY. WE ALSO HAVE A GOOD NUMBER OF PATENTS IN THE PIPELINE N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons