Big opportunity in life sciences: TCS chief

INDIA’S top IT services company Tata Consultancy Services is moving to capitalise on growth opportunities in areas such as life sciences and manufacturing, Chief Executive Rajesh Gopinathan said on Friday. With IT spending in the core banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) segment subdued in the United States — the largest market for India’s more than $150 billion software services sector — companies are looking at different sectors and a wider range of service offerings to drive revenue growth. Gopinathan said in an interview with Reuters that technology was playing a growing role in not just the manufacturing process, but also in products, allowing companies such as TCS to target non-traditional sectors more than they did in the past. “When we look at manufacturing, the extent of smart features that go into not just the manufacturing process, but the product itself are steadily increasing,” he said. From smart refrigerators to connected cars, technology now plays a far bigger role in products, with the proliferation of the Internet of Things and embedded tracking devices helping companies manage logistics and inventory. TCS posted slightly weaker-than-expected quarterly results late on Thursday, but it reported over 10 per cent year-over-year revenue growth from clients in the manufacturing, life sciences and energy sectors.