Indian IT services firms outpace US competitors in brand value growth

New Delhi:  Indian IT services companies have outpaced their competitors from the US in brand value growth over the past two years of digital transformation accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, a new report showed on Wednesday.

Indian IT services brands made a leap, with average growth from 2020 to 2022 at 51 per cent compared to minus 7 per cent for brands from the US.

Accenture retained the title of world's most valuable and strongest IT services brand, with record brand value of $36.2 billion, and achieving top Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 87.7 out of 100.

"By gaining a clear focus on cloud services, technology consulting, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, the IT services brands -- from India and around the world - will continue to flourish and innovate in the face of challenges posed by pandemic-related shortages and restrictions," said Savio D'Souza, Valuation Director, Brand Finance.

Valued at $16.8 billion, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was second for first time on the Index, propelled by business performance and successful partnerships, while Infosys at the third position emerged as fastest-growing IT services brand globally, according to the report by leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance.

Next to TCS and Infosys, four more brands from India -- Wipro (7th), HCL (8th), Tech Mahindra (15th), and LTI (22nd) impressed with performance, said the report, titled 'Brand Finance IT Services 25 2022'.

Two new US-based brands enter top 25 ranking - EPAM (at 16th position), joined by brand-to-watch Thoughtworks (24th).

"With strong IT services brands and a large population of people with digital skills, India will continue to play a major role in developing infrastructure for artificial intelligence, data analytics and Internet of Things (IoT)," the report noted.

The US still accounts for most brand value in the ranking minus 47 per cent compared to India's 31 per cent.

"Infosys has shown impressive growth this year, making it the fastest-growing IT services brand of 2022, thanks to its commitment to clients and focus on innovation," said David Haigh, Chairman & CEO, Brand Finance.

On the other hand, IBM's brand value now stands at $10.6 billion with a 34 per cent decrease from the previous year, and a 50 per cent drop overall since 2020.

The brand value of the US-based multinational IBM has fallen significantly after the divestment of Kyndryl.

The sale caused a loss of over $19 billion in revenue which impacted IBM's brand value.