In the third quarter of 2001-02, information technology was among the most visible sectors, standing second only to the finance and banking vertical. Every sixth corporate news item in publications across the country was on IT companies. Microsoft, by far the most visible IT company, stood second in the Cirrus Top Ten rankings (across industries), while Wipro at #4 and Infosys at #5 were the other two IT players that found a place in this hallowed zone.

More than a hundred IT companies were in news during Q3. However, and predictably, the 80:20 rule does also apply in corporate news. The top ten IT companies accounted for more than 70% of all the coverage and the Top Three devoured as much as 40% of the exposure. In Q3, Microsoft was the leader, but Wipro and Infosys were closing in fast. In December, Infosys shifted gear and began to look increasingly threatening cornering almost a fourth of all corporate IT news.

In terms of quality of exposure index, which is a ratio between the image and visibility points—greater the index, higher is the ratio of positive coverage in relation to total coverage received—Satyam Computer Services was on the top with 138 points. Close on the heels were CMC and Wipro at 132 and 130 respectively. Among the ten most visible companies, Compaq, HP and NIIT scored the lowest. However, most of the negative news for Compaq and HP had overseas origin.

While the ten most visible IT companies accounted for 71% of the exposure and 74% of the image points in Q3 2001-02, Microsoft emerged a clear leader accounting for more than a sixth of the image points. While TCS and Satyam Computer Services stood at # 4 and 5 respectively, these companies accumulated less than a third of Microsoft’s image points. Wipro at #2 and Infosys at #3 had a Cirrus index* of 92 and 91 respectively. Intel at #10 earned a Cirrus IT Index of 15. This connotes that Cisco could accumulate only a seventh of the image points of Microsoft.

As for NIIT, it had a ghastly October, a poor November and a positive December. The few October positive stories including NIIT’s launch of World Literacy day as well it’s alliances with Deutche Bank and Baush & Lomb, its new South China centre could do very little to neutralize the negative exposure received for its dismal financial results and news about 18% reduction in workforce. In November NIIT got dropped from the Sensex group and its franchisees went on the warpath. Nevertheless, November saw an upswing in its positive stories. The company bounced back from a score of (-11) to 63 during this month and 120 in December.

Microsoft was #1 for both October and November. However, despite slipping to #3 spot in December it retains the top rank Q3 2001-02. Wipro was #2 in October and December but slipped to #3 in December—giving it an overall #2 spot for the quarter. Infosys made a big leap ahead—from #5 position in October to #2 in November and #1 spot in December helping it attain an overall #3 position for the period. Tata Consultancy Service that slipped from #6 in October to #44 in November made bounced back remarkably to #4 position for December and during Q3 Satyam Computer Services, which slipped from #4 position in October to #7 in November and #19 in December also managed an overall #5 position in the quarter.

Sandeep Vij
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