Infosys' new design and innovation studio in London to focus on emerging technologies

Indian information technology (IT) services major Infosys on Tuesday said that it had opened a new “experience” design and innovation studio in Shoreditch, London, which will not only expand its global network of digital studios but also focus on customer experience and innovation in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).

The London facility will help the company partner with clients to ideate, collaborate and innovate together at speed and scale by combining design and the latest technology offerings, including augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR), Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G (fifth-generation cellular network technology).

“We have invested in the heart of Silicon Roundabout in London because of the larger presence of entrepreneurs, innovative startup ecosystem, proximity to some of the world's largest and most successful brands and access to diverse talent," Ravi Kumar S, president, Infosys, said.

The studio, which will have a capacity for 250 employees, is powered by Brilliant Basics, the company's experience design arm in Europe. Other design studio locations include the cities of New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Melbourne, Bengaluru and Pune. 

The studio will hire and scale talent with capabilities in experience design, innovation strategy and customer-centric technologies, and will focus on the development of emerging technologies for use in a wide range of UK businesses, including those in financial services, manufacturing, retail and telecom, Kumar said, adding that the company was partnering universities across the UK to not only develop digital talent but also hire talent in the future.

To this extent, the company also announced a new academic and research partnership with King's College London. King’s is already a partner of Infosys’ InStep global internship programme, and with the new studio the initiative broadens the engagement into academic training and research areas such as artificial intelligence, innovation and digital humanities, the company said.

Further, Kumar said that the studio will also provide local startups with the opportunity to showcase their products to clients.

In the beginning of this month, the company had announced a collaboration with Microsoft to deliver solutions for smart buildings in sectors such as engineering, construction, architecture, facilities management and real estate.

Infosys had said the partnership would help leverage the latest digital technologies and solutions that aim to improve the lifecycle of building constructions, operations and the user experiences of individuals who work directly or indirectly in the sphere. 

In April, the company had reported a 10.4% jump in profits for the quarter ended March, thanks to the firm bagging high-value contracts.

The Bengaluru-based firm’s operations chief Pravin Rao said that Infosys had doubled its total contract value (TCV) year-on-year. He said that the company had signed deals generating a TCV of $6.28 billion in 2018-19, out of which $1.57 billion was signed in the last three months of the financial year. In 2017-18, Infosys had closed deals worth $3 billion. 

Net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 4,074 crore, up from Rs 3,690 crore for the corresponding period last year.