W I P R O T E C H N O L O G I E S

Type
Public (NYSE: WIT)
Founded
1945 (Pre Independence)
Headquarters
Bangalore
Key people
Azim Premji, Chairman and Managing director
Industry
Information technology services
Revenue
▲$3.47 billion USD
Net income
▲$677 million USD
Employees
79,832+ (2007)
Slogan
Applied Innovation
Website
http://www.wipro.com/

HISTORY

Wipro was set up in 1945. Primarily an edible oil factory, the chief products were Sunflower Vanaspati and 787 laundry soap (a by-product of the Vanaspati operations). The company was called Western India Vegetable Products Limited; it had a minor presence in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.[2][3] In the 1970s and 1980s, it began to expand and made forays into computing. In 1975, Wipro marketed India's first homegrown PC.
Wipro was the sole representative for Sun Microsystems in India, before the Sun liaison office was set up in India, in the early 1990s.
Wipro is the highest-ranked Indian IT provider by International Association of Outsourcing Professionals.[citation needed]
Wipro and its success in handling outsourced information technology from US businesses is detailed in Thomas L. Friedman's best-selling book The World Is Flat and Steve Hamm's Bangalore Tiger. Wipro's offshore model is considered 'unique among the larger players in the security consulting space' according to an independent report by Forrester Research

[edit] Financials
Wipro posted a net profit of Rs. 7.3 billion and growth of 17% in the Q1 2007-08. Staff strength crossed 73,000.

[edit] Time line
1945: Western India Vegetable Products Limited is created
1947: An oil mill and hydrogenated cooking medium plant set up
1966: Azim Premji takes over leadership of Wipro at age 21
1975: Wipro Fluid Power is set up to manufacture hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders
1977: Company is renamed to Wipro Products Limited
1980: Information technology services for domestic market started
1981: Hardware company is launched
1982: Company is renamed to Wipro Limited
1984: Software products subsidiary Wipro Systems Ltd. is established
1985: Toilet soaps manufacture begins
1988: Wipro BioMed is launched. It is a new business unit to market and service bio-analytical and diagnostic instruments
1989: Joint venture with GE for medical systems, Wipro GE Medical Systems Ltd
1990: Product software business discontinued; software services begin
1992: Lighting business and finance arm is established
1994: Merger of subsidiaries Wipro Technologies Ltd. and Wipro Systems Ltd. with Wipro Ltd.
1995: Received ISO 9001 quality certification
1997: Received CMM level 3 certification from the Software Engineering Institute of India
1998: Wipro identity is relaunched with rainbow flower and positioning statement, "Applying Thought"
1998: Certified at CMMi level 5
1999: Brand makeover, with sunflower logo and the tag line "Applying Thought"
1999: Wipro Net is set up by restructuring Wipro Ltd.'s communication services business to address the Internet market
2000: Wipro Ltd.'s American depositary receipts are listed on New York Stock Exchange
2000: Six Sigma initiative begun
2001: Wipro receives a $70 million SI order, the largest ever till overtaken by TCS
2001: Awarded the PCMM level 5 certification
2001: Business Today rated it as India's most valuable company
2001: BusinessWeek ranked it among the top 100 best performing technology companies globally
2002: Acquires Raman Roy's Spectramind for US$ 175 million to get into BPO industry
2002: BusinessWeek ranked it among the top 10 software services companies
2004: Becomes 4th largest company in the world in terms of market capitalization in IT services
2005: Becomes a $2 billion company
2006: Becomes the world's largest R&D service provider[citation needed].
2006: Acquires Saraware, a wireless R&D service provider from Finland
2006: Acquires Quantech, a mechanical engineering design provider
2006: Acquires Enabler, a leading retail solutions provider from Portugal
2006: Joint venture company WMNetServ with Motorola
2006: Net profit for July, August and September rises 48% to $152m (£81m)
2007: Revenues reach $3.5billion[4]
2007: Becomes SOX Compliant.
2007: Wipro-Biomed Division sold to Ranbaxy Fine Chemicals [1]
2007: Wipro opens new development center in Monterrey, Mexico
2007: Acquires U S based Infocrossing

[edit] References
^ "Wipro to hire more at the entry level", Indiatimes, October 19, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-04-11.
^ Anand Parthasarathy. "Brand Bangalore", The Frontline, Jan 27 - Feb. 09, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
^ Wipro Ltd. Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
^ "Wipro rides Indian outsource wave", BBC, October 18, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-04-11.

[edit] External links
Official website
Wipro company overview - Reuters
Wipro Limited financial overview at Google Finance
Wipro company profile at Businessweek