INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

An Analysis on Business
Strategy of Accenture CIS
Ltd. Bangladesh

2014

An Analysis on Business Strategy of

Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh
W650: Business Strategy

Submitted to:
Dr. A. K. M. Saiful Majid
Professor
IBA, University of Dhaka

Prepared by:
Suman Saha, 47E, 08
Rakhi K. Zaman, 49D, 22
Avijit Mallik 49D, 47
Mithila Sanhita Majumder 49D, 49
Faria Iffat 49D, 57

Institute of Business Administration

University of Dhaka
November 02, 2014

Letter of Transmittal
November 02, 2014
Dr. A. K. M. Saiful Majid
Professor, Institute of Business Administration
University of Dhaka

Dear Sir,
Sub: Submission of assignment on An Analysis on Business Strategy of Accenture CIS Ltd.
Bangladesh.
With due respect and humble submission, we are deeply pleased to present the assignment
entitled An Analysis on Business Strategy of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh. as part of the
course requirement. The paper is extremely interesting to work at as it will give us the
opportunity to have a detailed perception on Business Strategy. This assignment was quite
extensive and it helped us a lot to relate the theoretical learning with practical situation.
The report mainly revolves around the SWOT, PESTEL, Porters Five Force Model Analysis,
Strategic Group Mapping and Industry Life Cycle, generic and different strategies perused by of
Accenture CIS Ltd.Bangladesh. It helps to understand which aspects should be looked into and
why. It aids in analyzing which factors should be the considered in designing a result driven
management strategy.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for helping us immensely in every possible
way to get the assignment prepared. We have done this assignment with our utmost sincerity and
hope that you will appreciate this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Suman Saha, 47E,

Avijit Mallik 49D, 47

_______________________

________________________

Rakhi k. Zaman 49D, 22

Mithila Sanhita Majumder 49D, 49

_______________________

_________________________

Faria Iffat 49D, 57

_______________________

Acknowledgement
We, the group members for the course Business Strategy, would like to take this opportunity to
mention the contribution of all those who have inspired and guided us to complete this term
paper successfully. First of all, we express our profound gratitude and deep regard to our course
instructor A.K.M. Saiful Majid, Professor, IBA, university of Dhaka, for assigning us this task
and for his strict supervision, constructive criticism, and valuable suggestion carrying out our
work. We have been able to conduct the work systematically and strategically with the cordial
cooperation and guidance of the course instructor.
We would also like to express a deep sense of gratitude to the office personals of Accenture
Bangladesh that we have chose for our analysis. While the interview they were cooperative
enough to assist us in our work. The group members of this term paper also provided their best
attempt to ensure a better outcome. This paper is the reflection of a combined effort of the group
members.
Finallly, we would like to thank our friends and classmates who have encouraged us through
discussion about the theories and application that has helped us to prepare this term paper.

II

Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... V
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Origin of the Report ............................................................................................................................ 1
1.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Literature Review: .............................................................................................................................. 2
1.4 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 4
1.5 Limitations .......................................................................................................................................... 5
2. Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh: An Overview.................................................................................... 5
3. Process of Executing Strategy of Accenture Bangladesh .................................................................... 7
3.1 Vision and Mission Statement of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh .................................................... 7
3.2 Evaluation of Vision Statement .......................................................................................................... 7
3.3. Balanced Scorecard of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh .................................................................... 7
3.4 Business Model of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh ........................................................................... 9
4. Evaluation of External Environment of Accenture Bangladesh......................................................... 9
4.1 PESTEL Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 9
4.2 Porters Five Forces Analysis ........................................................................................................... 14
Figure: Porters Five Forces in the Software Industry ............................................................................ 15
4.2.5 The Competitive Force of Rivalry ................................................................................................. 17
4.3 Industry Drivers of Change: .............................................................................................................. 17
4.4 Competitive Scenario of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh ................................................................ 19
4.5 Strategic Group Mapping .................................................................................................................. 19
4.6 Key Success Factors of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh ................................................................. 20
5. Internal Analysis of Accenture Bangladesh........................................................................................ 21
5.1. SWOT Analysis for Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh ..................................................................... 21
5.1.1 Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh Strategy to Tackle Threats and Achieve Opportunities 22
5.1.2 Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh Strategy to Utilize Strengths & Overcome Weakness ... 23
5.2. Value chain of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh .............................................................................. 23
5.3. Analysis of Competitive Strength of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh ............................................ 24
6.

Strategy of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh in Different Levels .................................................. 25

6.1 Corporate level Strategy of Accenture .............................................................................................. 25

III

6.2 Business Level Strategy of Accenture Bangladesh ........................................................................... 27

6.3 Functional Level Strategy of Accenture Bangladesh ....................................................................... 28
6.4 Operational Level Strategy of Accenture Bangladesh ...................................................................... 30
6.5 Strategy of Accenture Bangladesh: Offensive or Defensive? ........................................................... 30
7. Business Strategy Choices .................................................................................................................... 30
7.1 Strategic Alliance of Accenture ........................................................................................................ 30
7.2 Industry Life cycle ........................................................................................................................... 32
7.3.Strategy for Competing in High-Velocity Markets (IT Sector) ........................................................ 36
8. Ethical Business Strategies, Social Responsibility, and Environmental Sustainability .................. 37
8.1. Ethical code of conduct of Accenture Bangladesh .......................................................................... 37
8.2. Leadership Style of Accenture Bangladesh ..................................................................................... 39
8.3. Protecting or enhancing the environment ........................................................................................ 41
8.4. Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) activities of Accenture Bangladesh ................................ 43
9. Conclusion: ......................................................................................................................................... 44
Bibliography: .......................................................................................................................................... 46

IV

Executive Summary

Accenture is a global consultancy & outsourcing company. In Bangladesh they acquired 51%
share of GPIT, a renowned IT organization of Bangladesh in 2103 & started their operation in
Bangladesh as Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh. The objective of this study was to analyze the
business strategy of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh. The study was focused on mission & vision
evaluation, balanced scorecard, business model, situational analysis, identification & evaluation
of strategies of different levels, competitor analysis & strategic group mapping, ethical issues,
management styles & corporate social responsibility issues of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh.
The industry lifecycle of IT industry in Bangladesh was also discussed. The methodology was a
combination of primary research & secondary research. Relevant persons were interviewed &
related documents were gathered from credible sources to conduct the study.
The IT industry in Bangladesh is currently in growth stage & Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh is
an important player here. Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh has specific vision & mission
statements. Its vision statement is memorable, short, and realistic but contains superlative terms.
The organization has a balance between learning & growth perspective, business process
perspective, customer perspective & financial perspective. Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh has a
good business model which provides customer values proposition by improving process &
implementing IT enabled service and at the same time generates profit by increasing revenue per
unit of output & decreasing cost per unit of input. There are some political uncertainties but the
Govt. policies are very much favorable for the IT companies. Bangladesh is an emerging
economy & its economic indicators are very much lucrative. Technological, legal, socio-cultural
and environmental factors are also inspiring for IT firms in Bangladesh. In the ITES industry
threat of new entrants is moderate, threat of substitute is low, bargaining power of suppliers is
moderate, bargaining power of customers is high, and industry rivalry is high. Change in long
term growth rate, increased globalization, customer preference, emerging internet capabilities
and Govt. policies are the major industry driver of change. The main competitors of Accenture
CIS Ltd. Bangladesh are the big four Indian outsourcing companies TATA, Infosys, WIPRO
and Satyam. Key success factors of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh are technology, marketing,
skills & capabilities related. Major strengths are expertise & skills, major weaknesses are
inexperience s the company is relatively new in Bangladesh, opportunities are growing demands
& Govt. initiatives and the major threats are increasing footprint of global firms in Bangladeshi
market. In corporate level strategy Accenture applies merger & acquisitions and joint ventures as
mode of entry. It follows a combination of related & unrelated diversification. In business level it
takes the best cost provider strategy. Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh has strategic alliance with
major hardware suppliers like HP, Oracle, IBM. Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh follows proper
ethical issues as per compatibility in Bangladesh. It takes a leadership style which varies project
by project. It is involved in many CSR activities in Bangladesh.
In this study, we have tried to apply the learning of our Business Strategy course. It was very
much helpful to apply our theoretical knowledge in practical aspects.
V

1. Introduction
Over the last few decades the software and IT service industry in Bangladesh has come a long
way. The sector has reached immense growth potential over this time and joined the mainstream
market by making considerable contribution to the national revenue. The industry had also been
playing a crucial role in creating high quality employment for a large portion of young graduates
in the country.
According to Bangladesh Association of Software & Information Services (BASIS), there are
over 800 registered software and ITES (IT Enabled Service) companies currently in Bangladesh.
The industry investment size is estimated to be approximately US$ 250 million and around
30,000 professionals, specializing in IT and software engineering, are employed in this sector
(BASIS Survey, 2011). Out of the 800 member companies, over 70% of them are found to be
involved in development and maintenance of software for their clients. Some very promising
recent trends in the industry has been that a good number of companies are focusing on web
based virtual services that include specialized portals, e-Commerce, e-Learning, payment
channels etc. These ventures have garnered significant amount of popularity in the market as
well as financial viability and some of these companies are also developing applications based on
cloud/SaaS delivery model.
However, the local market is still a major component of business for the domestic IT service
industry despite having seen a consistent growth over the last few years. Banking and other
financial sectors continue to be a central focus for a large portion of domestic IT industry. In the
banking sector, the core banking service provision is mainly dominated by foreign companies.
However a good number of local IT solution providers have started working with banks for
providing a range of industry related services. As Bangladeshs capital market has faced
increasing activity over the years, the local IT service providers have developed solutions for
merchant banks, brokerage houses and insurance management. These companies possess the
capacity to develop in-house IT solutions but are limited to acting as vendors for large foreign
solution providers.
1.1 Origin of the Report
This report titled as An Analysis on Business Strategy of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh
has been assigned by Dr. A. K. M. Saiful Majid, Course Instructor, to our five member group as

Page | 1

a partial requirement of the course Business Strategy (W650). This report is prepared according
to the stated requirement of our course instructor.

1.2 Objectives
1.2.1 Broad Objective
The broad objective of this report is to analyze business strategies of Accenture CIS Ltd.
Bangladesh in relation to its external and internal environment.

1.2.2 Specific Objectives

To analyze external environment of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh.

To analyze internal environment of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh.

To Identify and evaluate strategies of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh.

Competitor analysis & strategic group mapping of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh

Ethical issues, management styles & corporate social responsibilities of Accenture CIS
Ltd. Bangladesh.

1.3 Literature Review:

Bangladesh has about five decades of experience in using computers. In its early days the ICT
sector in Bangladesh mainly focused on hardware operations. The first second generation,
world mainframe, computer was installed in 1964 at Dhaka University. Soon after this several
large banks and industrial concerns started using computers, mainly for accounting and payroll
applications. The Bangladeshi gas and electricity companies also began using computer systems
for their customer billing. Unfortunately the financial crisis that the country faced after its
independence in 1971 hampered the expansion of computer use in the Bangladeshi corporate
sector. In 1982 a computer center was established at the Bangladesh University of Engineering
and Technology. This center, later renamed the Department of Computer Science & Engineering,
has played a pivotal role in Bangladeshi IT education since its inception. The innovation of
software concerning Bangla writing on computers materialized in 1987. An engineer named
Mainul Islam managed to write Bangla in an Apple-Macintosh computer using his self-evolved
font Mainulipi. With the possibility of using Bangla on computers the importance of computer
Page | 2

use in offices and printing industries in Bangladesh rapidly grew. Soon after the introduction of
the internet in Bangladesh, in 1995, the development of exportable software and multimedia
systems commenced. Software and ITES industries in Bangladesh started rapidly growing in
recent years. The average yearly growth rate of these industries has been over 40% for recent
years, and this growth rate is expected to be driven by:

Large demand for IT automation in domestic industries

Good software export trends

Twenty years ago IT industry was predominantly a hardware vendors market with little or no
value addition locally. But nowadays, Bangladesh has more than 20000 IT professionals engaged
with over 500 software and ITES companies. On this ground, BASIS (Bangladesh Association of
Software and Information Services) Expectation been made from the government to allocate
budget of Annual Development Programmed for the IT sector. The recent significant growth in
BASIS membership for the industry happened due to a number of reasons:

It indicates a depending of the IT skills available locally

It maintains growing confidence of global and local buyers on local IT talent

It marks a clear departure from the traditional entrepreneurship model based on

physical-labor-intensive production industries.

Today, there are more than 320 software and IT services firms registered as member of BASIS
through full spectrum software and IT services for both domestic as well as overseas clientele.
Domestic demand for Software and IETS industries has been increased due to:

Global economic downturn has hastened export

Growth of Bangladeshs software industry

Bangladesh is a very attractive destination for software and IT service Off-shoring. Duly, its
been focused by other countries as an outsourcing target due to low cost. High quality standards
and apt skill set. Also investment friendly policies by government made Bangladesh a promising
outsourcing destination.
In June 1997 the GoB officially recognized that ICT can make an important development impact
by appointing a committee to look into barriers and opportunities to export software from
Bangladesh. In 2009 the National ICT Policy was broadly reformulated across areas including
Page | 3

education, science and technology, infrastructural development, employment generation, private

sector development, agriculture, health and nutrition. The GoB included an e-governance vision
and promotion program for the ICT sector in the sixth Five Year Plan. Today, to further develop
ICT sector, Government has set rules like:

All Software and ICT Service companies, including those under foreign ownership, are
exempt from income tax until 2015.

Both a government sponsored long-term equity fund and short term working capital
financing are offered to ICT companies.

A special hi-technology and software technology park is being built by the government
to facilitate the development of all the infrastructure needed by companies that outsource
activities to them. Furthermore the GoB has established the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park
Authority to operate the Hi-Tech Park.

1.4 Methodology
I. Secondary Research
a. To gather general information on Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh
b. The sources mainly involve browsing through websites, newspaper articles, books, research
and company annual reports.
II. Primary Research
a. Type of research was semi-structured exploratory since it was the most effective means of
determining the best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects.
b. Prescribed research focused on strategic execution and factors affecting strategy of Accenture
CIS Ltd. Bangladesh.

c. Method of conducting the research involves personal in-depth interview with executives
(preferably with IT knowledge) from the selected institution. We interviewed 8 persons from
Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh, 4 persons from Grameenphone (Accentures largest client in
Bangladesh) and 3 entrepreneurs in the IT industry of Bangladesh.

Page | 4

1.5 Limitations
Limitations that were confronted while preparing this report are as following

Insufficient source of secondary data.

Absence of explicit legislative statements regarding various facts in various legal acts

The analytical remarks were influenced greatly by the subjective judgments of the
participants of this report.

Inadequate primary data due to considerably new business operation in Bangladesh.

Unavailability of some information like financial statements due to confidentiality

2. Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh: An Overview

Accenture is one of the worlds leading organizations providing management consulting,
technology and outsourcing services, with more than 305,000 employees; offices and operations
in more than 200 cities in 56 countries; and net revenues of $30.0 billion for fiscal 2014.

Their four growth platforms are Accenture Strategy, Accenture Digital, Accenture Technology,
Accenture Operations, through which they build skills and capabilities; develop knowledge
capital; and create, acquire and manage key assets central to the development of integrated
services and solutions for their clients. Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh is a multinational
management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company. Its incorporated
headquarters are in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the world's largest consulting firm as
measured by revenues and is a Fortune Global 500 company. Accenture has more employees in
India than any other country; in the US, it has about 40,000 employees and 35,000 located in the
Philippines. Accenture's current clients include 91 of the Fortune Global 100 and more than
three-quarters of the Fortune Global 500. Since September 1, 2009 the company has been
incorporated in Ireland. Accenture common equity is listed on the New York Stock Exchange,
under the symbol ACN, and was added to the S&P 500 index on July 5, 2011.

GPIT, an IT subsidiary of Grameenphone, sold 51 percent of its shares to US-based management

and IT consultancy firm Accenture. The share transfer is a subject to board approval, says a
notification to the Dhaka Stock Exchange. An extraordinary general meeting (EGM) is took
place on 01 August to obtain approval to transfer the shares to Accenture. There is also a
Page | 5

proposal to grant GP an option to sell its remaining GPIT shares to Accenture at a later date and
also to grant Accenture an option to buy those remaining shares.

Grameenphone shareholders approved the 51 per cent share transfer of GPIT to Accenture
Holdings BV at an Extra-ordinary General Meeting chaired by M Shahjahan, member of the
board, on 1st August, 2013. The meeting was conducted by Hossain Sadat, company secretary of
Grameenphone. At the meeting, the shareholders approved the transfer of 382,500 shares.
Logo of GP IT Before taken over by Accenture:

Logo of GP IT after 51% being taken over by Accenture:

Logo of GP IT after 100% being taken over by Accenture:

Page | 6

Accenture organizes its services and people in these three primary cross-functional groupings.
Accenture client engagement teams typically consist of a combination of industry experts,
capability specialists and professionals with local market knowledge.

3. Process of Executing Strategy of Accenture Bangladesh

3.1 Vision and Mission Statement of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh
3.1.1 Vision
"Become the most reliable Bangladeshi IT company providing best value solutions both locally
and globally."
3.1.2 Mission
"Help transform businesses through best IT solutions to reach new peaks in productivity and
efficiency."
3.2 Evaluation of Vision Statement

The vision of the company is memorable as it is short and easy to understand.

It is not too broad

It has good business sense

It is realistic

It is communicable and has good stress

But it uses superlative degree which should not be used in a vision. Moreover it can be
sometimes seemed as unrealistic if the company considers as the best globally.
3.3. Balanced Scorecard of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh
The balanced scorecard retains traditional financial measures. These financial measures are
inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies
must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees,
processes, technology, and innovation. The balanced scorecard suggests that we view the
Page | 7

organization from four perspectives, and to develop metrics, collect data and analyze it relative
to each of these perspectives

The Learning & Growth Perspective:

This perspective includes employee training and corporate cultural attitudes related to both
individual and corporate self-improvement. Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh is highly focused on
the skill set & expertise of their employees. Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh spends a very good
amount for training & development of its employees.

The Business Process Perspective:

This perspective refers to internal business processes. Metrics based on this perspective allow the
managers to know how well their business is running, and whether its products and services
conform to customer requirements (the mission). Accenture itself is an organization which
designs processes. In Bangladesh it is highly focused on its internal process. It continually
applies lean six sigma methods to improve the efficiency of its internal process.

The Customer Perspective:

These are leading indicators: if customers are not satisfied, they will eventually find other
suppliers that will meet their needs. Poor performance from this perspective is thus a leading
indicator of future decline, even though the current financial picture may look good. Since
Accenture CIS Bangladesh Ltd. Does business in B2B market, it is highly focused on every need
of its customers. The main KPI of its Technology function is to keep customer satisfied. Every
year it takes feedback from its customers & finds out improvement areas to enhance customer
satisfaction.

The Financial Perspective:

Timely and accurate funding data will always be a priority, and managers will do whatever
necessary to provide it. The performance of managers is ultimately measured in terms of
profitability. In its strategy Accenture CIS Bangladesh focuses on year to year revenue growth as
well as cost optimization which ultimately leads to consistent financial performance.

Page | 8

In summary it can be said that Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh has a good balance among all the
four perspectives of the balance scorecard.
3.4 Business Model of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh
A business model describers the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers & captures
value. Business model is the plan of the organization to provide customer value, generate
revenue & make profit. We will discuss the business model of Accenture CIS Bangladesh from
customer value proposition perspective & revenue-cost-profit perspective.

Customer Value Proposition:

Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh provides customer value through differentiated service. It serves
tailored customer needs in the B2B market. It improves the process of the customers and brings
efficiency. This efficiency in process enables customers to derive more value from their
business. Also Accenture CIS Bangladesh provides IT enabled service. This IT enabled service
helps the customers to automate process & help customers to cope with the changing business
situation.

Revenue-Cost-Profit Perspective:

Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh generates revenue by providing consultancy & outsourcing
services to its customers. Its differentiated services sometimes enable it to charge higher prices.
It controls its cost by improving efficiency of internal process. Thus Accenture optimizes it profit
by increasing revenue per unit of output & decreasing cost per unit of input.

4. Evaluation of External Environment of Accenture Bangladesh

4.1 PESTEL Analysis
PESTEL analysis is a tool for external analysis of an organization. It involves collection &
portrayal of information about external factors which might have impact on the business of the
organization. PESTEL analysis is useful to identify current external factors affecting the
organization and the external factors that might change in the future. It also helps to modify the
business strategy to cope with changes in the external factors. Macro-environmental factors
included in PESTEL analysis are as depicted in the following figure:

Page | 9

Figure: PESTEL Analysis

The findings of PESTEL analysis is used to identify opportunities and threats of the organization
in SWOT analysis. PESTEL analysis helps to break unconscious assumptions and helps to adapt
the realities of real business environment.
4.1.1 Political Factors
In June 1997 the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) officially recognized that ICT can make an
important development impact by appointing a committee to look into barriers and opportunities
to export software from Bangladesh.
The Committee of Export of Software and Data Processing Services submitted a report to the
government with 45 recommendations. The Committee, for instance, advised the government in
the short term to support the ICT industry with tax holidays and specific exemptions, to provide
the necessary authority to the BCC to function as the primary facilitator, to review computer
science curricula, and to prepare over 1,000 new trainers for national universities. For the
medium term the committee recommended the creation of a Market Promotion Fund to support
installation of fiber optic cables and to coordinate setting up a communication hub in

Page | 10

Bangladesh.34 The GoB asked different concerned ministries to implement some of these
recommendations.
In 2009 the National ICT Policy was broadly reformulated across areas including education,
science and technology, infrastructural development, employment generation, private sector
development, agriculture, health and nutrition. The GoB included an e-governance vision and
promotion program for the ICT sector in the sixth Five Year Plan. This vision should support the
aim of delivering significant gains in terms of productivity and employment for both domestic as
well as foreign investors. The GoB also initiated Digital Bangladesh intending to set up
infrastructure for enhanced connectivity. In addition to policy development the GoB is
maintaining close relationships with industry associations such as BASIS, BCS and BCC.
In order to further develop the ICT sector and to realize the export potential of the sector, the
GoB recently took several noteworthy initiatives:

All Software and ICT Service companies, including those under foreign ownership, are

exempt from income tax until 2015.

Both a government sponsored long-term equity fund and short term working capital

financing are offered to ICT companies.

A special hi-technology and software technology park is being built by the government to
facilitate the development of the entire infrastructure needed by companies that outsource
activities to them. Furthermore the GoB has established the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority
to operate the Hi-Tech Park.
4.1.2 Economic Situation
Despite many developments resulting in Bangladesh moving up the value chain it remains poor
and overpopulated with 31.5 percent of the total population living below the poverty line. Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) per capita on purchasing power parity in 2012 is estimated at US$
2,100 compared to the world average of US$ 12,700. The economy of Bangladesh is growing,
expanding by 6.3 percent in 2012. The average growth rate of Bangladeshi GDP between 1994
and 2013 was 5.6 percent despite many obstacles including political instability, widely spread

Page | 11

corruption, weak infrastructure, slow implementation of economic reforms, and insufficient

power supplies.
Goldman Sachs has named Bangladesh as one of the Next Elevencountries having high
potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century along with the
BRICs/BRICS.
The largest and most labor intensive industry in Bangladesh is agriculture, employing 45 percent
of the countrys population and amounting to almost a third of its GDP. Bangladesh is also the
worlds second largest exporter of apparels and readymade garments. Due to the countrys low
level of development, the economic policy of the government is supported by international
donors and oriented towards poverty alleviation by means of considerable subsidies primarily
aimed at the agricultural sector. In 2011, Bangladesh received a record 1.1 billion USD of
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Bangladesh has one of the most liberal investment regimes in South Asia. Bilateral investment
treaties for the promotion and protection of foreign investment give Bangladesh tariff-free access
to the EU and its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) as well as to Canada, Australia and
Japan.
There are no distinctions between foreign and domestic private investors regarding investment
incentives or export and import policies. The government is eager to attract foreign investment
and the country has proven export competitiveness by:

Allowing 100 percent foreign equity investment with unrestricted exit policy, easy

remittance of royalties, and repatriation of profits and incomes creating the most liberal FDI
conditions in South Asia.

Providing protection for investments made in Bangladesh through its Foreign Private

Investment (Promotion & Protection) Act 1980.

Offering

export-oriented

industrial

enclaves,

Export

Processing

Zones,

with

infrastructural facilities and logistical support for foreign investors.

Embracing a more flexible and competitive economic zones regime with the enactment of

the Economic Zones Act 2010 which paves the way for private economic zones.

Page | 12

Despite possessing an attractive investment regime and relatively low labor costs compared to
other countries in the region, Bangladesh has had difficulty in attracting foreign investments. The
slow pace of reform implementation, endemic corruption, political instability, continual strikes,
poor infrastructure, inadequate legal and judicial system, and slow government decision-making
have hindered further growth in FDI.
4.1.3 Technological Factors
There has been a rapid movement in technological innovation. Emergence of internet
capabilities, digitalization in banking service, introduction of 3G have called for a need for a
continuous high tech service base. The techno products are short lived. So extending innovative
service poses an increasing demand of technology based solution providing firms.
4.1.4 Socio-Cultural Factors
4.1.4.1 Demographics
Young generation is dominating the business arena now as more and more students graduate
from public and private universities. Tech savvy and independent minded people are using cell
phones with internet capabilities. Moreover, use of smart phones and online services has
increased the need for technology based solution.
4.1.4.2 Lifestyle and Consumerism
There is a positive relation between higher life standard and use of high tech products. People are
consuming more technically sophisticated services in this digital era.
4.1.5 Environmental Factors
As people are getting more inclined to environment friendly technology, issues like energy
saving technology usage, reduction of paper work to save trees are proving to become most
important now a days. So Accenture Bangladesh needs to focus on using technology that saves
energy, conduct day to day activities in online to reduce paper work and save environment.
4.1.5 Legal Factors

Page | 13

Bangladesh has approved its ICT Policy in 2002. The main theme of this policy is to build an
ICT-driven nation comprising a knowledge-based society by 2006 to develop a country-wide
ICT infrastructure & to give all Bangladeshis access to information. This will empower citizens,
enhance democratic values and promote sustainable economic development. The infrastructure
will be used for human resources development, governance, e-commerce, banking and public
utilities, 70 The Environment of E-Commerce in Bangladesh among other functions. For ecommerce, the government has emphasized on the G2G, G2B transaction to involve public and
private sector, encryption and authentication of transactions, banking infrastructure and cyber
laws & legislation.
On February 14, 2005, the cabinet of Bangladesh government has approved the ICT Act-2005.
The objectives of the ICT Act are to facilitate, develop and build confidence among people for ecommerce, prevent forgery, facilitate electronic filing of documents, mitigating the dispute
among parties, evidence of transactions, contract between parties, non-repudiation, consumer
protection etc.
4.2 Porters Five Forces Analysis
Named after Michael E. Porter, this model identifies and analyses 5 competitive forces that shape
every industry, and helps determine an industry's weaknesses and strengths. Three of Porter's
five forces refer to competition from external sources. The remainders are internal threats. Porter
referred to these forces as the micro environment, to contrast it with the more general term macro
environment.
Porter's five forces include - three forces from 'horizontal' competition:

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitute products or services

Intensity of competitive rivalry

And two forces from 'vertical' competition: the bargaining power of suppliers and the
bargaining power of customers.

Bargaining power of customers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Page | 14

Figure: Porters Five Forces in the Software Industry

A means of providing corporations with an analysis of their competition and determining
Strategy, Porters five forces model (Porter, 1980) looks at the strength of five distinct
competitive forces, which, when taken together, determine long-term profitability and
competition.
4.2.1 The Competitive Force of Potential Entry
Barriers to entry are related to:
Learning and experience curve effect: In the ITES industry there are significant
experience curve effects. However, new firms entering the market have hired experienced
programmers to negate such effects.
Brand preference and customer loyalty: ITES firms work toward maintaining consumer
goodwill. However, very few of the corporate clients that the Bangladeshi ITES industry
serves have any brand preferences and continually seek the best services on offer.

Page | 15

 Government actions and policies: Government policies to assist the development of the
sector as well as the renewed desire of public enterprises for automation have led to
increased demand for software attracting new firms into the market.
So threat of new entrant is moderate.
4.2.2 The Competitive Force of Substitute Products
In the ITES industry versions of different systems upgrades very quickly but there is very little
substitute product. For example Grameenphone takes service for billing system from Accenture
CIS Bangladesh. In reality there is no substitute to this billing system. Most of the services that
Accenture provides to its corporate clients (Telco related services, HRMIS, Call Center etc.)
have very little option for substitution.
So threat of substitute is low.
4.2.3 The Bargaining Power of Suppliers
In ITES industry, the main equipments are different hardware like: servers, laptops, computer
accessories and software like: database systems, different development platforms (e.g. Java),
Operating Systems etc.
In todays world there are many firms who supply computer hardware and most of them have
their presence in Bangladesh (e.g. HP, Lenevo, IBM etc.). The hardware industry is of intense
competition and since hardware is standardized the bargain power of hardware suppliers is low.
On the other hand Microsoft has monopoly is operating system business. Oracle has similar kind
of market in database system. These suppliers have very high bargaining power.
So, the bargaining power of supplier is moderate as a whole.
4.2.4 The Bargaining Power of Customers
Bargaining power of customers in the ITES industry is high because:

Customers of the ITES industry comprise mainly of large scale manufacturers, financial

institutions, and the government, all of whom have significant buying power.
Page | 16

Customers can find alternative sellers and switch at virtually zero cost. IT enabled service

runs on standardized protocol which means that customers can purchase service from any
company. Only cost involved in switching suppliers is the cost of the new ITES system.

It is economically feasible for customers to purchase the input from several suppliers

rather than one. Many firms in the country have used different companies software to automate
processes in different departments.
So the bargaining power of buyer is high.
4.2.5 The Competitive Force of Rivalry

Rivalry in the ITES industry is intense. There is no clear market leader with all the

characteristics of a perfectly competitive market with a large number of firms and intense
competition. Even though demand for customized IT service is growing rapidly, competition
continues to be fierce as more firms enter the market.

Products and services of competitors are so weakly differentiated that customers incur

low costs in switching from one brand to another resulting in increased competition among
firms.
So rivalry among the competitors is high.
4.3 Industry Drivers of Change:
Key drivers for change in business are: Changing economic, political and social aspects. Some
organizations stagnate while others prosper in this changing context. Some of the factors driving
organizations to change include competitive pressures resulting from globalization, the growth of
consumer, power and the scientific technological revolution. Globalization also creates threats
and opportunities for businesses. Unforeseen forces are also drivers of change such as the
economic downturn can cause global instability.
4.3.1 Changes in the long term growth rate
It has been forecasted that the average revenue from IT sector is BDT.150 million a year. In last
financial year, Software/IT Service growth rate (56%) is the highest among all sectors (total
export growth only 7%).So its clear that the growing nature of this industry is providing
lucrative opportunities for new firms.
Page | 17

4.3.2 Increased globalization

Globalization has allowed different global firms like Infosys, IBM, and Accenture to compete in
the domestic market. It has intensified the competitions but also created opportunities for export.
Software/IT service export it currently one of the top 15 export items in the country. If net value
addition is considered, it is among the top 10 sectors.
4.3.3 Changes in who buys the product
Per capita Income of Bangladesh is rising steadily (from US$ 620 in 2009 to US$ 800 in 2014).
Simultaneously connectivity increased rapidly (100 million people connected over mobile) in
last 5 years. Over 20% populations (30 million) is using Internet. It is projected to be over 50%
by 2020. Internet Price came down 6 times in 6 years. These changes have brought a huge
increased demand for it services.
4.3.4 Emerging Internet Capabilities (Data, 3G, Convergence)
As we know, mobile data surpassed voice on a global basis in December 2009. Mobile
broadband users are forecast to reach more than 3.4bn by 2015 and 80% of all people accessing
the internet will do so using their mobile device. In developing countries like Bangladesh, voice
revenues are likely to continue to expand but data is expected to become more important. Thus
the integration of VAS and use of 3G is of prime importance and have become a key part of the
offerings. IT support has become a must t these telecom firms.
4.3.5 Regulatory influences and government policies
IT is a priority sector in terms of government policy. The deregulations and supportive nature of
government policy has boosted the growth of IT sector. Some of the incentives are No corporate tax for Software & IT services
Long term Equity Fund (EEF) by Bangladesh Bank convertible to zero cost liability (zero
cost of capital)
Zero import duty for computer/hardware equipment
Special High-Tech park (230 acres) being set-up by government

Page | 18

4.4 Competitive Scenario of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh

4.4.1 Local competition
Local software development market is very fragmented with Southtech being the largest with
200 people and the rest having less than 100 developers. That makes Accenture CIS Ltd.
Bangladesh division already the largest software developer in Bangladesh. The competitors will
have a certification & cost advantage on Accenture, but a significant disadvantage in quality
perception and experience with enterprise maintenance.
4.4.2 Global competition
Globally a significant number of competitors can be found. The most notable are the big four
Indian outsourcing companies TATA, Infosys, WIPRO and Satyam. In addition several of the
consulting companies like IBM are providing services to their customers through own Indian
operations. The competition must be considered as significant; however Accenture CIS Ltd.
Bangladesh will have a generic cost advantage especially in Bangladesh market. Other
companies like Philippines, China, Vietnam, and Ukraine are also major competitors of
Bangladesh IT companies.
4.4.3 Competition amongst direct competitors
For the mobile solutions the competition is reasonably week as there are plenty of opportunities.
The same is, to some extent, true for the managed solutions on the local market, but here there
are close to no competitors. For business process outsourcing Accenture CIS Bangladesh will be
competing / be compared with companies like Wipro, TCS, and Infosys.

4.5 Strategic Group Mapping

Strategic groups are set of firms emphasizing similar strategic dimensions and using a similar
strategy. They can be useful for analyzing an industrys competitive structure. These groups can
also be helpful in diagnosing competition, positioning, and the profitability of firms within an
industry.

Page | 19

An important competitive edge has been quality, such that production and delivery are not only a
pleasure, but also a feature that enhances the sense of quality and perception by clients.
Achieving competitive advantage through providing differentiated products in IT industry has
led to the increase of revenue volume over the years both directly and indirectly through
referrals.

Figure: Strategic Group Mapping of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh

Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh mainly falls in the strategic group with Wipro, Infosys, Tata &
Satyam. Basically these firms compete in the market to provide IT enabled service to top
corporate clients in Bangladesh.
4.6 Key Success Factors of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh

Page | 20

Technology
based KSF
Marketing
related KSF
Skills and
capabilities
related KSF

Existing technical skills and experience

Incorporatin of up to date IT changes

Opportunity to leverage GP's corporate

customer base
Better product quality and a broad range
of service offerings

Internal resource capability to provide

solution in multiple business areas with
multiple skill sets

Partnership with IT giants

Strategic KSF

Strong footprint in Telco domain

Figure: Key Success Factor of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh

5. Internal Analysis of Accenture Bangladesh

5.1. SWOT Analysis for Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh
SWOT analysis helps a business or individual to develop a strong business strategy by assuring
that all the businesss strengths and weaknesses are identified, as well as the opportunities and
threats are considered. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and
identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that
objective. Existing businesses can use a SWOT analysis, at any time, to assess a changing
environment and respond proactively. New businesses can use a SWOT it as a part of their
planning process in order to avoid future probable hassles.

Page | 21

Strengths

Existing technical skills and experience

Strong footprint in Telco domain

Inexperience in providing solutions to

external customers as IT company since the
organization started its business only 5 years

24/7 Customer Service

ago

Partnership with IT giants

Lack of solution competency in domains

Internal resource capability to provide

Weaknesses

other than Telco

solution in multiple business areas with

Development & process standardization

multiple skill sets

readiness

Largest data center in Bangladesh

Lack of customer reference

Opportunities

Threats

Growing local demand for IT

Lack of supply for skilled IT resources in

Digital Initiatives by Government

Global demand for low cost resource & IT
Service
Opportunity within Telenor Group & through

Market
Increasing footprint of global players in local
market (Wipro, Infosys, Samsung)
Potential competition from local companies

Partner

Regulatory changes & political instability

Need for a market leader in Bangladesh IT

Foreign currency restrictions

Industry

Figure: SWOT Analysis of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh

5.1.1 Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh Strategy to Tackle Threats and Achieve
Opportunities
Competency development based on the upcoming demands & trends
Page | 22

 Collaboration with local companies and competitors for industry development

Collaboration with universities and training institutions for skilled & ready workforce
Strong involvement with Government, BASIS, BGMEA to utilize it in modifying industry
policy & regulation for its favor
5.1.2 Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh Strategy to Utilize Strengths & Overcome Weakness
Quick utilization of low hanging fruits where both demands and competency match
Proactive marketing & aggressive sales visit to the target verticals for local market & Telco
domain for global market
Identification & implementation of cost & efficiency project within organization
Training & capability development for new team with increasing efficiency
Revise benefit policy in alignment with industry average
Immediate concentrate on the being full complaint with standardization in order to bring
efficiency in process
5.2. Value chain of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh
The strategy of Accenture CIS Bangladesh mainly focuses on following and delivering an
efficient and effective value chain model. The diagram below illustrates the value chain model of
Accenture CIS Bangladesh.

Page | 23

Fig: Value Chain model of Accenture CIS Bangladesh

To bring product and services to the market, Accenture CIS Bangladesh has its own choice of
doing that. Usually organizations try to make it on the basis of 4ps of marketing which is the
best way so far. But Accenture CIS Bangladesh is such an organization who at this point only
tries to sell their products by making direct contacts to the potential customers. There are two
major streams for delivering the service. When a totally new tool/service has to be delivered, it is
done by the application development stream. When a product is delivered, Accenture CIS Ltd.
Bangladesh also gives operation & maintenance service. Incident & Operation Coordinator
stream is responsible for this part. However the customers do not contact directly with these
major streams. The queries of customers land into the service desk. They analyze the problem
and send it to next level if the problem cant be solved by them. The sales & marketing activity is
done by the commercial department.
5.3. Analysis of Competitive Strength of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh
Strengths that distinguish Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh in the marketplace are:

Extensive industry expertise

Page | 24

Broad and evolving service offerings

Expertise in business process outsourcing

Expertise in technology innovation and implementation

Strong R &D

Knowledge & expertise sharing with other Accenture branches.

These core competencies allow Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh to serve clients along the entire
deal life cycle, independent of the actual entry point into the project and are able to support
customers on pan-geographic deals with available local resources. The workforce is an essential
ingredient to achieving its business objective. With deep industry and business process expertise,
Accenture is able to mobilize the right people, skills and technologies to help clients improve
their performance.

6. Strategy of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh in Different Levels

6.1 Corporate level Strategy of Accenture
Corporate level strategy involves four distinct factors:

New industry selection & mode of entry

Investment Prioritization

Leveraging cross business value chain

Optimize overall performance

Since Accenture is a technology consulting firm, like most organizations in this sector it uses
acquisition of existing business to get new capabilities and skill set. For example it acquired i4C
Analytics in April 2014 to expand its Advanced Analytics capabilities, PCO Innovation in
October 2013 to acquire expertise in product life cycle management [newsroom.accenture.com].
In Bangladesh, it also took an acquisition strategy. It acquired 51% share of GPIT and hence
took the control of the organization, which was previously solely owned by Grameenphone.
Accenture also uses joint venture as mode of entry besides acquisition. In November 2012,
Accenture formed a joint venture with GE Aviation to provide Intelligent Operations Aircraft
Page | 25

Planning and Recovery Solutions for commercial aviation [newsroom.accenture.com]. In April

2014 Accenture and Siemens completed formation of OMNETRIC Group a joint venture
focused on Smart Grid Solutions [newsroom.accenture.com].
Leveraging cross business value chain is reflected by what type of diversification the
organization is taking. Diversification can be related, unrelated or the combination of both.
Accenture is diversified both geographically & industrially. Business of Accenture consists of 5
operating groups which cover 19 industry groups [www.saibusresearch.com].
The operating groups are and related industry groups are as follows:

Figure: Operating group & related industry group of Accenture

As evident from the aforementioned groups, Accenture follows a combination of related &
unrelated diversification strategy.
In summary it can be said that Accenture uses acquisition & joint venture and a combination of
related-unrelated diversification to enter into new business segment
6.1.1 Analyzing the Investment Decision in Bangladesh: Method of Entry & Type of
Diversification
Accenture acquired 51% share of GPIT which was a 100% subsidiary company of
Grameenphone previously. So Accenture took an acquisition strategy in Bangladesh.

Page | 26

Accenture has main business focus on consulting, technology services & outsourcing. GPIT was
an IT organization. It was solely responsible for the maintenance of the IT system of
Grameenphone. It was also doing IT Enabled Service (ITES) business in Bangladesh. So it falls
under Communication, Media & Technology operating group and Electronics & High-Tech
industry group of Accenture. So Accenture took a related diversification strategy in Bangladesh.
6.2 Business Level Strategy of Accenture Bangladesh
Business level strategies can be classified based on two frameworks: Cost Leadership &
Differentiation. In this framework, five generic competitive strategies can be formulated as
depicted in the following figure.
Cost

Competitive Advantage

Broad
Target

Overall Low Cost

Uniqueness

Broad Differentiation

Competitive
Scope

Best Cost
Provider Strategy
Accenture

Narrow
Target

Focused Low Cost

Focused
Differentiation

Figure: Business Strategy Mapping of Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh

Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh currently works with some specific high value corporate clients.
Its prime customer is Grameenphone, the largest telecom operator in Bangladesh. It has also
good amount of business with the Telenor, the parent organization of Grameenphone. Accenture
CIS Ltd. Bangladesh also does business with some prominent financial institutions like: Standard
Chartered Bank, BRAC Bank, The City Bank etc. Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh provides
specific features to its customers. Grameenphone, BRAC Bank etc. are top notch corporate
Page | 27

giants of Bangladesh & they demand high availability & differentiation for their services. At the
same time these clients try to remain cost competitive. Thus Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh
provides services with differentiated features at a competitive price to some selected customer
segments. So it can be concluded that Accenture CIS Bangladesh takes a Best Cost Provider
Strategy at business level.
6.3 Functional Level Strategy of Accenture Bangladesh
Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh has four functions. They are:

Commercial

Technology

Finance & Corporate Affairs

People & Organization

Strategy of Commercial Function

Strategy of Commercial function focuses on Drive the Business. Commercial function is

actually does the basic sales & marketing. It ensures the business performance by achieving the
revenue target. The main dimensions of commercial strategies are as follows:
Develop Service Catalogs & Offerings
Drive Business with Telenor
Drive Business with Grameenphone
Drive Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Business
Drive Domestic Business
Drive Global Business

Strategy of Technology Function

The main focus of the Technology function is Delight the Customer. It will be achieved
through enhancing customer experience. Technology function ensures the delivery and product
differentiation as per customer need. The main dimensions of technology strategies are as
follows:
Page | 28

Achieve Industrialization and Standardization

Transform Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh into a Global Delivery Center
Achieve Customer Support Excellence
Establish Telecom Innovation Center
Transform Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh into a Global Business Process Outsourcing
Center

Strategy of Finance & Corporate Affairs Function

Finance & Corporate Affairs function focuses on cost competitiveness & internal/external
communication. Their strategic focus is to Excel the Performance. It will be achieved by
bringing excellence in organizational performance. The main dimensions of Finance &
Corporate Affairs strategy are as follows:
Attain Cost Competitiveness
Stakeholder Engagement to Business Process Outsourcing Ecosystem
Communication & Rebranding of Accenture CIS Bangladesh

Strategy of Peoples & Organization Function

Peoples & Organization function carries out the human resource function in Accenture CIS Ltd.
Bangladesh. The strategic focus is on Inspiring the Accenture Team. It will be done by
engaging & retaining people. The main dimensions of Peoples & Organization function are as
follows:
Connect & Unite Employees
Prepare to Win
Page | 29

Grow with Accenture

6.4 Operational Level Strategy of Accenture Bangladesh

Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh has different teams under each function. Each team has different
operational level strategy related to its working scope. Each operational strategy is formulated to
support the functional level strategy. Operational level strategy in Accenture CIS Ltd.
Bangladesh is derived from the corresponding functional level strategy. However the main focus
is kept to achieve required cost advantage & product diversification demanded by the clients.
6.5 Strategy of Accenture Bangladesh: Offensive or Defensive?
Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh serves in B2B market in the ITES industry. In B2B market the
contract between two firms regarding any service is more than 1 year or long term. So
competitors does not come up with new products or service everyday like B2C market. Also
Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh serves a niche market. Accenture builds a long term business
relationship with clients. If any competitor approaches its existing clients Accenture does
whatever is required to hold its existing customers like Grameenphone. So Accenture follows a
defensive strategy in ITES industry of Bangladesh.

7. Business Strategy Choices

7.1 Strategic Alliance of Accenture
OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Partners
ACCENTURE leverages from the extensive product/solution genre of the OEM partners. Other
than standardized solution, open source based solutions are also available to provide cost
effective customized solution.

ORACLE
Page | 30

ACCENTURE has a Certified Gold partnership status with Oracle Corporation and is also the
Reseller of oracle products. ACCENTURE and Oracle Corporation have a multi-pronged
strategy on product development, professional services and joint Go-to-market. Together, they
provide cost-effective vertical solutions to key industries, including: The Public Sector, Financial
Services, Communications and others. They deliver superior client value by combining the
ACCENTURE service and technology portfolio with Oracles leading enterprise software
solutions.
IBM
IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure,
hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology.
IBM is the OEM partner of ACCENTURE and ACCENTURE is developing the resources to
offer IBM solutions to the clients. ACCENTURE and IBM ensure the delivery of end to end
solutions of Express Apps Server, RDBMS, Tivoli Storage Manager, Messaging & Collaboration
and UC, Network Monitoring System, EMSA, Enterprise Content Mgt., Archival, Security/
Compliance, DWH/BI.

Microsoft
ACCENTURE is a Microsoft Registered Partner. This relationship realizes the value of
enterprise visibility, deep industry knowledge and quality technology consulting capabilities to
provide innovative, high-quality and cost-effective solutions to customers. A full suite of IT
services based on the Microsoft platform with significant number of trained, certified and
experienced ACCENTURE resources are focused on delivering the highest quality Microsoftbased solution.

CISCO
ACCENTURE is CISCOs Certified Premier Partner. They offer design and implementation of
Cisco-based networking and infrastructure solutions including maintenance for the entire Cisco
environment. ACCENTURE has proven capabilities in offering Unified Communications (UC)
and Data Center (DC) services that combine Ciscos industry-leading solutions.

Page | 31

AVAYA
Avaya is a global leader in unified communications systems, providing Unified
Communications, Contact Centers, Data solutions and related services directly and through its
Channel partners to leading businesses & organizations around the world. ACCENTURE has a
dynamic array of skill and knowledge to integrate the best of breeds Avaya solutions with the
enterprises of all size, which depend on Avaya for state-of-the-art communications that improve
efficiency, collaboration, customer services & competitiveness.

DELL
ACCENTURE and Dell relationship provides value of feasible enterprise solutions to the
customers. Dell designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports mobility products;
desktops PCs; and servers and networking products. This partnership ensures the quality
technologies and deep industry knowledge to provide innovative, cost effect and feasible IT
solutions to the customers as a whole to the information technology (IT) industry worldwide.

EMC
EMC is a world leader in offering the IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their
most valuable asset information in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way.
ACCENTURE enables the customers to avail the EMC solutions in most effective way, by
ensuring quality implementation in a cost effective manner. The combination of ACCENTUREs
strength of skilled resources with EMCs products enables clients with the winning value
proposition in storing their valuable asset of Information.

HP
HP is a leading global technology company that offers a broad product portfolio of infrastructure
and business solutions. ACCENTURE as a System Integrator and product reseller partner is able
to offer a comprehensive suite of solutions to their clients by utilizing HP hardware and software
platforms.
7.2 Industry Life cycle

Page | 32

Software and IT service industry in Bangladesh has crossed a long road over the last few
decades. It has matured. The industry no more remains at the sideline. It joined the mainstream.
Not only the industry is contributing signicantly in the national income, but also it has been
playing very crucial role in creating high quality employment for a sizable portion of young
graduates of the country.

The presence of high number of young entrepreneurs is one of the distinctive features of this
industry. In last decade many tech savvy young graduates, some of them returning from abroad
after nishing education, have started their IT ventures. Despite various local and global
challenges, these young spirited entrepreneurs have done remarkably well in building sustainable
business organizations through their hard work and passion. Surely, the enthusiasm and
resilience of the young entrepreneurs are the main driving force of Bangladesh IT industry.

Snapshot of the Industry: Size, Composition and Market

According to BASIS survey, there are over 800 registered software and ITES (IT Enabled
Service) companies in Bangladesh. There are another few hundred of unregistered small and
home-based software and IT ventures doing business for both local and international markets.

Page | 33

The total industry size is estimated to be around US$ 400 million. Approximately 70,000
professionals, majority IT and other graduates, are employed in the industry. Though, compared
to other traditional mainstream industry, the contribution for overall employment creation is not
significantly high, but if considered in terms of creating high quality employment (average
monthly compensation over Tk. 15,000 per month), software and IT service industry is surely
one of the top graduate employment sectors in the country.
BASIS recently carried out a survey on three hundred of its member companies. Analysis has
been done on business nature, business volume and size of companies. Over 70% of the
companies are found to be involved in development and maintenance of software for their
clients. A number of those are simultaneously engaged in providing different IT enabled services
for their clients as well. In total, almost half of the surveyed companies are involved in providing
range of IT enabled services (data/form processing, graphic/web design, content management
etc.).
With regard to average size of enterprises within the industry, it is interesting to note that, the
distribution is quite spread with respect to both revenue size and employment number. Majority
of the companies are in the range between 10 to 50 people in employee size. Similar pattern can
be found in revenue size of the companies. However, there are few product companies who have
relatively less number of people for significant revenue.

Page | 34

Local market still constitutes the major part of business of the software and IT service industry
(63% of BASIS member companies are focused only in local market). There has been a
consistent growth (around 20-30%) in this market over last few years. The trend also shows that
the market is maturing in terms of both client requirement and solution response from IT
companies.
It is a fact that despite high expectation, over last decade the software and IT service industry
could not perform according to its potential in the export front. The export value is still meager
compared to other outsourcing countries in the region. As reasons behind this lackluster
performance, industry experts have identified a number of problems including lack of proper
infrastructure, shortage of qualified IT resources, absence of international branding & marketing
activities etc. However, in 2010 and 2011 there have been a number of achievements that have
made

the

industry

upbeat

about

the

export

trends

in

coming

years.

Page | 35

From the table it is evident that ICT sector is in the growth sector of the industry life cycle.
Because of rapidly increasing demand of cell phone services, availability of 3G services and
competition is limited within a few handful companies

Industry experts feel that, for the

software companies there will be regular need of upgrading the skill sets, particularly in this
decade where some revolutionary trends (e.g. Cloud computing) will probably fundamentally
redefine the technology market place, probably immediately in outsourcing market , but
gradually in local market as well.
7.3.Strategy for Competing in High-Velocity Markets (IT Sector)
Strategic alliances are one way to realise competitive strategies. Firms rely on strategic alliance
in turbulent and high velocity kind of market for building their competitive position. The
circumstance of a market in continuous modification, where values change fast and competition
is based on the capacity of adapting in a particularly quickly, suggests competitive strategies
based on speed of change and innovation. Strategic alliances are a good strategic tool in such
markets because it helps innovation bringing new ideas and knowledge from outside into the
company. Through an alliance, a firm can get immediate contact with the resources of a
competitor. Another reason of the efficiency of strategic alliances in this kind of market is its
flexibility. When market values and conditions change, alliances can be discussed and
reconsidered, differently from a fusion.
IT sector is a very high velocity market because it has

Page | 36

Rapid technological change

Frequent new competitive moves of rivals

Mergers and acquisitions to build a strong market position

Rapid change of customers behavior or demand

Frequent replacement products etc.

Fast evolving customer requirements and expectations

Swirling market conditions

It can react to change to rivals new product with a better product or It can anticipate change
enough before to dictate and lead the change. To do this Accenture can invest aggressively in R &
D to stay on the leading edge of technological know-how. They can develop and maintain the
organizational capability to respond quickly to the moves of rivals. They can rely on strategic
partnerships with outside suppliers and initiate proactive actions very often not just when a
competitive response is needed.
To deal with this situation Accenture need s to:

Need to figure out how to deal with change.

Invest aggressively in R&D to stay on the leading edge of technological know-how

Develop quick-response capability

Rely on strategic partnerships with outside suppliers and with companies making tie-in
products

Initiate fresh actions every few months

8. Ethical Business Strategies, Social Responsibility, and Environmental Sustainability

8.1. Ethical code of conduct of Accenture Bangladesh
One visible aspect of Accentures Ethics & Compliance program is its Code of Business Ethics,
with which all its employees must comply. The code emphasizes critical areas particular to
organization and business model, and highlights aspects of conduct that are imperative for all
employees.
To further ensure its ongoing relevance to the business and people, in 2010 it enhanced the Code
with a set of 58 "action statements," which describe a broad spectrum of behaviours expected of
Page | 37

the people. Additionally, Accenture helps employees improve their decision-making through
guidance from leadership, its Ethical Fitness Decision-making Model and a variety of other
tools.
To support the new version of its Code of Business Ethics, in 2011 Accenture launched a
refreshed, dynamic Code of Business Ethics website, which provides access to a vast set of
resources, including scenarios depicting ethical dilemmas, policy information, FAQs for each
action statement, training, key terms, subject matter experts, collaboration tools and much more.

Client Value Creation

Accenture seeks to build long-term relationships with government clients based on
delivering value. It focuses on sustainable, long-term outcomes, forgoing short-term
opportunities that are inconsistent with its goal of delivering long-term value.

Integrity
Accenture conducts its business with integrity, fairness and openness. It believes in
heritage of think straight, talk straight. Accenture personnel, and the company itself,
face serious sanctions if it fails to conduct its business with integrity. It is not only policy
and the right thing to do; it is the law.

Stewardship

The Company understands that the laws and regulations are complex and that noncompliance raises significant financial and credibility risks for Accenture. Accordingly,
Accenture is accountable for the current and future health of its business by balancing
any government demands with the companys long-term needs.
To provide its people with a solid foundation in its Code, the company requires all employees to
complete a minimum of one to three hours of Ethics & Compliance training annually, based on
their function, location and level.

Page | 38

8.2. Leadership Style of Accenture Bangladesh

A change that is developing in corporate world is that of management versus the importance of
leadership. In the past the managers role was to organise, delegate and generally get the job
done. Now those put in managerial positions are there because of the leadership qualities they
display. The previous role of managers is now a given. The extra skill sought after is leadership.
Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal.
Executives in the organisations are desperately searching for leaders who can develop cultures
and teams that can capitalise on this new channel. According to the study these leaders possess
three traits- quick thinking, communication and flexibility(coping with constant change).
Strategic management and leadership include functions of strategic management e.g. reviewing
strategic aims and objectives, improving organisational performance, creating, communicating
and implementing change, developing and leading high performance teams, strategic decision
making; definitions of leadership e.g. Mintzbergs 10 Managerial Roles; followership; direct
versus indirect leadership; link between strategic management and leadership eg the skills of the
leader to achieve the strategic objectives.

Management and leadership style are styles e.g. autocratic, bureaucratic, charismatic, laissezfaire, persuasive, and participative; influences on style e.g. culture of organisation, characteristics
of the manager/leader; impact of styles on strategic decisions; adapting management and
leadership styles in different situations.

There is no fixed leadership style in Accenture and it varies from project to project based on the
project manager.
Generally every project has 2 managers: A project manager and a functional manager. The
authority of the functional manager flows vertically downwards and the authority of the project
manager flows sideward. Hence, each functional worker usually reports to the functional heads,
but does not normally work directly under their supervision. Instead, the worker is controlled by
a project manager. This way, each worker has two superiors, who will jointly ensure the progress
of the project.

Page | 39

Most of the projects in Accenture follow Strong Matrix i.e. most of the authorities lie with the
project manager. The project manager has a full time role, controls the project budget and he has
full time project management administrative staff under him.
The functional head may be more interested in developing the most exiting products or
technologies, whereas the project manager is more concerned with keeping deadlines and
controlling project costs.
In some cases the project managers leadership style can be described as Participative. Even
though the manager does not have much technical knowledge, he/she takes all the critical
decisions by gathering inputs from the employees working under him/her and coagulates all the
information to reach a final conclusion. This made the group members feel more engaged in the
process which made them more motivated and creative. There are also charismatic leaders who
inspire others and encourage them to be their best. Employees and group members want to
impress a charismatic leader, so they work hard and strive to succeed.

However, being an engaged organization, Accenture has strong and authentic values, with clear
evidence of trust and fairness based on mutual respect, where two way promises and
commitments-between employers and staff- are understood, and are mostly fulfilled. There is a
quality of working relationships with peers, superiors, and subordinates- employee engagement
is a direct reflection of how employees feel about their relationship with the boss.
One of Accentures core values is to attract, develop and retain the best talents for their business
and foster a collaborative and mutually supportive environment for them. Hence, they give a lot
of focus on team building activities.
Accenture organizes inter project competitions such as cricket matches, cultural competitions
(singing, dance, battle of bands etc.) every month which binds the project co-workers together
and increases their interaction. Cricket matches give the project co-workers a sense of unity and
improves teamwork amongst co-workers.
Accenture also allocates quarterly budgets for group dinners where the whole team is taken out
for dinner by the project manager. The budget depends on the performance of the team. Hence,
this is another motivational factor for the team to work harder and improve their performance.

Page | 40

Also, every team members birthday is celebrated in the office cafeteria with a cake cutting
ceremony during which the whole team is present. This improves the team dynamics and keeps
the employee enthused.
8.3. Protecting or enhancing the environment
The term sustainability is used in a variety of ways. In many firms, it is synonymous with CSR,
it is seen by some as a term that is gradually replacing CSR in the business lexicon. Indeed,
sustainability reporting and TBL reporting are often one and the same.
Usually a companys environmental sustainability strategy consists of its deliberate actions to
protect the environment, provide for the longevity of natural resources, maintain ecological
support systems for future generations, and guard against ultimate endangerment of the planet.
Accenture CIS Ltd. is committed to helping forward-thinking organizations position
sustainability as a key lever to long-term success and, ultimately, high performance. We help
organizations leverage their assets and capabilities to drive innovation and profitable growth
while striving for a positive economic, environmental and social impact.
Environmentally sustainable growth has become central to all high-performance businesses. At
Accenture, the efforts to ensure sustainable growth span the entire operations, from how they run
their business to the services they provide their clients to how they engage with their employees
and suppliers.
Fostering environmentally sustainable growth for this company and their stakeholders is at the
heart of their environmental strategy, which comprises four areas.

Page | 41

Running
efficient
operations

Enabling client
sustainability

Working
sustainably

Providing
insights to
advance
sustainability

Figure: Environmental Strategy of Accenture

Running efficient operations:

Across their geographies, they actively manage and monitor their energy, waste and water
initiatives and other resource conservation efforts. They manage electronic waste (e-waste)
across the company through a global tracking application and relationships with disposal
vendors. In fiscal 2013, they disposed of more than 250 metric tons of e-waste, with more than
99 percent avoiding landfill.

Working sustainably

The people are collaborating more closely with clients and each other, enabling them to work
smarter and deliver more effectively than ever before, regardless of location, and in the most
environmentally and economically efficient manner. The people enthusiastically support their
environmental strategy. They champion sustainable growth for the company and the stakeholders
by using virtual collaboration technologies, exploring alternative travel arrangements and
encouraging our suppliers sustainability efforts. Globally Accenture has more than 300 eco
teams in 40 countries, encompassing approximately 4,000 employee volunteers. Their people
lead local efforts that include addressing office waste and emissions, promoting telecommuting
Page | 42

and

alternative

travel

options

and

organizing

eco

engagement

activities.

Enabling client sustainability

Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh plays a pivotal role in helping to build sustainable growth for the
clients, company and people to drive the global sustainability agenda. They combine a
comprehensive set of sustainability assets, offerings and tools with insights and deep experience
to help clients achieve high performance

Providing insights to advance sustainability

Accenture CIS Ltd. Bangladesh strives to contribute to the overall environmental agenda by
serving as a collaborator, convener and thought leader. They team with other businesses and
organizations on solutions that will help make the world a better place. Each year, Accenture
convenes thought leaders at Sustainability 24, a global forum to discuss the challenges and
opportunities presented by business sustainability.
These people enthusiastically create and adopt innovative approaches to eco-smart work
practices, notably in global Eco Challenge competitions, which encourage embedding eco-smart
work practices into Accenture projects.
8.4. Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) activities of Accenture Bangladesh
Corporate social responsibility refers to a companys duty to operate in an honourable manner,
provide good working conditions for employees, encourage workforce diversity, be a good
steward of the environment, and actively work to better the quality of life in the local
communities where it operates and in society at large.
Accenture believes that running a business with values is part of building a successful business.
They see Social Responsibilities as combination of ethical and responsible corporate
behaviours, as well as a commitment towards engineering high-quality products for the society
by addressing the development needs of the country; contributing in formulation of Digital
Bangladesh. They are very committed to building a quality company based on international
standards and building a reputation for Accenture not only as an IT company but also
Bangladesh as a destination within the world IT sector.

Page | 43

Accenture, being a socially responsible company adopted systematic processes to ensure that,
wherever possible, it aims to minimize the probable negative impact of the business activities on
the environment. In the time of Ramadan they arrange ifter party for the underprivileged children
and they give money to them so that they can avail a good Eid for them. Accenture helps people
in need basis or case basis such as if there is any kind of catastrophe or calamity or any kind of
accident, they help that time with all their effort. They even arrange for winter cloths in the time
of winter to help people in the areas where winter hits the most.
As an intellectual company, they are very much interested to work with other intellectual
institutions like universities, colleges, high schools to develop much more ready, capable,
confident young generation of engineers and business people to work in the ICT sector. That
social responsibility is not just giving money to universities of giving grants or giving anything
else but also expecting something in terms of business from them. They are always ready to give
money to poor people or people who are in real need of help.

9. Conclusion:
The existence of a strong and vibrant Software & IT Industry is necessary for attaining growth as
this is the one very important force which can drive other sectors in achieving their objectives
through efficiency, accountability, and transparency. In addition to generating significant number
of employment for educated youths, this sector can add important value to the country by making
other sectors viable, productive, and efficient.
Accenture Bangladesh Ltd. has been doing an outstanding job in this regard. Its strength lies with
its people its workforce. The only input required by the software industry is that of manpower.
These factors clearly point out that the software industry has the opportunity to grow into the
leading industry of the country. Despite the recent efforts of the government and the private
entrepreneurs, more needs to be done at the national and organizational level to enable the
industry to utilize its potential.

Accenture Bangladesh is in a highly turbulent sector marked by continuous innovation and short
product life cycle. To flourish in this industry, it must continuously look for new and dynamic

Page | 44

solutions. Although currently it serves the telecommunication sector only, it should expand its
current scope into a broad range of services and solutions.

By studying the whole lot scenario, we offer the following recommendation for Accenture
Bangladesh Limited:
1. In growth industry like Software, Accenture Bangladesh Ltd. should undertake new
product differentiation of alternate service solutions.
2. It should leverage its strategic alliances with giant international firms to reap the benefit
of innovative service offerings.
3. Also we see potential for expanding services to other client intuitions like banks and
financial organizations.
At its genre, repeatedly, Accenture Bangladesh Limited has been proved itself as a tested
performer. The customer satisfaction and through industry analysis also says the same. The
positive competitive approach and marketing position are the key success factors for its
consequent and encore business success.

Page | 45

Bibliography:
Accenture Corporate Citizenship. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.google.com.bd/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBsQFjAA&url=htt
p%3A%2F%2Fcareers.accenture.com%2Fbd-en%2Fyour-future%2Fcorporatecitizenship%2FPages%2Findex.aspx&ei=26dTVOOsDIXl8AXDw4LwCA&usg=AFQjCNGNAGTocjU3
ZNlcNGxNq1VadlndeA&sig
Accenture Market Strategy. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.google.com.bd/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=accenture+bangladesh&gws_rd=ssl
Ashkenas, R. Beyond the fads:how leaders drive change with results.
Corporate Pofile, gpit. (2012, 09). Retrieved from http://www.gpit.com/aboout-us/corporateprofile/?postTabs=1 on
Corporate Profile, gpit. (2012, 10). Retrieved from http://www.gpit.com/aboout-us/corporatepolicy/?postTabs=1
Environmental Strategy, Accenture Bangladesh. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.google.com.bd/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0C
DAQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.accenture.com%2Fusen%2Fcompany%2Fcitizenship%2Fenvironmental%2FPages%2Fenvironmentalperformance.aspx&ei=26dTVOOsDIXl8AXDw4LwCA&usg=AFQjC
Kaplan, R. S. The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action.
Pearce, J. A. Strategic Management.
Singh, M. E Business Innovation and Change Management.
Strategic Partners, Accenture. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.google.com.bd/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0C
DYQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.accenture.com%2Fusen%2Fcompany%2Fcitizenship%2FPages%2Fglobalefforts.aspx&ei=26dTVOOsDIXl8AXDw4LwCA&usg=AFQjCNHaV3qlPqOgyAQLxyr4kQStAmev
Thompson, A. Crafting and Executing Strategy. Tata Mcgraw-Hill.
Tony Bush, M. C. Leadership and Strategic Management.

Page | 46