Wipro Limited (formerly Western India Products Limited[3]) (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685) is an Indian multinational information technology

(IT) consulting and outsourcing service company located in Bangalore, Karnataka in India.[4][5] As of March 2013, the company has 145,000 employees serving over 900 clients with a presence in 57 countries.[6] Wipro is the third largest IT services company in India.[7] Its subsidiary, Wipro Enterprises Ltd., offers consumer care, lighting, healthcare, and infrastructure engineering.[8]

Early formative years

The company was incorporated on 29 December 1945, in Mumbai by Mohamed Hasham Premji as Western India Vegetables Products Limited, later abbreviated to Wipro. It was initially set up as a manufacturer of vegetable ghee, vanaspati, and refined oils in Amalner, Dist:Jalgaon, Maharashtra, under the trade names of Kisan, Sunflower and Camel.[9] The company logo still contains a sunflower to reflect products of the original business. In 1966, after Mohamed Premjis death, his son Azim Premji returned home from Stanford University and took over Wipro as its chairman at the age of 21.[10] Wipro became a more profitable, diversified corporation with new products such as the Wipro SuperGenius personal computers (PCs). In 1999, the product was the one Indian PC range to obtain US-based National Software Testing Laboratory (NSTL) certification for the Year 2000 (Y2K) compliance in hardware for all models.[11] Azim Premji is a major shareholder in Wipro.[12] During the 1970s and 1980s, the company shifted its focus to new business opportunities in the IT and computing industry, which was at a nascent stage in India at the time. On 7 June 1977, the name of the company changed from Western India Vegetable Products Limited., to Wipro Products Limited.[9] The year 1980 marked the arrival of Wipro in the IT domain. In 1982, the name was changed from Wipro Products Limited to Wipro Limited[13] Meanwhile Wipro continued to expand in the consumer products domain with the launch of "Ralak" a tulsi-based family soap and "Wipro Jasmine", a toilet soap.[9]

19881992
In 1988 Wipro diversified its product line into heavy-duty industrial cylinders and mobile hydraulic cylinders.[9] A joint venture company with the United States' General Electric in the name of Wipro GE Medical Systems Pvt. Ltd. was set up in 1989 for the manufacture, sales, and service of diagnostic and imaging products.[14] Later, in 1991, tipping systems and Eaton hydraulic products were launched. The Wipro Fluid Power division, in 1992, developed expertise to offer standard hydraulic cylinders for construction equipment and truck tipping systems. The market saw the launch of the "Santoor" talcum powder and "Wipro Baby Soft" range of baby toiletries in 1990.[14]

19942000

In 1994 Wipro set up an overseas design centre, Odyssey 21, for undertaking projects and product developments in advanced technologies for overseas clients. Wipro Infotech and Wipro Systems were amalgamated with Wipro in April that year.[14] Five of Wipro's manufacturing and development facilities secured the ISO 9001 certification during 199495. In 1999, Wipro acquired Wipro Acer.[15] Wipro SuperGenius personal computers (PCs) became the only Indian PC range to obtain the US-based National Software Testing Laboratory's (NSTL) Certification for Year 2000 (Y2K) compliance.[11] Wipro Limited joined hands with a global telecom major KPN (Royal Dutch telecom) to form a joint venture company Wipro Net Limited to provide internet services in India.[12] The year 2000 was the year Wipro launched solutions for convergent networks targeted at Internet and telecom solution providers in the names of Wipro OSS Smart and Wipro WAP Smart.[16] In the same year, Wipro got listed on New York Stock Exchange.[17]

2001present
In February 2002, Wipro became the first software technology and services company in India to be certified for ISO 14001 certification.[18] Wipro also achieved ISO 9000 certification to become the first software company to get SEI CMM Level 5 in 2002.[19][20] Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting Group entered the market of compact fluorescent lamps, with the launch of a range of CFL, under the brand name of Wipro Smartlite.[21] As the company grew, a study revealed that Wipro was the fastest wealth creator for 5 years (19972002).[22][23] The same year witnessed the launch of Wipros own laptops with Intel's Centrino mobile processor.[24] Wipro also entered into an exclusive agreement with the owners of Chandrika for marketing of their soap in select states in India.[25][26] It set up a wholly owned subsidiary company viz. Wipro Consumer Care Limited to manufacture consumer care and lighting products.[27] In 2004 Wipro joined the billion dollar club.[28] It also partnered with Intel for i-shiksha.[29][30] The year 2006 saw Wipro acquire cMango Inc., a US-based technology infrastructure Consulting firm[31][32] Enabler, and a Europe based retail solutions provider.[33] In 2007, Wipro inked a large deal with Lockheed Martin.[34][35] It also entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Oki Techno Centre Singapore Pte Ltd (OTCS)[35][36] and signed an R&D partnership contract with Nokia Siemens Networks in Germany.[37][38] The year 2008 saw Wipros foray into the clean energy business with Wipro Eco Energy.[39][40] In April 2011, Wipro signed an agreement with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for the acquisition of their global oil and gas information technology practice of the commercial business services business unit.[41][42] The year 2012 saw Wipro make its 17th acquisition in IT business when it acquired Australian analytics product firm Promax Applications Group (PAG) for $35 million.[43][44] Wipro is the No. 1 employer of H-1B visa professionals in the United States in 2012.[45] In 2012 Wipro Ltd. announced the demerger of its Consumer Care & Lighting (incl. Furniture business), Infrastructure Engineering (Hydraulics & Water business), and Medical Diagnostic Product & Services business into a separate company to be named Wipro Enterprises Ltd.[46][47] Wipro's scheme of arrangement for demerger turned effective from 31 March 2013.[48][49]

Wipro Group of Companies

Wipro Ltd.
Wipro Limited is a global provider of comprehensive IT solutions and services, including Systems Integration, Consulting, Information Systems outsourcing, IT-enabled services, and R&D services. It is also a value added reseller of desktops, servers, notebooks, storage products, networking solutions and packaged software for international brands.[50] Wipro entered into the technology business in 1981 and has over 140,000 employees and clients across 54 countries today.[51] IT revenues stood at $ 6.2 billion for the year ended 31 March 2013, with a repeat business ratio of over 95%.[52][53] The business model at Wipro Technologies Ltd is an industry aligned customer facing model[54][55][56] which gives greater understanding of customers businesses to build industry specific solutions.

Wipro Enterprises Ltd.

Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting (WCCLG), a business unit of Wipro Limited operates in the FMCG segment offering a wide range of consumable commodities. Established in 1945, the first product to be introduced by WCCLG was vegetable oil, later popularised under the brand name "Sunflower Vanaspati". It offers personal care products, such as Wipro Baby Soft and Wipro Safewash, toilet soaps like Santoor and Chandrika as well as international brands like Yardley.[57] Its portfolio of lighting solutions includes products like Smartlite CFL,[58] LED, emergency lights and more.[59] Through its customer-centric products and acquisitions, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting has become a fast growing company in the FMCG segment.[60][61][62] Wipro Infrastructure Engineering Wipro Infrastructure Engineering is the hydraulics business division of Wipro Limited and has been in the business of manufacturing hydraulic cylinders, truck cylinders, and their components and solutions since 1976. This division delivers hydraulic cylinders to international OEMs and represents the Kawasaki, Sun Hydraulics[63] and Teijin Seiki range of hydraulic products in India.[64] It has entered into partnerships with companies like Kawasaki[65][66] and aerospace giant EADS.[67] The commitment to quality has made Wipro Infrastructure Engineering the second largest independent manufacturer of cylinders in the world.[68][69] The company has recently ventured into water treatment systems and solutions to cater to the needs of various industries.[70] Wipro GE Medical Systems Limited

Wipro GE Medical Systems Limited is Wipros joint venture with GE Healthcare South Asia. It is engaged in the research and development of advanced solutions to cater to patient and customer needs in healthcare. This partnership, which began in 1990,[71] today includes offerings like gadgets and equipment for diagnostics, healthcare IT solutions and services to help healthcare professionals combat cancer, heart disease, and other ailments. There is complete adherence to Six Sigma quality standards in all products.[72][73][74]

Governance
Chairman: Azim.H.Premji Chief executive officer: T K Kurien IT Business and Executive Director Chief financial officer: Suresh Senapaty CFO and Executive Director Chief Operations Officer: Bhanumurthy Ballapuram

Milestones
Wipro, one of the world's most trusted brands, is a name with a long history. Here's a snapshot of our journey to date:

Established in 1945 as Western India Vegetable Products Limited in Amalner, Maharashtra IPO for capital in February 1946 Ventured in to the fledgling IT industry in 1981 Established software products and exports subsidiary, Wipro Systems Ltd. in 1983 Pioneers in marketing indigenous Personal Computers in 1985 Established a Joint venture with GE in 1989 Entered IT services in the 1990s - we were among the pioneers in developing the ODC (Offshore Development Center) concept Software business assessed at SEI-CMM Level 5 in 1998 Listed on NYSE in 2000 (NYSE:WIT) The first company in the world to be assessed at PCMM Level 5 in 2001 Entered the BPO business in 2002 Entered the Eco-energy business in 2008

Significance of Colors in the Wipro Brand Identity Red : Blood, Life giving, Dynamic, Auspicious Green : Fields, Prosperity, Freshness, Growth, Youth Yellow : Sun, Warmth, Vitality, Aspirations Violet : Intelligence, Innovation, Shrewdness, Mystery Blue : Sky, Sea, Transparency, Natural