Mr. Raj Dharmaraj manages a core group of analysts, focusing on developing domain related assets and consulting solutions, project support for IT engagements in the life and retirement products area, as well as competency development and pre-sales support. He has an experience of 14 years in the IT and consulting industry, covering a wide range of systems and strategy engagements for clients in India, UK, USA and South East Asia.

Mr. Raj Dharmaraj has a PDGM in Finance and Marketing from XLRI, and holds a Life and Pensions certification awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute, UK. His professional affiliations include the All India Management Association and the Asia Pacific Risk and Insurance Association.

In the session, the speaker spoke about the drivers of outsourcing and the current trends in the area. Students were given industry insights on the issues of cost arbitrage versus partnership, captive centres versus offshore vendors, low value service offerings versus complete ownership, and the onsite/offshore model versus the ‘global delivery’ model. An important point raised was the multi-dimensional service capabilities of the global top ten IT players that set them apart from the Big Five Indian companies. Examples were drawn from Cognizant extensively; however, there was an industry perspective on other organizations as well.
Also discussed was the recent emergence of intermediaries in the service space of IT players. The growth of the Indian offshoring industry was discussed at length and recent deals made in the space were talked about.

Mr. Raj then moved onto the role of MBAs in the IT industry. He stressed that in the increasingly complex, changing and challenging IT industry, the MBA graduates are playing a key role in driving differentiation. The speaker will explored the various roles that an MBA graduate can play in the IT industry, and drew specific examples from the Cognizant context.
The talk was very stimulating and proved useful for the students, as they prepare to move into the corporate world, managing businesses across countries.