Wipro Limited is an Indian IT services and consulting group headquartered in Bangalore. Classified in the software sector, it follows the model of a digital services company rather than that of a vendor selling a single product. Its teams design, modernize and operate applications and infrastructure for international clients, particularly in finance, manufacturing, retail and healthcare.
Diversification that became the core business
Wipro’s history began in 1945, in a business far removed from IT: manufacturing vegetable oils in India. Azim Premji took over the management of the company in 1966 and gradually led its diversification. From the 1980s onward, the group developed its IT activities before participating in the rise of Indian technology services for international markets.
This evolution culminated in 2013 in the separation of its non-IT businesses, which were brought together under Wipro Enterprises. Wipro Limited then focused on technology and consulting. The Premji family retains an important role in its governance, with Rishad Premji becoming chairman of the board in 2019. The group’s journey thus illustrates the transition from a domestic industrial company to a global digital services provider.
From consulting to systems operations
Wipro operates across several stages of the IT lifecycle. The group helps clients define their transformation projects, develops custom software, integrates vendor solutions and maintains existing applications. It also offers cloud migration, infrastructure management, cybersecurity and data value creation services. Its engineering activities cover embedded software and connected products in particular.
Its organization combines close client relationships with delivery capabilities spread across several countries, including India. This model enables it to handle complex programs and multiyear service contracts. The acquisition of Capco in 2021 strengthened its consulting expertise, particularly for banks and insurance companies. Wipro also works with major cloud providers and enterprise software vendors in an ecosystem where integration matters as much as the technology itself.
What next?
Generative artificial intelligence is opening up new areas of work for Wipro: development assistance, support automation, document searches and business process improvement. It also raises an economic question for IT service providers, since productivity gains can change how projects are billed and reduce some requirements for human labor.
For Wipro, the challenge will be to turn these uses into measurable results while meeting security, privacy and compliance requirements. In a competitive market, its trajectory will also depend on its ability to combine industry expertise, consulting and technical execution. Modernizing existing systems will remain a central focus, beyond AI projects alone.