HCLTech explained

HCL Technologies Limited
Former Name:Hindustan Computers Limited[1]
Type:Public
Industry:Information technology
Consulting
Outsourcing
Foundation:[2]
Founder:Shiv Nadar
Location City:Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Location Country:India
Area Served:Worldwide
Key People:Roshni Nadar Malhotra
(chairperson)
Shiv Nadar
(chairman emeritus)[3]
C Vijayakumar
(
Services:Software
Revenue Year:2025
Income Year:2025
Net Income Year:2025
Assets Year:2025
Equity Year:2025
Num Employees:227,481 (2024)
Owner:Shiv Nadar (60.77%)
Parent:HCL Group
Footnotes:Financials .[4]

HCL Technologies Limited (d/b/a HCLTech) is an Indian multinational information technology (IT) consulting company headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Founded by Shiv Nadar, it was spun out in 1991 when HCL entered into the software services business. The company has offices in 60 countries[5] and over 220,000 employees. It is the third-largest India-headquartered IT services company by revenue and market capitalization as of 2024.[6] [7]

History

Formation and early years

In 1976, a group of eight engineers, all former employees of Delhi Cloth & General Mills, led by Shiv Nadar, started a company that would make personal computers.[8] Initially floated as Microcomp Limited, Nadar and his team (which also included Arjun Malhotra, Ajai Chowdhry, D.S. Puri, Yogesh Vaidya and Subhash Arora) started selling teledigital calculators to gather capital for their main product. On 11 August 1976, the company was renamed Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL).[9] HCL Enterprise developed an indigenous microcomputer in 1978,[10] and an RDBMS, networking OS and client-server architecture in 1983. HCL Technologies began as the R&D division of HCL Enterprise.[11]

The company originally was focused on hardware but, via HCL Technologies, software and services became the main focus.[12] [13] On 12 November 1991, HCL Technologies was spun off as a separate unit,[14] being incorporated as HCL Overseas Limited, a provider of software and technology development services.

In 1993, HCL also started providing enterprise IT infrastructure management services, winning an order to establish India's first floorless, electronic stock exchange for NSE.[15]

In July 1994, the company name was changed to HCL Consulting Limited. On 6 October 1999, the company was renamed 'HCL Technologies Limited' for "a better reflection of its activities."

Between 1991 and 1999, the company expanded its software development capacities to US, European and APAC markets.

IPO and subsequent expansion

HCL went public on 11 January 2000,[16] [17] with an issue of 14.2 million shares.[18] By the early-2000s, its wholly owned subsidiary HCL Comnet had expanded its offerings from VSAT to include network security and IT infrastructure services.[19]

In 2001, HCL formed a joint venture with Deutsche Bank by acquiring a 51% stake in the latter's Indian subsidiary Deutsche Software (later renamed DSL Software).[20] In 2004, HCL bought out the remaining 49% stake in DSL Software, which then became part of HCL's banking technology division.[21]

In 2003, HCL won a contract to develop embedded software for Airbus A340's flight warning system.[22] That same year, HCL sold its entire stake in HCL Perot Systems, a seven-year old IT services company, to joint venture partner Perot Systems for over $105 million.[23]

In 2005, HCL expanded its operations in Northern Ireland. At the 2006 UK Trade and Investment India Business Awards in New Delhi, the then UK Prime Minister Tony Blair announced the expansion.[24]

In 2008, HCL acquired the UK-based consultancy Axon Group for £440 million and merged HCL's enterprise application services (EAS) division into Axon. In the three years following the acquisition, the EAS division's revenue share within HCL increased from 9% to 22%.[25]

In October 2017, IBM and HCL announced a strategic partnership, with the latter taking over the development of IBM Lotus Software's Notes, Domino, Sametime and Verse collaboration tools.[26]

In 2018, US-based Actian was acquired by HCL and Sumeru Equity Partners for $330 million.[27] HCL America acquired the remaining 19.6% stake in Actian for $100.2 million in 2021,[28] making Actian the data & analytics division of HCLSoftware, but keeping it an independent company.[29]

In 2019, HCL Technologies acquired products of IBM including AppScan, BigFix, Commerce, Connections, Digital Experience (Portal and Content Manager), Notes/Domino, and Unica.[30]

In 2021, the company reached $10 billion in revenue.[31] In 2022, HCL Technologies rebranded as HCLTech.[32]

In 2023, HCLTech acquired ASAP Group, a German automotive engineering company for $279 million.[33] In August 2023, HCLTech signed a $2.1 billion managed network services deal with Verizon Business.[34] [35] In May 2024, HCLTech announced the acquisition of select assets of Communications Technology Group, a business division of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), for $225 million.[36]

Acquisitions

Acquisition dateCompanyBusinessCountryRef.
Apollo Contact CentreBusiness process outsourcingUnited Kingdom[37]
Gulf Computers Inc.Application developmentUnited States
DSL SoftwareBanking softwareIndia
Shipara TechnologiesProduct engineering and embedded systemsIndia[38]
Aquila TechnologiesEngineering softwareIndia[39]
Capital Stream Inc.Business process automationUnited States[40]
Liberata Financial ServiceBusiness process outsourcingUnited Kingdom[41]
Control Point Solutions, Inc.Telecommunications serviceUnited States[42]
Axon GroupSAP consultingUnited Kingdom[43]
UCS Group's SAP divisionSAP consultingSouth Africa[44]
Concept to Silicon Systems (C2SiS)SemiconductorsIndia[45]
Volvo's external IT divisionIT servicesSweden[46]
29 October 2015PowerObjectsCRM consultingUnited States[47]
2 April 2016Geometric LtdPLM and engineering servicesIndia[48]
21 October 2016Butler America AerospaceEngineering and design servicesUnited States[49]
25 April 2017Urban Fulfillment Services, LLCBusiness process outsourcingUnited States[50]
5 September 2017ETL Factory Limited (Datawave)AutomationUnited Kingdom[51]
12 April 2018ActianData analyticsUnited States
27 June 2018H&D International Group IT and engineering servicesGermany[52]
13 March 2019Strong-Bridge EnvisionIT consultingUnited States[53]
9 September 2019Sankalp SemiconductorTechnology design servicesIndia[54]
21 September 2020DWS LtdIT servicesAustralia[55]
14 January 2022StarschemaData servicesHungary/United States[56]
9 May 2022Confinale AGDigital banking and wealth management consultingSwitzerland[57]
9 May 2022Quest InformaticsIndustry 4.0 and internet of thingsIndia[58]
13 July 2023ASAP GroupAutomotive engineering servicesGermany[59]
23 May 2024HPE's CTG divisionTelco solutionsUnited States
9 August 2024ZeeneaData management and analyticsFrance[60]

Operations

HCLTech operates in 60 countries and has more than 200 delivery centers and 150 innovation labs. Its headquarters are in Noida, India. The company serves include Digital, Engineering, Cloud, AI and Software.[61] HCLTech business is divided into three segments: IT and Business Services (ITBS), Engineering and R&D Services (ERS), and HCLSoftware.[62]

HCLSoftware

In 2019, HCL Technologies started a software product division called HCLSoftware, after completing the acquisition of IBM's software tools.[63] Notable products under HCLSoftware include HCL AppScan, HCL BigFix, HCL Connections, HCL Commerce Cloud, HCL Digital Experience, HCL Sametime, HCL Notes, iNotes, and Unica. As for Actian, their data & analytics division, notable products include HCL Informix, Actian Data Platform, Actian Ingres, Actian Zen, Actian NoSQL and Zeenea.[64] HCLSoftware division had revenue of in fiscal year 2023–24.[65]

Employees

As of March 31, 2024, HCLTech had over 227,000 employees worldwide, representing 161 nationalities.[66]

HCLTech has had four CEOs since its inception:

!CEO!Tenure
Shiv Nadar1976–2007
Vineet Nayar[67] 2007–2013
Anant Gupta[68] 2013–2016
C Vijayakumar2016–present

HCL Group

HCLTech is the flagship company of the HCL Group.[69] Another HCL Group company, HCL Infosystems, was formed in 1976 to produce calculators.[70] HCL Infosystems later became one of the leading manufacturers of personal computers and laptops in India, but it eventually lost market share to foreign competitors like HP and Dell, and shut down its manufacturing division.[71]

In February 2014, HCL Group launched HCL Healthcare, which provides corporate health services.[72] HCL TalentCare is the fourth venture of HCL Group, which provided skilling and staffing services.[73]

HCLFoundation

HCLFoundation is the CSR arm of HCL Technologies in India.[74] As of March 2024, it has invested around ₹1,400 crores (US$170 million) in social and environmental programs. Its initiatives include the HCLTech Grant.[75]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: The dark horse of the technology sector . 30 May 2024 . Moneycontrol . https://web.archive.org/web/20081227053400/http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/management/shivnadarhcl/thedarkhorsetechnologysector/market/stocks/article/279967 . 27 December 2008.
  2. Web site: Company History – HCL Technologies Ltd. . CIOL . 23 May 2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160805085452/http://www.ciol.com/shiv-nadar-tells-hcls-success-story/ . 5 August 2016 .
  3. Web site: Fast Facts . HCL Technologies . 1 February 2014 . 1 February 2014 . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140214142103/https://www.hcltech.com/investors/fast-facts. 14 February 2014 .
  4. Web site: Audited Financial Results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2025 Q4. 26 April 2024. NSE. en.
  5. Web site: Key Facts and Data . 2024-12-06 . hcltech.com.
  6. News: Suresh . Haripriya . 14 October 2024 . India's HCLTech raises lower end of FY25 revenue growth forecast . 5 April 2025 . Reuters.
  7. Web site: 2024-09-18 . Top 10 largest IT companies in India by market cap, as of 2024 . 2025-04-05 . The Indian Express . en.
  8. Book: A classic startup founded in1976 in an Indian garage by Shiv Nadar, HCL Enterprise flourished in the 1980s – "a golden period" for the company. . Be a Great Boss: The Hill Collection . 978-1625277824 . Linda A. Hill . Kent Lineback . 2014. Harvard Business Review Press .
  9. Web site: The amazing story of the birth of HCL. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20080327031922/http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/jun/09bspec1.htm. 27 March 2008.
  10. Web site: About HCL Enterprise. HCL Technologies . 28 August 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150821161508/http://www.hcltech.com/about-us/about-hcl-enterprise . 21 August 2015.
  11. Web site: Heritage & Legacy. HCL . 28 August 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150820074935/http://www.hcl.com/heritage-list . 20 August 2015.
  12. Book: Linda A. Hill . Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation . Greg Brandeau . Emily Truelove . 2014 . Harvard Business Review Press . 978-1422187593 . In spite of these changes, HCL Enterprise entered the 1990s determined to retain its focus on hardware..
  13. Web site: Simon Sharwood . 30 October 2017 . IBM offloads Notes and Domino to India's HCL Technologies . The Register.
  14. Web site: microsoft.com . HCL Technologies Limited is an Indian multinational IT services company, headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. ... subsidiary of HCL Enterprise. Originally a research and development division of HCL, .. independent .. 1991 . . HCL Technologies.
  15. Web site: 2010-07-26. Dataquest : Focus : Infrastructure Management : Opportunity during Tough Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20100726134341/http://dqindia.ciol.com/content/industrymarket/focus/2009/109030601.asp. dead. 2010-07-26. 2021-12-16.
  16. News: 2025-01-18 . 25 years of HCLTech IPO: IT major gave over 1300% return since market debut . 2025-03-20 . The Times of India . 0971-8257.
  17. Web site: 2025-01-20 . HCLTech celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Initial Public Offering . 2025-03-20 . APN News . en-US.
  18. News: Company History – HCL Technologies Ltd.. 28 August 2015. The Economic Times. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150906000750/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/hcl-technologies-ltd/infocompanyhistory/companyid-4291.cms. 6 September 2015.
  19. News: The Men Behind HCL Comnet . 11 August 2024 . DQ India . 21 November 2002 . en.
  20. News: HCL Tech forms JV with Deutsche Bank: Reuters . 6 June 2024 . Rediff. 26 September 2001.
  21. News: Chandran . Bipin . Deutsche Bank to sell 49% DSL Soft stake to HCL . 6 June 2024 . Business Standard . 20 September 2004.
  22. News: HCL to develop embedded software for Airbus . 20 September 2024 . The Times of India . 16 June 2003.
  23. News: Perot buys HCL out of JV for Rs 479 crore . 11 August 2024 . Business Standard . 23 December 2003.
  24. Web site: Prime Minister Announces 600 New Jobs for Armagh and Belfast . Invest NI . 8 September 2005 . 29 June 2016 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160815032711/http://www.investni.com/news/prime-minister-announces-600-new-jobs-for-armagh-and-belfast.html . 15 August 2016 . dmy-all .
  25. News: Sen . Sunny . How AXON is putting HCL Tech in the big league . 13 August 2024 . Business Today . 14 October 2011 . en.
  26. Web site: The Register. IBM offloads Notes and Domino to India's HCL Technologies. Simon Sharwood . 30 October 2017.
  27. Web site: Reuters . 12 April 2018. HCL Tech, PE firm to buy U.S. data management firm Actian.
  28. Web site: HCL Technologies subsidiary boosts stake to fully own Actian Corporation's parent. www.moneycontrol.com. en. 12 August 2024.
  29. Web site: How the Actian Acquisition Illustrates HCL's Product-Based Consulting Strategy . www.forbes.com. en. 12 August 2024 . 5 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181205151937/https://www.forbes.com/ . live .
  30. Web site: YK . R . HCL Technologies announces close of acquisition of select IBM products . livemint.com. Livemint. 1 April 2019.
  31. Web site: 2021-01-15 . HCL Tech Q3FY21: Revenue reaches $10 billion-mark; FY21 guidance at 2–3% . 2023-07-23 . Business Today . en.
  32. News: HCL Technologies rebrands itself to HCLTech . The Economic Times. 26 September 2022 . Majumdar . Romita .
  33. Web site: 2023-07-13 . HCLTech acquires German autonomous driving tech firm ASAP for $279 mn . 2025-03-20 . Business Today . en.
  34. Web site: Walker . Karen . Inside The Verizon Business-HCLTech Deal With Kyle Malady And C. Vijayakumar . 2025-03-20 . Forbes . en.
  35. News: 2023-08-11 . HCLTech wins $2.1 billion Verizon deal . 2025-03-20 . The Economic Times . 0013-0389.
  36. News: HCLTech to buy Hewlett Packard's communications tech assets for $225 million . 2024-05-25 . The Economic Times. 24 May 2024 .
  37. Web site: India's HCL to add 600 staff in Northern Ireland. John. Ribeiro. 8 September 2005. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160817160234/http://www.computerworld.com/article/2557035/it-outsourcing/india-s-hcl-to-add-600-staff-in-northern-ireland.html. 17 August 2016.
  38. News: Shipara becomes HCL Tech's fully owned . 11 August 2024 . CIOL . 13 October 2004 . en.
  39. News: HCL Tech takes over Aquila Tech . 11 August 2024 . Business Standard . 17 February 2005.
  40. News: HCL acquires Capital Stream for $40 million . 22 January 2019 . The Economic Times . 21 February 2008.
  41. News: HCL Tech to acquire Liberata Financial Services. 28 August 2015. Business Standard. 16 July 2008. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923230642/http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/hcl-tech-to-acquire-liberata-financial-services-108071600073_1.html. 23 September 2015.
  42. News: HCL Tech buys US based Control Point. 28 August 2015. The Times of India. 25 August 2015.
  43. News: HCL Technologies Completes Acquisition of AXON Group plc. 28 August 2015. Bloomberg L.P.. 15 December 2008. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924183226/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ao7qHROBT6Sg. 24 September 2015.
  44. News: HCL Tech Division Buys UCS Group's SAP Operations. 28 August 2015. The Wall Street Journal. 17 July 2009. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160222075537/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124782314239557135. 22 February 2016.
  45. News: HCL acquires privately held Engineering services firm Concept to Silicon. 19 October 2015. The Economic Times. 19 October 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151020211904/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/hcl-acquires-privately-held-engineering-services-firm-concept-to-silicon-systems/articleshow/49449515.cms. 20 October 2015.
  46. News: HCL Tech to buy Volvo's IT business. 20 October 2015. Business Line. 20 October 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151022171443/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/hcl-tech-to-buy-volvos-it-business/article7783843.ece. 22 October 2015.
  47. Web site: Novinson . Michael . 30 October 2015 . HCL Buys Microsoft CRM Superstar PowerObjects for $46M . 21 May 2025 . CRN.
  48. News: HCL Technologies to acquire Geometric. 2 April 2016. Business Standard India. 25 January 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170120235658/http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/hcl-technologies-to-acquire-geometric-116040101311_1.html. 20 January 2017.
  49. News: HCL to acquire Butler America Aerospace for $85 million – The Economic Times. The Economic Times. 25 January 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170201205354/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/hcl-to-acquire-butler-america-aerospace-for-85-million/articleshow/54970372.cms. 1 February 2017.
  50. News: HCL acquires Urban Fulfillment Services for $30 million . Agarwal . Surabhi . 25 April 2017 . The Economic Times . 15 September 2017 .
  51. News: HCL acquires UK-based data management platform Datawave. Agarwal. Surabhi. 6 September 2017. The Economic Times. 15 September 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170918025459/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/hcl-acquires-uk-based-data-management-platform-datawave/articleshow/60381911.cms. 18 September 2017.
  52. News: HCL Tech acquires H&D International for 30 mn euros. 27 June 2018. The Economic Times. 27 June 2018.
  53. News: HCL Tech to buy Strong-Bridge Envision to boost digital transformation skills . 11 August 2024 . Techcircle . 13 March 2019 . en.
  54. News: Agarwal. Surabhi. HCL Tech acquires Sankalp Semiconductor for Rs 180 crore. 9 September 2019. The Economic Times. 19 March 2020.
  55. News: Mathur . Nandita . HCL Technologies to acquire Australian IT solutions company DWS . 11 August 2024 . Mint . 21 September 2020.
  56. News: HCL Technologies acquires Hungary's Starschema for $42.5 million. The Economic Times. 2022-02-01.
  57. 9 May 2022. HCL Technologies Acquires FinTech Consultancy Confinale AG. Channel E2E. 19 May 2022.
  58. News: HCL Tech to acquire Bengaluru-based Quest Informatics for Rs 15 cr cash . 8 July 2024 . Business Standard.
  59. News: Nagasundaram . Dhanya . HCL Technologies inks deal with ASAP Group for about ₹2,300 crore . 30 May 2024 . mint . 13 July 2023 . en.
  60. News: HCL Tech's software business unit to acquire Zeenea for €24 million - CNBC TV18 . 11 August 2024 . CNBCTV18 . 9 August 2024 . en.
  61. Web site: HCLTech . 2025-04-06 . cloud.google.com.
  62. Web site: HCL Technologies Ltd Management Discussions . 2025-04-06 . India Infoline . en.
  63. News: The curious case of HCL Software . 30 May 2024 . Techcircle . 20 January 2021 . en.
  64. Web site: HCLSoftware Announces Intent to Acquire Metadata Management Software Provider Zeenea. Actian. 2024-08-12.
  65. Web site: HCLTech's Annual Report 2023-24 . HCLTech . BSE . 12 August 2024.
  66. Web site: HCLTech_Annual_Report2023-24.pdf . 19 March 2025 . www.hcltech.com.
  67. News: 27 December 2013 . Vineet Nayar retires from HCL Technologies board . 16 July 2024 . Mint.
  68. News: 17 January 2013 . Anant Gupta takes over as HCL Tech CEO . 16 July 2024 . Mint.
  69. News: Strategic move for HCL Group to venture into chip testing and packaging: Roshni Nadar on Foxconn JV . 11 July 2024 . Business Today . 17 January 2024 . en.
  70. News: Envisioning IT in Every Home. CIO India. en. 15 August 2018. 15 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180815055236/http://www.cio.in/ceo-interviews/hcls-ajai-chowdhry-envisions-it-every-home. dead.
  71. News: HCL Infosystems to shut PC manufacturing business . 11 July 2024 . Gadgets Now . Times of India . 18 November 2013 . en-IN.
  72. News: HCL enters healthcare business with Rs 1,000 crore . 28 August 2015. The Times of India . 7 February 2014 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150707095322/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/HCL-enters-healthcare-business-with-Rs-1000-crore/articleshow/29965199.cms . 7 July 2015.
  73. News: HCL launches TalentCare to bridge supply gap in IT, Healthcare, Banking . 22 January 2019 . The Economic Times . 15 May 2015.
  74. News: 2023-05-30 . ‘HCLTech Grant triggers multiplier effects in education, health, and environment’ . 2025-07-27 . The Hindu . en-IN . 0971-751X.
  75. Web site: HCLFoundation Annual Report 2023-24 .

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