Customer relationship management-focused Salesforce’s Indian unit has witnessed a 40% jump in FY24 net profit at Rs 888.3 crore.
The San Francisco, US-headquartered company’s revenue in FY24 grew 36% to Rs 9,116 crore, making it the first fiscal where the topline crossed $1 billion.
The company also announced that it is leasing out a 12-storey building in Bengaluru as part of its investments in India, which will make the Karnataka capital the 10th city globally to have a ‘Salesforce Tower’.
Salesforce India’s Chairperson and Chief Executive, Arundhati Bhattacharya, said the revenue grew 36%, but declined to share India’s standing in the global pecking order. In FY25, Salesforce is targeting 8-9% growth in the global topline to $38 billion.
The topline for Salesforce India includes both sales in India and also the receipts for work done for global operations out of the country, she said.
Bhattacharya, a career banker who now heads the tech major’s India operations, said that at a time when the IT companies were circumspect about hiring, its overall workforce in India has risen by 3,000 since January 2024 to 13,000 people as of November.
Bhattacharya declined to comment on outlook on revenues or hiring but said that the company sees a lot of opportunity in India both as a market for its services and also as a talent hub to support the global operations.
The India sales will rise on the back of the macroeconomic strengths, “whitespaces” representing unmet demand and also technology evolution, she said.
The company is looking at the public sector as a big opportunity in India, and has also registered itself on the Government E Marketplace, she said, adding that Salesforce is also participating in such opportunities by submitting requests for proposal.
The company is also keen to address the demand on digital transformation opportunities in the country, and does not want to be seen only as a customer relationship management (CRM) player, she said.
At the same time, on the back of the talent it has, the country has become an integral part of the supply chain and moved beyond the business process outsourcing or knowledge process outsourcing model, Bhattacharya said, adding that in the case of Salesforce, India is not just a base for junior employees but also for leaders.
At present, the company has a presence in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, and Jaipur as well apart from operations in Bengaluru.
The construction of the ‘Salesforce Tower’ in Bengaluru is on, and the company will occupy the 6 lakh sq ft office with a capacity to seat 3,800 people by mid-2026, said Executive Vice President for Real Estate and Workplace Services, Relina Bulchandani.
Bulchandani said the company will be consolidating its presence in Bengaluru into a single facility with the tower located in Bagmane Tech Park in Mahadevpura.
Other cities with such towers are San Francisco, New York, Chicago, London, Dublin, Sydney, Tokyo, Atlanta and Indianapolis.
Feature image: Salesforce India Chairperson and Chief Executive, Arundhati Bhattacharya
