The customer always comes first. Except when it comes to HCL, the $6 billion Indian outsourcing -- make that co-sourcing -- giant led by CEO Vineet Nayar, who literally wrote the book on a philosophy known as 'employees first, customer second.' In this latest installment of our CEO Interview Series, Nayar spoke with IDG Enterprise Chief Content Officer John Gallant about how that philosophy is fueling HCL's rapid growth and why more CIOs ought to consider adopting it. Nayar also discussed how HCL has set its sights beyond competing with other Indian outsourcers like Infosys and Wipro and is squarely targeting what he believes are the many unhappy customers of services giants like IBM, Accenture and CSC. The outspoken Nayar took shots at the 'fear psychosis' created by services firms in trying to peddle their offerings and used a barnyard epithet to describe public cloud computing, which he claims isn't ready for prime time. He also outlined HCL's aggressive plans for hiring locally in the U.S. and Europe, and defended the company's use of the controversial H-1B visa program. In addition, Nayar talked about the new goals for IT departments in 2012 and beyond, and explained why treating mobile as a technology 'misses the point.'

Wipro, one of India's top outsourcers, reported slow revenue growth in U.S. dollar terms for the quarter ended March 31, and issued muted guidance for the next quarter, reflecting an uncertain outsourcing market.

Offshore outsourcing companies continued to make up the majority of the top 10 H-1B visa users in 2011, according to new government data. These offshore firms have been adding employees by the thousands as their revenues increase.

Wipro's IT services revenue grew 12 percent year on year in U.S. dollar terms in the quarter ended Dec. 31, but its growth lags behind Indian outsourcing peers such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

India's National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) said Monday that an economic slump in the U.S. will benefit Indian outsourcers, as U.S. customers look to cut costs.

Wipro's second-quarter revenue grew, the company reported Wednesday. However, its larger competitors, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, grew faster.

Indian outsourcers have been typically known to develop enterprise software or offer IT services. But India's third largest outsourcer, Wipro, is taking advantage of having once designed and manufactured its own PCs and servers, to design and manufacture hardware products for customers.

The service quality at top Indian outsourcers is dropping as they scramble to hire staff to cope with an unexpected surge in demand, analysts said.