"With age on his side, Sikka should be able to make long-term strategies and goals, which is a good thing for Infosys. It brings stability," said Ankita Somani, Mumbai-based analyst at MSFL Research Institutional Business Group.
Sikka`s term at Infosys is for five years and he is to be given a free hand to chalk his own way as all the founders at Infosys will step down by end-July.
His tenure at SAP, however, was not without conflict.
Sikka quit SAP amid rumours of a power struggle within the company. Employees who worked with him or reported to him also told Reuters he tends to hog the limelight. After Sikka, SAP CEO Bill McDermott told reporters they would get more access to engineers at company events from then on.
Analyst Feinberg said one of Sikka`s first tasks would be to build a team at Infosys, which has lost many senior executives in the past year.
"There`s basically nobody in the IT business in management who does not know who Vishal Sikka is. Just by that he should be able to get the people he wants to work for him," he said.
Infosys has a sprawling 170-acre complex in Bangalore that combines stately old buildings and futuristic glass and steel edifices - one looks like a pyramid, the other remarkably like a front-loading washing machine.
The vast space will help Sikka indulge one of his defining habits - walking for miles to work out a problem, often taking along people he believes will help.
"This is his thinking time. He will walk, sometimes miles. And sometimes, smile to himself when he has sorted it out," said Yvonne Genovese, managing vice president at consultants Gartner.
Genovese said she knew Sikka before he became a household name in the IT industry and worked with him and others at SAP on the strategy for software product HANA when it was just an idea.
"Sometimes he ends up far away from the office. When you`re with him, you`d better have your walking shoes on," she added.
