There are other companies too who took cue from the situation and following the trend of cutting down smaller clients. California based iGATE said it decided not to renew contracts with 70 clients who were either not contributing to the margin or were not a strategic fit. While the companies like Wipro, MindTree, iGATE and Geometric are open about their decisions about tail trimming, others like Infosys and HCL are reluctant to discuss it even though the analysts said most of them are restoring to “tail-trimming”. 

"It brings down the overall cost of services and improves margins," said Sid Pai, who heads the Indian arm of outsourcing advisory TPI.

"We have always been a margin-centric company. We believe fewer clients and deeper relationships will help us deliver more value to each engagement," said Phaneesh Murthy, CEO of iGATE. The company’s active client list declined from 344 to 293 during the last year.

Bangalore-based MindTree too is rationalizing its long tail of customers as it seeks larger clients. "The process of managing the long tail of customers is ongoing and will continue," observed chief executive Krishnakumar Natarajan, adding that the midsized company is now focusing on winning larger technology services contracts and deeper specialization in select verticals.

Vineet Nayar, CEO, HCL Technologies said that the company had stopped "hunting" for new clients, and would be more of a "farmer" to grab low-hanging fruits.