THE 10 TRANSFORMATIONAL BUSINESS LEADERS TO LOOK OUT 2020 Vol.1
Hindol Basu
HINDOL BASU CEO actify data labs
CREATING A DIGITAL PATHWAY FOR BUSINESSES GROWTH!
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The Digital era created a huge number of opportunities for businesses to spread their wings across the globe. Many used these opportunities and expanded their business more than they dreamt of. There is no such thing one can get without dedication and passion. With tremendous smart and hard efforts, some business leaders changed the traditional way of business processes and added a boost to the growth of the industry. Their contribution to accelerating the economic growth of the nation is commendable. Their success is not only limited to them, the leader shares their success to the team who strived hard. In this issue of The Enterprise World Magazine, The 10 Transformational Business Leaders to Look Out 2020 (volume 1), we are proudly featuring the stories of such business leaders who brought disruptive changes in their industries and transformed them to the next level. Featuring for the cover story is Mr. Hindol Basu. While the world is at the cusp of the digital revolution, the leader, Mr. Hindol Basu, is on a mission to transform businesses and make them future-ready through his company, actify data labs. Actify Data Labs is a data platform and is an AI (Augmented Intelligence) Company that delivers rapid business impact using data science and data engineering capabilities. A prominent leader, Mr. Ravi Prakash, CEO – Apollo Infoways Pvt. Ltd., is making smart efforts to provide businesses top-notched security and surveillance solutions with the help of his vast experience in the field. Apollo Infoways’ product WatchDog brings intelligent security and surveillance solutions that protect people, properties, and assets. Readout his journey and get inspired! Sitting back relaxed just watching our lives getting ruined is not a leader’s thing! One such leader John Paul DeJoria is the best example to prove it! John Paul DeJoria and his story is not only inspiring but also instills a spark in everyone that one can do anything she/he wants. His life's struggles and his never giving up attitude teaches us that one should never stop working or waste time sulking, the only way is forward and move ahead with everything you have got. Read about his journey in our special editorial feature. Readout an interview with Ms. Aastha Verma. Ms. Ashtha Verma and her expert team at Tardid is empowering businesses to chart new paths by helping them to predict and make smarter decisions. There is a lot more inside! Happy Reading!
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Leaders in Spotlight This issue of The Enterprise World, The 10 Transformational Business Leaders to Look Out 2020 (Vol 1) features, Featuring for the cover story is Mr. Hindol Basu. While the world is at the cusp of the digital revolution, the leader, Mr. Hindol Basu, is on a mission to transform businesses and make them future-ready through his company, actify data labs. Actify Data Labs is a data platform and Actify Data Labs is an AI (Augmented Intelligence) Company that delivers rapid business impact using data science and data engineering capabilities. Mr. Rajesh Raveendran Founder and CEO at RR Softtech is transforming businesses digitally with top-notch IT and Telecom solutions. Having rich experience of more than 22 years in the IT and Telecom sector, Mr. Rajesh is charting new paths with his innovative and revolutionary vision. Mr. Neville Patel, a visionary leader, and his team of experts at Qualitas Global Services are making strong in-roads to help businesses transform themselves and ensure they are future-ready by providing world-class services in the Data Annotations and Tagging business. Mr. Ravi Prakash, CEO – Apollo Infoways Pvt. Ltd., is making smart efforts to provide businesses topnotched security and surveillance
solutions with the help of his vast experience in the field. Apollo Infoways’ product WatchDog brings intelligent security and surveillance solutions that protect people, properties, and assets. Tardid is an AI Product Company focused on Risk Management for Heavy Industries. Tardid is a closeknit family comprising of all the team members, working towards a common goal of bringing an AI product that can help in saving lives and money for the end customers. It’s for making the workplace safer and increasing the quality of the product. In a talk with Ms. Aastha Verma, COO at Tardid, discover more about the company and her views on the current industry scenario. Cargopeople logistics & shipping is a freight forwarding company with specialization in all sectors of the logistics industry. Cargopeople has created a niche for itself as the most competitive and fastestgrowing company. In a talk with Mr. Manuj Adlakha, DirectorBusiness at Cargopeople, we discussed the current industry scenario and what Cargopeople offers to its customers. Intugine Technologies is a leading company in the field of motion sensing and IoT technologies that are empowering logistic businesses to become future-ready. Under the visionary leadership of Mr. Mrinal Rai, Co-Founder, and COO, the
company is charting the new paths with its top-notch offerings. In a talk with Mr. Mrinal, he shared Intugine's journey so far and what they offer to their customers. Cylsys Software Solution Pvt.Ltd.is a Software development organization committed to catalyzing the competence and competitiveness of its clients by partnering them in achieving their business goals through the power of Information Technology. In an interview with Mr. Pawas Goyal, founder of Cylsys Software Solution Pvt.Ltd, discover more about the company and his journey till now. Telemarketing, Data research and mining, Lead Generation, Data Entry, Email marketing, and Transcription services empower businesses to climb heights of success. Keeping this need of businesses in mind, Mr. Rohan Warty established Xerviz Wlobal in 2015 to accelerate the client's businesses’ growth. Readout an interview with him and know more about the company. Mr. Samir Lodha, founder at QuantArt is a leader who is bringing about transformation in the field of foreign exchange and risk management with the help of his vast experience and team of expertise ex-investment bankers. Readout an interview with him and discover more about QuantArt and his journey till now.
28 How to Start Consulting Business
34
John Paul DeJoria The journey from homeless to becoming a millionaire
52 Finding Your Ikigai
CONT 08
Hindol Basu
Creating a digital pathway for businesses' growth!
30
Mrinal Rai
Revolutionizing logistic sector of India
38
Neville Patel A Visionary In The Data Annotation Industry
42
Pawas Goyal A leader adding fuel to the digital revolution!
16
Aastha Verma Preventing Risks By Promoting Digital Change.
20
Manuj Adlakha Driving the growth with dedication
TENT 24
Rajesh Raveendran
A determined strategist for businesses' digital needs
48
WatchDog
A New Freedom of Security
54
Rohan Warty Bringing the action to the brands
60
Samir Lodha Empowering Businesses with Smart Forex Risk Management Services through QuantArt
COVER
MR. HIND
Creating a dig for business
STORY
DOL BASU
gital pathway ses’ growth!
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No one can ever take away om you what is yours. If you are confident of your expertise then don’t fear the race as you can start again. –Mr Hindol Basu
‘‘
ankind has greatly accelerated the pace of data generation. Video, audio, written and oral data are being created and kept in every possible way and mostly in a digital format. The data generated in the entire history, the data generated from eternity to 2018, is less than the data generated in 2019!
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fetched and unrealistic in the excitement of starting a new project, but it is frustrating to have to deal with a problem on an emergency basis in the middle of the project. If businesses utilize the data they have along with a messiah called machine learning; they can grow more than they dreamt of.
With the enormous amount of fact that arises every minute, there is a need to extract useful insights to make the business stand out from the crowd. Data engineers set up databases and data storage to facilitate data mining, data management, and other processes. Today there are countless sources and that is why it is very difficult to get accurate data from it.
In this scenario, while the world is at the cusp of the digital revolution, the leader, Mr. Hindol Basu, is on a mission to transform businesses and make them future-ready through his company, actify data labs.
Every other organization is lagging behind profits, but companies that devise efficient strategies based on fresh and useful insights always win the game in the long run. Risk management is the vital process of identifying, analyzing, and quantifying risks, responding to them with a proper strategy, and then controlling them. Businesses should not ignore the risks identified at the beginning of the project. These risks seem far10 October 2020
Actify Data Labs is a data platform and an AI (Augmented Intelligence) Company that delivers rapid business impact using data science and data engineering capabilities. For humans to benefit from Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, the solutions must address the nuances of how humans will use them in real-life business. Many machine learning and big data initiatives fail because such nuances are not properly addressed while developing solutions. Augmented Intelligence makes machine learning useful and
accessible to everyone by making it more human. We at The enterprise world feel proud to feature Mr. Hindol Basu as a cover story for our special issue, The 10 Transformational Business Leaders to Look Out 2020. Actify Data Labs – Taking innovation to the table The technology providers and consultants have been focusing on the incredible power of ML. But the devil is in the details. And that detail involves getting the data across all systems within the organization integrated into a single place and putting a data quality layer on top. Actify believes that it will be able to solve this problem for all organizations irrespective of size. Actify Data Labs is a data platform and machine learning company that helps organizations leverage the power of data using its data platform ADAPTify its product suite and its dedicated digital lab. In India, most technology, analytics, and data science companies specialize in the
HINDOL BASU CEO
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services business which hinges on rupee-dollar arbitrages – which is a proven business model. As opposed to this well-established model, Actify has been focussing on a product-first strategy, which aims to empower organizations (irrespective of their size) with the technologies that are required to leverage data. Actify believes that data will be a key competitive tool in every industry. And Actify’s platform will ensure that the power of data is made available to a wider set of organizations. Last and not the least Actify dreams of building a true “made in India data platform”, that will put India in the technology product map (as opposed to being providers of cheap services only). The Early Days Everyone felt that it is almost impossible to create a “made in India” data platform as founders are not known for building strong products and as a new player, they will not have a place where the company can compete with the established players in this space. The company’s initial clients who trusted the strength of their technology and not the brand and the strength of the company’s technology and its dedication to showing value to clients are the main reason behind its growth.
Actify Data Labs had increased its revenue by almost 100% last year, this year despite COVID, they will be increasing their revenue by ~30% A Constant focus on making its product better made Actify Data Labs what they are today, a trendsetter! Their Quality Offerings ADAPTify, The all-data platform: ADAPTify is an end-to-end data platform that helps an organization to navigate all the steps needed to leverage data. Viz: Integrating data across sources (both structured and unstructured), Creating data lake, Creating data marts, Creating dashboards & reports, Building machine learning models, Exposing data or machine learning models as APIs so that data can be securely provided to other systems. The company’s machine learning-driven product suite comprises of: • UCID: master data management and creation of unique identifiers using a combination of hard and fuzzy matching. • Customer identity management: Extract information from various scanned (or photograph) of identity documents (passport, driving
license, certificates, etc.), creation of identifying vault, and masking key information in the images. • BMI meter: Identification of age, gender, and BMI from the facial image of a person. This could also be used for face matching across multiple images of the same person • Actify Document Manager: An AI-based document management utility that helps organizations in identifying misclassification of document types • Actify Share: A secure file share utility that allows organizations to securely transfer files within its boundary and with partners. Each file is deleted after the userspecified retention period and all downloads are monitored. The process is secured with end-to-end encryption. • Actify Short link and QR code utility: Create secured short link for distribution using mail/SMS/WhatsApp. Create QR codes. Track usage of links and codes. • Insight bot: Chat and voice bot that uses natural language processing to create insights, micro dashboards, and reports • Disease code mapper: Maps ICD 9 and ICD 10 disease and procedure codes and enables crosswalk between coding systems. Further, the solution also provides an average length of stay for various disease types. Digital Lab
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If you shut the door to all errors, the truth will be shut out. Rabindranath Tagore
12 October 2020
Develop and implement machine learning models to leverage the power of image, text, and IoT data. Actify data labs not only focus on developing ML solutions but also focus on implementing the same as automated pipelines, APIs, Mobile Apps, and Web Apps
“ WHILE THE SCI-FI-SOUNDING AI SCENARIOS H I G H L I G H T T H E T E C H N O LO GY ’ S I N C R E D I B L E C O M P U TAT I O N A L P O W E R , T H E P R A C T I C A L , E F F E C T I V E A P P L I C AT I O N S B E G I N W I T H D ATA . - WILLEM SUNDBLAD (FORBES)
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14 October 2020
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achine learning has incredible power and you need to learn to tap that power. Poor data quality can cause that power to be delayed, denied, or misused. - Thomas C. Redman (Harvard Business Review)
The company is adding an image, video, and voice analytics layer on top of its product. They also plan to add a chatbot on their product to provide insight on request instead of traditional reports and dashboards. Mr. Hindol Basu – A leader accelerating the digital Transformation Hindol is the CEO of Actify Data Labs. He brings in about 19 years of machine learning experience spanning across multiple industry verticals and markets. He had led multiple analytics initiatives in the Indian, Asia Pacific, and North American markets across a wide variety of industries including financial services, manufacturing, and retail. He has pioneered the development of innovative solution frameworks in IoT, leveraging macro-economic data for risk estimation, and building grey-box machine learning frameworks. Over his career in risk modeling, he has conceptualized, developed, and implemented over 20 credit risk solutions for consumers and SMEs across India, the US, Thailand, Malaysia, UAE, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka.
In India, he had been the pioneer in establishing credit bureau analytics for the Indian market; he had developed the first set of credit bureau scores for CIBIL, the Indian credit bureau. He was nominated as the top-10 data scientists in India in 2015, by the Analytics India Magazine. Hindol is very passionate about teaching analytics and data science to young students and professional managers and teaches at institutions like IIM, IIT, HBS, IIITB, etc. Hindol holds a bachelor in engineering from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Bangalore. He is also the co-author of the book titled “Business Analytics – Applications to Consumer Marketing – Sandhya Kuruganti and Hindol Basu” published by McGraw Hill India; which has sold more than 3,000 copies. He is also an avid contributor to several analytics and machine learning publications. Getting 8 product implementations within 18 months of launching the platform shows his and the company’s achievement. Albert Einstein has been a true source of motivation for Hindol since long and he says he got
inspired a lot from Steve Jobs’ journey at the apple. The Team A business can’t dream of climbing ladders of success without the efforts of its team which makes team a true asset for a business. The team of passionate experts at Actify Data Labs always make hard and smart efforts to make their client happy. The technology skill, Humility, Honesty, and Extreme keenness to learn are the main qualities of people at Actify that make the team unique. What their client says Nimilita Chatterjee, Senior VP – Data & Analytics at EQUIFAX says, “Actify Data Labs played a key role in helping Equifax leverage the power of unstructured data and significantly reduce fraudrelated risks across our financial services customers.” Manoj Viswanathan CEO, HFFC says, “The Actify Data Labs team have extensive knowledge of the credit underwriting area and were able to provide valuable inputs throughout the engagement period.”
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In a talk with...
Ms Aastha Verma Preventing Risks By Promoting Digital Change
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usinesses can overcome hurdles if they see them early. In these crucial times, a business can survive only if it is future-ready. In this scenario, the Risk Management plays a vital role that can change the businesses’ tomorrow. Ms. Aastha Verma and her expert team at Tardid is empowering businesses to chart new paths by helping them to predict and make smarter decisions. Tardid is an AI Product Company focused on Risk Management for Heavy Industries. Tardid is a closeknit family comprising of all the team members, working towards a common goal of bringing an AI product that can help in saving lives and money for the end customers. It’s for making the workplace safer and increasing the quality of the product. In a talk with Ms. Aastha Verma, COO at Tardid let’s discover more about the company and her views on the current industry scenario. • What were the initial challenges you faced? Challenges were there from the word go. The decision to quit a comfortable job and start something new at a time when there was not much financial back up was just the surface issues. 16 October 2020
The challenges started growing bigger when we tried to step up from ideation to the actual production stage. When Neel & I thought of the idea of Tardid, AI was still relatively new, and to implement it in heavy industries beyond the usual process improvement part was unheard, thus as many start-ups, we also faced the problem of raising a fund for a completely new area of work. Challenges are also involved to get like-minded people to join us on this journey. It was equally important to remain financially disciplined for the initial 1.5yr while we were bootstrapping and also to maintain the discipline after our first angel round of investment. Challenges have never seized to come our way, from finding the right investors to making customers understand the benefits of our offering. • Which was that point that triggered the growth of the company? When we got our first opportunity to provide proof of concept from the Navy, was the trigger point for our success. There was no looking back for Tardid from thereon. One project followed with others and our team slowly started to grow and gain confidence. Today we are far more confident than what we were
we started and there has been no looking back ever since. • What is the reason behind your company’s long-standing success? Success only comes through when all the pieces fall together in place work towards a common goal. I strongly believe in the Power of Association, and I would say, the success of Tardid is due to a group of like-minded people, with the same vision trying to achieve the same goal and working together towards it. This group is not only the founders and investors but also the entire team working relentlessly. I would also like to add that Niladri Dutta, our Founder & CEO is personally responsible for keeping the team motivated and focussed on this direction. We know we have not been able to compensate the team at par with the industry, but they have been great enough to have faith in us and working together. Honesty to the team about all our challenges and difficulties were also responsible to keep us bonded together in thick and thin. • What are the products/ services Tardid focuses on? How are they different from those in the market? We all are well aware of the unprecedented risk involved in
“Life is not going to get any easy by waiting, we have to work hard towards making life the way we want it to be.� - Aastha Verma, COO, Tardid
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“ Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning how to dance in the rain.” - Vivian Greene heavy industries like marine, oil & gas, manufacturing, etc., a lot of these risks are involved due to unplanned failures of the assets like big pieces of machinery/ structures.
rest of our competitors.
Brainbox is an Indigenous built Artificial Intelligence Platform. We work towards managing the risks associated with the uncertainty of breakdowns/ failures using the power of Artificial Intelligence.
I think it is still early for us to diversify from the existing set of product suit which we offer, essentially as the market has just started looking into AI in heavy Industries with a keen lookout. However, I would like to point out that when we started we had bundled our entire offering as a single product but over the years and understanding our customers better, we realized to de bundle the product into different modules. This helped the customer to adopt what is required and also gave them a path on how to map the future roadmap for their organizations.
Brainbox is a Physics-based modeldriven AI platform that makes it unique compared to our competitors. Our 4 modules Brainbox Prime (Structural Health Management), Brainbox Xander (Machine Health Management), Brainbox Stormbreaker (Decision Support for Prime & Xander), and Brainbox Knowhere (AI Based Threat Intelligence), cater to the diverse but critical need of Heavy Industries to manage their risks proactively. At present most of the available solutions look into making operations excellence, a few IOT based solutions may provide about the real-time status of the assets but none provides proactive alert with root cause analysis and the steps required to avoid such a breakdown. This is a major difference that differentiates Brainbox and its modules from the 18 October 2020
• How do you decide to take Tardid a step further in terms of your products?
Brainbox provides the customers with the flexibility to increase the engagement starting from just one asset to the entire plant one step at a time. This allows the customers and their team to use, experience the advantages, and move forward. • Is there any new addition to the list of products/services? Anything exciting you would like to share? Though we are not adding new products we are in the process of
setting an AI Lab for Heavy Industrial requirements. Often the customers from heavy industries doubt before they adopt a new technology on the viability of the product for their environment. With the help of AI Lab, they will be in a better position to look into what is achievable. Also, a prominent methodology in heavy Industry is NDT, with Tardid’s AI Lab, they will be able to experience the NDT & AI-based testing at the same time to understand the differences first hand. Thus helping the customers to make their decision better. • How has technology transformed the traditional way of business? The technology is a complete 180degree change from the traditional thought process. Traditionally the heavy industries relied heavily on the experts/ underwriters/ surveyors for understanding their assets. Unfortunately, the opinions changed from one individual to another and also from one region to another. Moreover, the industryheavy depended on the thumb rules which are being followed for years. At Tardid we call the above as systematic casual analysis, however, what Brainbox delivers is a Scientific Knowledge-based Decision Intelligence Platform. In simpler terms, Brainbox relies on the knowledge it has from this asset in a scientific process-driven manner. Also as it is an AI system, it can process information with better accuracy and speed than what an individual can do. Brainbox remains unbiased and independent and cannot be influenced by anything but the facts. Slowly but steadily the industries
have started experiencing the benefits of AI and the adoption of technology has been growing. Even in COVID times, the adoption of new technology has been a priority in all industries, with almost 26% of world leaders in heavy industries looking to adopt Artificial Intelligence. • Can you please brief us about your professional experience? Well, my professional experience started as a Business Analyst with HCL, right out of my B-School. I was lucky to get a great first boss who helped in shaping the professional I am today. Over the years I changed a few jobs and my profiles along with. I also dabbled with entrepreneurship earlier while I was on my maternity break for a few years. But in my last organization, I was heading the strategic partnerships & alliances. In these years, no matter what profile I worked with which companies, few things which always stood out was perseverance, to be assertive and not aggressive, to empathize and not sympathize. With this mantra so far I have been able to sail through and made some great friends in the industry who I came across. Good professional relationships helped me to find my way through and maneuver successfully in the corporate world. • What are the key achievements of your entrepreneurial journey? When we started Tardid, we had kept it bootstrapped, for close to 1.5 years, working out of Café Coffee Day. There were times when there was doubt on the idea, the market but now when I look at Tardid, I feel we have been able to do fairly well.
I have a superb team, who I will not change for anything. I simple but robust infrastructure we call our corporate office. A world-class product Brainbox, which has been delivering to our customers. Along the way, Tardid got it due to recognition from different agencies both in India & globally. But what brings a smile to our face is that we have been able to build something which will change the way heavy industries dealt with the huge machinery. Brainbox is changing the world perspective and that's the biggest achievement for Niladri (Founder & CEO) and me. • How do you look after your employees? What makes your team unique? It may be a cliché to say, that our team is our extended family, but then again it is true in every sense. The team is unique as we are a group of people with varied background both professionally and personally. A lot of our team members left their well-paying jobs to join our crazy bandwagon. It’s the belief of the team which drives Tardid, we believe that's our biggest strength. • Is there any special experience with your clients you would like to highlight?
We have often been questioned about our educational background and previous work experience which were in drastically different industries. But this doubt which the clients had given us the motivation to prove to them that we can deliver, and our diversity is our strength. A different lookout made Brainbox possible and today Brainbox is essentially an outcome of all the objections which the clients gave to us converted into a product that meets and exceeds their expectations. • One person who you admire the most? Some people may not be able to relate to her but I find Helen Keller the most inspiring person and I truly am in awe of her. Being deaf and blind never stopped her she has and shall continue to inspire millions of people around the world. She never allowed are challenges to limit her, on the contrary, she converted her challenges into her strength. For a lot of us who complain about their circumstances should read about her and understand our challenges are just in our head, if we can perceive it we can achieve it. • It’s a rat-race out there. How do you cope with that?
All client experiences are unique and noteworthy. For us, one thing remained a constant in all our interactions, or should I say our first interactions with our clients. When we present our product, we are often confronted with disbelief as we are trying to bring a complete change in their thought process and how the risks should be perceived and managed.
It’s a rat -race only if we think it’s a race. I believe there is enough for everyone to co-exist and sustain. We need to have a more collaborative environment to work in tandem and constructively.
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In a talk with...
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he logistics and Freight service industry has always been ahead in serving society and businesses around the world. Believing that the love of creative technology and real positive technology can speed up our business processes to increase productivity and add a boost to the nation’s economy, Mr. Manuj Adlakha founded Cargopeople in 2011. Cargopeople logistics & shipping is a freight forwarding company with specialization in all sectors of the logistics industry. Cargopeople has created a niche for itself as the most competitive and fastestgrowing company. The company’s services to sectors like CIS, Africa, and China have been unmatched by any competitors to date. Cargopeople uses the latest technology for updating their clients and provide round the clock support. In a talk with Mr. Manuj Adlakha, Director-Business at Cargopeople, we discussed on the current industry scenario and what Cargopeople offers to its customers. • What were the initial
challenges you faced? Logistics is a very old industry and making new inventions in it was a challenge. It has mostly become an offline industry so making it online at various stages of shipments was an initial challenge. • Which was that point that triggered the growth of the company? The company has been growing since its inception in the year 2011 switching to state-of-the-art technology for providing live updates on the status of the shipments triggered the growth of the company. Also, we become partners in many reputed international logistics network which further paved the way for our development. • How has the company graphs changed since the foundation? Can you share a few statistics?
• What is the reason behind your company’s long-standing success? We provide round the clock support to our clients and customize the shipments as per their requirements. We treat them as a family and understand their concern: A happy customer makes a business success. • What are the products/services the company focuses on? How are your services different from those in the market? Our focus is providing the best service in countries like Africa, CIS, and the Middle East which are yet to be fully explored and where finding a reliable logistics partner is still a challenge. • How do you decide to take the company a step further in terms of your products/services? We plan to calculate more development in the technical terms to bring out transparency and efficiency in our system. This will ensure peace of mind to our clients, consignee, and supplies. • Is there any new addition to the list of products/services? Anything exciting you would
Mr. Manuj Adlakha Driving the growth with dedication 20 October 2020
Manuj Adlakha | Business Director | Cargopeople
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WE’RE HERE TO PUT A DENT IN THE UNIVERSE OTHERWISE WHY ELSE BE HERE? - STEVE JOBS
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like to share? We are exploring a new network which will expand our agent reach to faraway countries. As India is opening up to more exports so we will be focusing on export promotion to the new sector.
• What are the key achievements of your entrepreneurial journey? Started the entrepreneurial journey with cargopeople grew 100%year over year. In the journey of 10 years, cargopeople has several 1300+ SMEs
• How has technology transformed the traditional way of business? Technology has brought a new life to this age-old industry earlier everything took time as it was done papers and the documents were mailed we could not do live tracking of the shipments or get in touch with the last mile delivery but thankfully everything is within reach at the click of the button due to technology.
• How do you look after your employees? What makes your team unique? We have regular meetings with employees every week to ensure their well being as well as of the company we arrange one-day tips with employees where everybody has fun ice-breaking with new employees. We keep our team updated on personal and professional doubt front by arranging seminars & live sessions for them.
• What do you think are the responsibilities of an entrepreneur? The responsibilities of an entrepreneur have a wide dimension. He is responsible for his country, his clients, his staff, and his society. He is the problem solver to whom everybody looks up to. • Can you please brief us about your professional experience? My Total-experience is of 24 years…. I have served as a business consultant...
22 October 2020
• Is there any special experience with your clients you would like to highlight? We have worked for the Afghanistan cricket board. It was a nice and challenging experience for us as many forwarders were not willing for these shipments as Afghanistan was a troubled country back then. • According to you, what are the basic factors that businesses in the digital landscape should focus on to get better results? Today, when every part of the
shipments are tracked digitally business, should try to inculcate more transparency in their system to get the reliability of their clients and agents. The second important thing is timely updating and be in touch with the customers and team always. • One person who you admire the most? I admire Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple. • Whose business story do you find the most inspiring? Steve job’s business journey has been amazing and most inspiring. • Constant vigilance- a need or a strategy? Please share your views. Constant vigilance is more of a need than a strategy. It is required in every sphere of business whether managing your team on keeping a list of your customers or checking out your network members from time to time. Blunders can happen at the blink of an eye so constant vigilance on every aspect is a need • It’s a rat-race out there. How do you cope with that? We don’t think it is a rat race as everybody is here to give their best and challenges are good for your growth as the consultancy pushes you to perform better & better.
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Business Story
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RR Soſttech aims to empower the clients to respond more quickly and intuitively to changing market dynamics.
24 October 2020
MR RAJESH RAVEENDRAN A determined strategist for businesses’ digital needs
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s an advantage of the digital economy, the whole business world is changing at an unexpected pace. We have progressed significantly from nowhere to an innovatively fullfuelled life. Internet broadcasting, digital conferencing, and the entire communication world have changed a lot with advanced technologies. The telecom industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in India which makes the nation the second-largest telecommunication market in the world. In the last two decades, this industry is developing at a rate of 35 percent and in the coming five years there is a possibility of 40 lakh new jobs in this sector.
To be the part of the change and become future-ready, businesses in almost all the sectors are consistently looking for better quality and enhanced communication capacity. A leader, Mr. Rajesh Raveendran Founder and CEO at RR Softtech is transforming businesses digitally with top-notch IT and Telecom solutions. Having rich experience of more than 22 years in the IT and Telecom sector, Mr. Rajesh is charting new paths with his innovative and revolutionary vision.
RR Softtech – A Leading Telecom Company
company also adapted to be a techno-savvy service provider?
RR Softtech was established in 2008 as an IT Company with operations in Chennai, India and it is associated with leading IT and Telecom Service providers as a partner for providing IT, Telecom, and Software solutions to the customers. RR Softtech with its service and on-time support, build rapport, and relationship with its clients for their business growth. The company increases its clients base with the latest and quality services along with the value-added products line which includes Automation software, Datacenter& Cloud services, Audio -Video conference & collaboration system, ITSP services, and IT products.
“As we establish the company for a growth-oriented successful journey, but still we find difficulties in financial growth. Then we changed our marketing strategies to online emailers and social media campaigns for getting more leads and then converting it to sales for more profit. We also get feedback from all level employees and customers for the growth of the company and this triggered the growth of the company”, Mr. Rajesh shared.
RR Softtech’s continuous innovation and investment in business transformation provide up to date solutions for its client’s needs and business growth. The Journey Initially positioning as an IT And Telecom service provider was challenging for the company to provide solutions and solving customer needs. As the innovation in product and solutions is transforming very fast which creates more opportunities, so the
RR Softtech has strong business ethics and commitment to service and quality of the product they deliver to the customers. They also analyze the client's requirements and get suggestions from their experienced team while delivering the solutions to the clients. The company has direct communication with the manufacturer and service provider for on time supply of quality products. RR Softtech also innovates and updates its product portfolio according to the customer's demand. Customer Satisfaction and delight continue to be the backbone behind their longstanding success. The Company makes strategies for constant vigilance on existing and
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new threats. We need a system to vigilance on operation and threats to protect information. RR Softtech’s IT team always updates the status of vigilance on threats, countermeasures, regulations, and technology. Their Offerings • Unified communication and Collaboration solution [ IP-PBX, Contact Centre Solution, Telecom Automation, Audio-Video conferencing ] • Data centre and cloud hosting services • Cyber Security Products • Complete spectrum of IT & Telecom Products and Services • IoT and Automation software • Single window Integration and optimization services RR Softtech’s service focus is on providing a complete solution to its customer’s IT and Telecom infrastructure needs. Accordingly, the company is planning to explore business opportunities and provide service in Artificial Intelligence & Robotic Process Automation. RR Softtech taking a step ahead with... The era of digital technology has influenced people’s daily activities, as such the company influences to utilize digital technology to maximize their brand awareness. Technology has transformed the traditional way of business to automate its business operations to increase productivity in terms of quality and quantity. RR Softtech creates online content that encourages the customer to use their digital channel for engagement that builds a relationship with the brand. 26 October 2020
Company’s skilled data insights’ finds the behaviour of customers, and drive their business efficiently.
trends make MR Rajesh Raveendran a successful Transformational Business Leader.
In the time of the pandemic, a business transformation occurred by migrating to cloud-based solutions, which helped employees to work from home. Similarly Industry is expecting 5G data service which is going to boost the speed of IoT and Automation. Many companies are shifting to Data-driven Company which will introduce AI for data analysis. Accordingly, the company decided to take the company a step further in terms of products/services. They are already associating with different service providers for introducing new products and services in our portfolio like Cloud services, IoT, RPA, and AI.
He started as an entrepreneur at RR Softtech in 2008 by associating with leading IT & Telecom service providers to provide clients latest and quality solutions.
The Company copes up in a race with its competitor by introducing new products and services in the market regularly. In every field there is competition and to overcome this RR Softtech innovates their sales strategies and provide customers a new experience. Since there is a rat-race in every field, the company retains its existing customers with good rapport and provides updated service and products for their business growth. Mr. Rajesh Raveendran – A leader on a mission to transform businesses digitally. Mr. Rajesh’s professional experience started in 1998 as a software engineer and continued as an IT & Telecom consultant. With over 22 years of rich Industry Experience, business domain knowledge, technical expertise, and knowledge of the latest industry
His key achievements are: 1) Top VoIP Sales Achiever of the national level by Net4India. 2) Recognised as “The 10 Most Prominent Telecom Solution Provider” by Insights Success. • 2008 – Started service ofIT (Domain Registration, Web Hosting, Email) • 2009 – Started service of VoIP • 2012- Started service of Telecommunications • 2013- Started service of Audio and Video Conference Solution. • 2014 - Started service of Datacentre Infrastructure (OnPremise, Private, Public, and Hybrid) • 2015 – Started service of VoIP Products • 2016 – Started service of Contact Center Solution • 2017 – Started service of Intercom Infrastructure • 2018 – Started service Software solutions • 2019 – Started service of Cyber Security • 2020 – Started service AI and RPA Talking about the responsibilities of an entrepreneur Mr. Rajesh says, “Our main responsibility is to automate the business operations and ensure the business scale and generate profit consistently. Our maximum effort is to convert to our customers from the leads from various sources by accepting their
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What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. — Henry David Thoreau
needs and solving their pain points. After-sales we take care of our customers for their growth by providing consistent service, support, and doing up-selling and cross-selling. We also influence our employees towards our business goal by focusing on the business bottom line. We also ensure all employees are comfortable with their job and update the strategies for achieving the goals from all levels, for the growth of the organization. We give special care to our employees for all the benefits and contribute to rewards and recognitions.”
he is determined and dedicated. These two qualities are ones that I hope I can carry on throughout my life. I always admire his compassion and sense of understanding. I also admire my dad strive to reach business goals and work extra hours to make one more deal have inspired me to set high goals for myself.” Ratan Tata a well-known industrialist who is praised for his business ethics and philanthropy has always been a source of motivation for him. Driving Force
He further adds, “In a digital landscape, our business model focuses on always-connected customers as a priority. Our business digital transformation integrates technology in all areas of business and then the delivery value to the customers. In social media, we share relevant content and solution to customer problems using data-driven digital strategies. We create multiple touch points using web applications and mobile App for the customer’s 360-degree view for the company growth.”
RR Softtech builds trust in employees by authentic and transparent communication within the team. The Company also ensures that trust is important in employees while working in a remote environment. It also creates personal bonding between remote employees with an agenda-less communication. The company plans its team to prioritize their intime deliveries. It also encourages employees to share their ideas and experience in a common chat group for the benefit of the company’s decision making and innovation.
Mr. Rajesh admires his father the most. He says, “My father is the one who knows what is best for me. The top reason I admire my dad is
The leadership communicates regularly with employees about the vision and engage employees continuously about what they have
done and what they have to achieve. The company is liberal with employees to bring the best from their work. Overwhelming Client Experience Started with selling the domain name and web hosting to start-up companies for their website design and when companies grow, they need internet bandwidth and voice connectivity for their business operations. With good rapport and experience with the clients, RR Softtech gets further orders for onpremises data center build connecting the data, voice, video, and software solutions for the employees in their company. The company enables clients to transform the organization and improve performance. In this pandemic time company had a special experience with its clients for interacting with them through video conference and the company gave them cloud solutions for software, data, voice, and video connectivity. Since their client’s employees are working from home, it became easy for the company to give cloud-based solutions for their business operations.
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Consulting
How to Start
Consulting Business
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s there is a huge shift in the population towards the world of business, we see large number of startups being founded now and then. The line of business is very rewarding in terms of remuneration. Moreover, as an individual is working for themselves giving their best efforts, making sure that one has the utmost level of job satisfaction. Apart from these, there are various other reasons one wishes to start a business of their own as they feel they can bring a change in the way we look and consume different products and services. However, no matter how lucrative the world of startups and business sounds, it is a completely different living and surviving in the same. Most individuals use up their savings till date or take big loans to fund their business, and no one wants to fail. This creates a scope for another line of work, i.e. Consulting. Business consultants have become very integral and in excess demand in this boom of startups and business. A consultant is an expert in a particular field, which uses his/her skills and knowledge to enhance the growth of a business. Consultant’s main job is to consult, nothing less or more, and this career is rewarding and gives one to work for more than one company or startup. Consulting business is not confined to any parameters as a 28 October 2020
business or a startup can use guidance in one or many areas, such as sales, public relations, marketing, etc. and this gives scope for individuals to seize this opportunity and enter into this career field. A person having adequate knowledge and experience in a field with the right amount of qualifications, certifications and skills is more than capable of becoming a consultant. This career field does not only give one the luxury of working short hours but also one can take up more than one projects at once, also the remuneration and status are at par with executive positions. One needs to ask and prepare oneself to in order to get into the line of consulting business, as it is very rewarding but equally challenging. The consultant is expected to deliver the required or forecasted performance or results and is held accountable and answerable for every mishap or issues raised in their working. This sounds challenging but is equally interesting and satisfying as one can get hands-on experience in various industries and companies, improve their networking for more projects, opportunities, etc. to become a consultant, one should check whether she/he has the required certifications (if any required), experience, knowledge, qualification and skill. Also,
important traits of a consultant are time management skills as the workload is uncertain and tedious, organizational skills, whether one likes networking and importantly whether your one’s life goals allow you to give the required time and dedication to start a consulting business. It is very easy to get into the business of consulting, but one needs to be sure whether she/he wants this career as it is very demanding in terms of dedication, skills and time but gives one the utmost level of job satisfaction. Although it cannot be denied that, with large number of startups and new businesses setting up every other day, the scope only increases manifold. Also, this field gives one the flexibility of working in their set hours and the remuneration is equally rewarding as their skill is much needed to the company/business. A consultant’s role is not confined as a consultant can be hired to identify problems, teach, supplement the staff, create new business, influencing people, etc. The possibilities to the consulting business are everevolving and up to date with the change in global market trends, making it one of the best career choices.
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In a talk with...
Mr. Mrinal Rai
Revolutionizing logistic sector of India
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he digital economy has opened the doors of opportunities for businesses a lot. To be relevant in the market, businesses are continuously in search of advanced technologies that can accelerate their growth. The IoT has become a gamechanger in the current industry scenario of all the sectors. A huge time-consuming process can be done in a fraction of seconds using technologies like IoT. The increasing number of online business platforms has increased the need for innovation in the logistics sector. Intugine Technologies is a leading company in the field of motion sensing and IoT technologies that are empowering logistic businesses to become future-ready. Under the visionary leadership of Mr. Mrinal Rai, Co Founder and COO, the company is charting the new paths with its top-notch offerings. In a talk with Mr. Mrinal, he shared Intugine’s journey so far and what they offer to their customers. • Tell us about the Intugine Technologies. The journey of Intugine Technologies started in 2013 when we as students felt the need to develop IoT technologies and motion-sensing as a revolutionary way to operate the smart devices and play games. The company won various accolades and prizes including ‘TiE, Global- Asia Rising Star’; ‘TiE, Global- International Business Plan Competition’ and was the winner of the Startup Showcase Competition held by Entrepreneurship Development Cell, IIT Kharagpur
Our expertise in motion sensing, IoT Technologies, and trailblazing technologies bagged us with several intriguing and challenging projects. We now aim to revolutionalize the logistics sector of India, which is still at its nascent stage as compared to its foreign counterparts. Our team is already leaving an impact in the logistics sector by helping businesses to execute, track, collaborate, predict, and optimize the movement of goods. Also with predictive insights and real-time information, we are helping them make smarter, more proactive decisions. As a young enthusiastic team, we are in an endeavour to build a onestop platform to provide end-to-end supply chain visibility! • What were the initial challenges you faced? It’s like a never-ending staircase, very first challenge was to survive as a company for months and years until either you start getting enough revenues from clients or you raise your first round. Then to identify the right product for the market, to close your very first sale, to start building your team and the list goes on. • Which was that point that triggered the growth of the company? The moment we identified the logistics sector as one of the markets in dire need of innovation and technology gave us real purpose and we channeled our energy and deep domain expertise to disrupt the way logistics happens in this country.
7 What is the reason behind your company’s long-standing success? A startup is a team game, and we are fortunate that we have an amazing group of creators, innovators, and artists. Apart from that our deep domain expertise in SCM, IoT, and data science has helped us a lot in our journey. • What are the products/services the company focuses on? How are your services different from those in the market? Intutrack is a visibility platform which helps the shipper to get the end to end visibility of their shipping movements. Ideally, a shipper would want a one-stop solution to track all of their shipments so that apart from managing the exceptions like delay and route deviation in real-time, they would also want to track the business KPIS and try to bring in optimized processes. That's where Intugine’s multi-modal tracking system using sim based, portable GPS/gsm, use and throw tracker, Fastag, driver app and other modes of tracking customized for a typical shipper and using smart technology and big data analytics we are well equipped to serve all client needs. • How do you decide to take the company a step further in terms of your products/services? Innovation through Logistics is our tagline. We as a team are always focused on setting up new milestones and finding new problem statements to work on. You have to keep investing in your products, we started with solutions for FTL marketplace vehicles but as and when we come across
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There's a way to do it better . . . FIND IT!
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Thomas A. Edison problem statements aligning with our growth trajectory and skillets, it’s pretty obvious for us to work on those problem statements as well. • Is there any new addition to the list of products/services? Anything exciting you would like to share? Yes, Intugine will be launching its Use and throw tracker to track the consignments, which has been developed with a mindset to reduce operational implementation and Capex investment significantly, which happens with all other 32 October 2020
modes of tracking. Idea is to help the shipper with an option to track the goods without relying on transporters or drivers. • How has technology transformed the traditional way of business? To remain competitive in an everchanging and ever-competitive business environment, every business must strive for continuous improvement and expansions. Tech-enabled SCM helped Dell manage a 15 percent increase in product shipments as industry volume dropped 5 percent in 2001.
Which helped them to become the number 1 PC maker in 2001. So yes eventually everyone had to evolve, India spends approximately 5-6 % more on logistics spend as a percentage of GDP as compared to other foreign counterparts. Everyone today is betting that technology will help in bridging this gap for us. • What do you think are the responsibilities of an entrepreneur? To change things for good! I think you are doing enough as an
Before Intugine I worked on multiple projects in my college time like working on a cross-stream College magazine to give students a means to connect more traditionally in the era of social media. But yes true journey of mine started with Intugine only. • What are the key achievements of your entrepreneurial journey? In our starting years we won various accolades and prizes including ‘TiE, Global- Asia Rising Star’; ‘TiE, Global- International Business Plan Competition’ and was the winner of the Startup Showcase Competition held by Entrepreneurship Development Cell, IIT Kharagpur. In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, our proactive team at Intugine came up with a tool to help the government authorities to make sure quarantined individuals stay at their home. entrepreneur. Till you are working on solving a meaningful problem. • Can you please brief us about your professional experience? As the Founder and COO of Intugine, I am responsible for defining and implementing the company’s vision and strategy for the team, customers, and investors. I work closely with the Executive Team in creating the go-to-market strategy based on the analysis and insights from market research. I also work closely with the company product and engineering to guide technical innovation and product roll-out; define product road-maps; prioritize feature implementations based on customer feedback and secure key intellectual property including patents and trademarks.
of our team members should align with the company’s end goal and the growth trajectory. Once that is taken care of the only thing which remains is to have an active and open communication channel through which all the grievances and feedbacks can be handled effectively. • Is there any special experience with your clients you would like to highlight? They are the very foundation of why we exist, and taking care of our client by maintaining the desired service standards is like gospel to us. All our clients and especially our early-stage clients like Myntra, Flipkart, Philips, MLL helped the company in taking the shape it has taken today. • According to you, what are the basic factors that businesses in the digital landscape should focus on to get better results? “To be aware is to be alive”.
Our solution helped more than 7 states monitor and track, lacs of quarantined individuals on a central control tower, reducing the pressure on Police authorities to manually keep a check. We have around 2-3 lakh trips coming to our platform monthly, which is a recent milestone we set for us at the start of last year. • How do you look after your employees? What makes your team unique? The whole team acts as an orchestra to create the best possible symphony. So we have started with a team of 5 and now we are a 70 people strong team thus we have seen the journey from the very start. One thing we always try to ensure is that the individual goals
In today’s era of volatility, it’s very important to re-invent and adapt to the change. And the same is not possible without having visibility and digitization. Visibility is the first step that gives us data (facts) and then the analysis and optimization over the data to drive results is the cycle that every business needs to adapt to survive. • One person who you admire the most? My father, he is the guy I admire the most. Wisdom, patience, the strength of character, unconditional love, and hard work are some of the traits that define him as a person. In short, he is the one and only hero of my life.
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Get Inspired
34 October 2020
The Journey From
HOMELESS TO BECOMING A
MILLIONAIRE
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In philanthropy, many of us give a little bit and each year we give more and more to see what actually works and not just throw money out there and see if it’s going to work. If the government did the same thing, fabulous. John Paul DeJoria
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here have been many fascinating stories of rags to riches. Businessmen who with no or very less capital, put everything on the line, dedicated themselves and became legends in the world of business, respected and known throughout the world. It's not impossible but one has to stay true to themselves and giving up is or was never an option. What people see as obstacles, these legends saw it as opportunities and their unyielding spirit has created that special space for them in the hall of fame. Various interviews of such personalities have been taken, some questions repeatedly asked and one in common, how can one do what you did. There is only one answer to this, i.e. just believe in yourself, because if you won’t, how can you expect others to believe you or your products or services. Today, we are going to talk about John Paul DeJoria, whose unwavering will
36 October 2020
and success story has not only inspired the world but showed us that anyone can be a great businessman and lack of means is just an excuse. John Paul DeJoria was born in 1944, his parents separated when he was two, to make the ends meet he started selling Christmas cards and newspapers with his brother from the age of nine. After completing high school in 1962, they were sent to a foster home as his mother couldn't take care of them. He served in the US Army for two years, after coming back he could not afford college, so he started a plethora of jobs from being a caretaker, door-to-door shampoo salesman, and an insurance salesman for the next few years. He acquired knowledge about hair care products from working in Redken Laboratories in 1971, he was fired in 1975 due to disagreement over business
strategies. He joined Fermodyl Hair Care after, training management and sales force but despite rising sales figure, he was again fired from the job. His next job was in Institute of Trichology, from where he was laid off as they could not afford his salary. All this did not make him lose hope and his will to succeed. In 1980, he decided to start a business with his hairdresser friend Paul Mitchell and founded Paul Mitchell Systems by taking a loan of $700. They decided to develop products for professional stylists that would help reduce the time required to dress a client's hair. The first products were a single-application shampoo and a leave-in conditioner. After struggling for the first two years, the company made a gross revenue
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of $1 million in the third year, marking the beginning of something extraordinary. DeJoria always supported environmental issue and funded Gustin Energy Cos., that would do an advanced exploration of oil and gas with ecology in mind. After the death of Paul Mitchell, he started Patreon Spirits Co., with his friend Martin Cowley, desiring to make smooth tequila. He is a partner in the House of Blues nightclub chain, with interests in Madagascar Oil Ltd., Sun King Solar, Solar Utility, Pyrat Rum, Ultimat Vodka, Touchstone Natural Gas, and many other ventures. His current net worth is estimated at around $3.2 billion.
anything she/he wants. His life’s struggles and his never giving up attitude teaches us that one should never stop working or waste time sulking, the only way is forward and move ahead with everything you have got. John always talks about always working as one cannot solve any problems or change any circumstance if she/he doesn't take a stand to change it. Another thing one can learn from him is despite being a billionaire, he is down to earth and always believes in giving back and helping those who are less fortunate. He says it is his way of paying rent to live on this planet.
John Paul DeJoria and his story is not only inspiring but also instils a spark in everyone that one can do
I don’t micromanage, but I do care deeply about every product we make. Every one goes through me, and I try most of our products before they go to market, including our John Paul Pet flea and tick shampoo. If I don't like it, it’s not coming out. John Paul DeJoria www.theenterpriseworld.com 37
In a talk with...
NEVILLE PATEL CEO Qualitas Global Services
38 October 2020
MR. NEVILLE PATEL A Visionary In The Data Annotation Industry
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rtificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are revamping the way technology is being utilized to aid an increasing range of real-world problems. Obviously, it is important that these solutions consistently deliver accurate, logical, and useful outcomes. If a business still ignores such a futuristic technology, then it might be holding it's own growth back. Data Annotation is seen as a critically important foundation for such solutions. In this domain, Mr. Neville Patel, a visionary leader, and his team of experts at Qualitas Global Services, are making strong in-roads to help businesses transform themselves and ensure they are future-ready by providing world-class services in the Data Annotations and Tagging business. Qualitas Global Services was founded in 2014 by Mr. Neville Patel, a Six Sigma Black Belt. With his creative approach and strong work ethics, he believes in qualitywork paired with a customercentric approach. In our talk with Mr. Neville Patel, CEO at Qualitas Global Services, we picked his brains on the current industry scenario and what Qualitas Global offers to it’s customers.
• What is Data Annotation? Data Annotation is an extremely detail-focused, unavoidably manual, rigorous, and timeconsuming process that helps in comprehensively identifying, categorizing, labeling, and organizing the data captured in various formats including images, videos, voice and text. It is used to “train” the AI or ML algorithms on an ongoing basis. Data annotation ushers in the required accuracy to the algorithm and improves end-user outcomes. Many companies don’t want to invest in creating in-house data annotation teams. They want to focus on their core product/app development and hence they look to partner with companies like Qualitas Global who are able to quickly scale to thousands of people, provide data security to the information provided, have the domain expertise and are costefficient. • As a founder, could you let us know if you are satisfied with your journey and with the offerings your company provides to your customers? Qualitas Global specializes in providing accurate high-quality
services like Image, Data, Audio and Video Annotation as well as Sports Tracking and Tagging, Image Captioning, Data Localization, Traffic Monitoring, Facial Recognition, Video Security and Surveillance, Drone Video Annotation, and many others to some of the biggest and most secretive companies in the world. We have expertise in Autonomous Vehicles / Self Driving Cars, ADAS, Sports, Retail, Fashion, Drone, Security and Surveillance, Defence, Facial Recognition, Medical Annotations, Agricultural Annotations, Construction Security Annotations, Geospatial Annotations amongst others. Since 2014, Qualitas Global has been one of the very few companies in India working in the Annotation industry and is today one of the largest in Asia with over 500 full-time employees and the capability to scale to over 1200 people almost immediately. Qualitas Global is ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2013 certified and is also GDPR compliant to ensure strict quality and security standards that are a must in this industry. From a small team to where we are today, ofcourse it gives me great satisfaction at what we have achieved but I still feel we have not www.theenterpriseworld.com 39
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When people say it is impossible, remember it is impossible for them, not you.
yet reached at a stage wherein the potential of my team can be truly harnessed. I am sure in the coming months we will get that opportunity.
• What were the challenges you faced initially since both your company and this business was very new in the past decade? Starting a company from scratch is in itself is a challenge. As you know, less than 1 in 10 start-ups succeed. I would say my main challenge was to find the right people and the right management team who could understand and buy into my vision. Luckily this problem was quickly resolved and with the right people (and ethics) we quickly grew from a 6 people company to where we are today. Our customer’s trusted us enough to train our core people into different varieties of complex annotations and then we set up a strong training team to further train the rest of the company. • Which was that point would you say that your company reached a growth that gave you a 40 October 2020
sense of satisfaction? We understood that the big changes do not happen overnight, but big changes can and should be broken into small attainable parts. The entire management team planned on the future and set on a quest to achieve this. We grew substantially when we onboarded a Fortune 3 company which also helped us strengthen our Data Security policies, our hiring practices and made sure we were always on our toes. This inspired confidence in all our other customers plus helped my team get into the big league. To know that my core team still comprises of day one employees who have learnt and grown with me in the process gives me immense satisfaction. • How have the company graphs changed since the foundation? Can you share a few statistics? ♦ Qualitas Global Services was incorporated in 2014 and had 1 office in India. We started our journey with 6 employees. ♦ In 2016 we have reached close to 300 people. ♦ 2018 saw us register a company in Netherlands to serve our European customers better. ♦ By 2019 we had 550+ employees working out of our Pune office and sales offices in Europe and the US. ♦ For the year ahead we are planning to have at least 1000+ employees and are also looking to acquire other strategic data annotation companies from around the globe.
• What is the reason behind your company’s long-standing success? Qualitas Global has always been a customer-focused organization. Our customer’s trust in us is one of the reasons for repeat business and our long-standing success. We give no importance to billing. Instead, we focus on delighting our customers and making sure we deliver a WOW experience. This mind-set is the only reason behind our company being thought of as one of the top data annotation services firm in the world. • What are the products/services that the company focuses on? How are your services unique from those in the market? Qualitas Global specializes in Image Tracking, Data Annotation, Video Analytics, OCR, Language Translation, and a variety of other business-process outsourcing offerings for Machine Learning in verticals like Autonomous Vehicles / Self Driving Cars, ADAS, Sports, Retail, Fashion, Drone, Security & Surveillance, Defence, Facial Recognition, Medical Annotations, Agricultural Annotations, Construction Security Annotations, Geospatial Annotations, and many other industries. We have processed over 85 million images and many thousands of hours of videos with an accuracy rate of 98.9 percent. Our high-quality annotations and player tracking services in Sports vertical helps the team owners, coaches, and managers in improving the performance of their
players, analyzing injury, and predicting player health, improving revenue from tickets amongst other things. Qualitas Global provides Sports Annotation services in multiple sports like Soccer, Rugby, Hockey, Ice-Hockey, Tennis, Badminton, Baseball, Cricket, Lacrosse, Kick Boxing, and many others. We have strong expertise of over 5 years in the Autonomous Vehicles / Self Driving Cars & ADAS industry. Qualitas Global is also well known in the industry for premium Quality Assurance of Mobile and PC Video Games and the development of Mobile Games, Apps, and Software.
♦ Unlimited Flexibility and customization to our customers ♦ Data Confidentiality and Security – ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Certified and GDPR compliant • Is there any new addition to the list of products/services? Anything exciting you would like to share? In the coming months, we intend to launch our in-house tool for Data Annotation. This will be a great help to customers that do not have their proprietary tool and need to depend on a software provider. This will not only reduce their cost but also help us provide 360-degree cost-efficient solutions to our customers.
• Why Qualitas Global? ♦ More than 6 years of experience meeting customer’s quality, accuracy, and deadline requirements ♦ One of the largest Data Annotation services firm in India, with more than 500 employees and the capability to immediately grow over 1200 providing ease of scalability to their customers ♦ Strong portfolio of customers ♦ 24 x 7 Operations and constant professional communication with customers in all parts of the world ♦ Offers end-to-end solutions for data, image, voice and video annotations ♦ Tie-ups with multiple software tool providers to provide automated and fast annotations ♦ Huge cost savings for customers ♦ Experienced and Skilled workforce all working under one roof for better communication as well as stricter quality and security controls
• According to you, how is Machine Learning is no more a thing of the future? When we started 6 years ago, we only worked for limited industries such as Sports Analytics and then in the Autonomous Vehicle / Driverless Car industry which was super secretive at that time. It still is. In the past couple of years, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning are being widely used in several industries like Medi-tech, Agri-tech, Geospatial, Retail, Fashion, Security & Surveillance, Facial Recognition, Airport Baggage Transportation, Transcription, OCR, etc & Qualitas Global has been a partner of choice for all of our customers in these various industries.
& ML & the world as we know is going to change. • Whose business story do you find the most inspiring? I feel inspiration must be created from within oneself. If we go along looking for inspiration from other humans with all their flaws, without knowing their real story & strengths, there are high chances of us failing. • It’s a rat-race out there. How do you cope with that? We view competition as a good thing. 6 years ago, when we started, it was difficult to retain people as they thought there was no career in data annotation. We had to deal with a lot of bad reviews as some people lost interest in this job and found it non-technical. As more companies started entering the space, thousands of jobs were created in this industry and with over 500 full-time employees; we now have the first-mover advantage. Data Annotation is already actively being used across diverse industries and games from soccer, rugby, hockey, ice-hockey, tennis, badminton, baseball, cricket, lacrosse to kick boxing. Needless to say, partnering with the right service providers can be the first step in building a winning strategy for your company’s quick growth.
In the coming days, we are going to see a lot more industries adopt AI www.theenterpriseworld.com 41
In a talk with...
Founder Cylsys Software Solution Pvt. Ltd.
MR. PAWAS GOYAL A leader adding fuel to the digital revolution! 42 October 2020
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he digitization has made business processes simpler. Today, every single thing one can get on just a single click. If a business still unaware of digiworld and technology it might be holding growth back by not taking a part in digital transformation. Founded in 2010, Cylsys Software Solution Pvt.Ltd.is a Software development organization committed to catalyzing the competence and competitiveness of its clients by partnering them in achieving their business goals through the power of Information Technology. Their Products and platforms are focussed on Innovation-led business growth for their clients. Cylsys’ offerings leverage the latest technologies in Cloud computing, Mobility, Big data, Reach media, and Social connectivity to provide guaranteed Business success. In an interview with Mr. Pawas Goyal, founder of Cylsys Software Solution Pvt.Ltd lets discover more about the company and his journey till now. • What were the initial challenges you faced? The initial days in 2010 were tough as being a new entrant in the Business it was difficult to convince new clients to place faith in our work as we did not have any portfolio of work at that time to
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show. We gradually built this portfolio by taking up piecemeal work of some larger project, but at the same time which was challenging to our developer team. And today when we are catering to some of the big names in the industry, we look back in satisfaction at our entire journey which has been built from scratch with dedication, hard work, and by the loyal team at Cylsys Software. All credit to them! • Which was that point that triggered the growth of the company? It would be the time when we got the software development project from a major Mutual Fund house to develop a part of their process system. This project led to the expansion of the team, new premises, new goals, and a new determination to conquer new horizons. • What is the reason behind your company’s long-standing success? It would have to be the Brilliant Team, Integrity, Dedication, and the belief that we are partners in the Client’s goals and if we are able to contribute to the client’s success via our contribution to the software development of their project, nothing means more than that. • What are the products/services the company focuses on? How are your services different from those in the market? Cylsys Software Solution Pvt. Ltd.
is a 360-degree Software solutions company offering innovative solutions through its Business verticals of Software development, IT Staffing, Digital Marketing, and the newly launched vertical called Unicorn Ops. • How do you decide to take the company a step further in terms of your products/services? Cylsys embraces the latest technology in the IT domain and will innovate and deliver amazing results in the current Business verticals and also explore other Business verticals as we grow. The future looks exciting! • Is there any new addition to the list of products/services? Anything exciting you would like to share? Cylsys Group has just rolled out its latest venture – Unicorn Ops which is a path-breaking Outsourced service where Organisations can outsource their critical functions to us and Unicorn Ops will take care of all your Backend or Operations requirement and deliver results according to set parameters. And all this at very economical commercials. Some of the amazing services we offer under Unicorn Ops are BPO, Lead generation, HR, Data entry, etc. We have a state of the art facility based out of a remote location in Madhya Pradesh having a Team of 80 talented professionals divided into Teams as per their skill sets. • Can you please brief us about your professional experience? Versatile, astute, and solutionfocused on IT professional with
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expertise in architecting, implementing, and transporting holistic IT solutions enhancing specific business needs and impacting organizational and revenue growth in the IT and KPO sector. Accomplish intricate projects/programs from conceptualization to implementation while maintaining the highest standards of quality. Extensively regarded as “the Pioneer” in the IT industry” in Mumbai. Since 2005 played a pivotal role in recommending Cylsys as an IT software solution industry in India. A self-vision was created and acted upon it step-bystep and successfully managed to grow the Clients to more than 20+ so far. My Efforts have never got even a single grumble from our critical clients which make Cylsys is footloose and fancy-free. Cylsys has gained reliance on clients under his regulation. KeySkills• Setting up delivery across operators and partners • Build a mobile solution market research and partners inputs • Create thoughtful partnerships & associations • Create and close high-value highclass deals with partners • Revenue development and management • New company hunter for merger and acquisition in favor of business expansion. • What are the key achievements of your entrepreneurial journey? Entrepreneurship is no easy feat. It takes a lot of courage, passion, and skill to build a business from the ground up, and anyone who does
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having excellent knowledge and working experience of Microsoft Office, Router, WiFi, Lan, and other desktop related issues, across 23 locations in India for a contract period of 3 months. The time frame to complete this assignment was NOW. The challenge for Cylsys was to ensure getting quality candidates matching the required skill sets and who were willing to join immediately for a contract period of 3 months. It is a very tough task to secure the services of someone in the IT domain for a temporary period and that too at such short notice. To compound issues, most of the 23 locations were remote locations and were mostly on the outskirts of major cities and therefore required a long commute by the candidates from the mentioned cities.
Faith in your journey Wk hard, play hard Celeate small wins
this should be proud of their accomplishments. Most importantly, entrepreneurs should keep their eye on the big picture during these moments of achievement: There are always key takeaways or lessons from these successes that can guide you along your journey. • How do you look after your employees? What makes your team unique? We are one Team. We wouldn’t want to call them employees. The team member is apt. The average vintage of our Team members is around 4 Years. That’s a testament to the joy and satisfaction they experience while being a Team member. We provide all the normal benefits plus great incentives which are performance linked to ensure that they are goal-driven and at the same time amply rewarded for their various successes. Our HR team initiates various activities like Finally its Friday ( Fun & games played by the team on Friday evenings), Outings, Team Lunches, etc. to maintain the Work – Fun balance. • Is there any special experience with your clients you would like to highlight? The brief from the client was they required 25 Desktop Support Engineers having skillsets of
How did Cylsys Software (IT staffing vertical) help The Delivery Team at Cylsys Software did a stupendous job by doing the following and completed this requirement in a record time of less than a month with all selected candidates joining all 23 locations on the given date and successfully completing their contract period with only appreciation from the client. Cylsys has a huge database of candidates across Skill sets in the IT domain. The Delivery team dug deep and could shortlist the majority of the candidates from the internal database itself. The rest were shortlisted through references and lastly the job portals.
The Client wanted Cylsys to conduct the Technical round at our end and only share Resumes of candidates shortlisted by the Technical team. So the internal Technical team of Cylsys Software held the technical round with all the shortlisted candidates and ensured that only quality candidates were selected and sent for the Training & Orientation programme at the 23 locations before commencing duties. As the selected candidates would be on the payroll of Cylsys Software, the HR team did a fabulous job of collecting documents and doing reference checks of the selected candidates before issuing each of the 25 candidates their respective offer letters. And also following up with the candidates for getting the acceptance of the offers. The Delivery team micro-managed the entire process and ensured that each selected candidate reached their respective location for the training at the stipulated date and time. For Candidates who were coming from other States, Cylsys had to also coordinate their Travel itinerary. With a couple of candidates falling ill during this contract tenure and unable to continue, the Delivery team ensured that the replacement candidates were on the job in the shortest possible time as they had kept Backup candidates on standby in anticipation of such a situation arising. The Outcome All the 25 Candidates at all 23
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Achievements 10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
500+ PROJECTS
1000+ App Development
20+ INDUSTRIES
80+ PROFFESIONALS
50+ Clients
locations successfully completed their contracts with the client having only words of appreciation for the diligent work done by them. And the Client giving an assurance that Cylsys Software would be the preferred vendor to be considered for any of their future IT Staffing requirements. It was a challenge servicing such an urgent Staffing requirement for such an esteemed client. But a Challenge met successfully by the Cylsys Software IT Staffing Team!! • One person, who you admire the most? I admire Mr.Raghunatha Reddy Executive Vice President & Head IT at UTI Mutual Fund the most. • Whose business story do you find the most inspiring? Industrialist and philanthropist Mr. Ratan Naval Tata is a true source of motivation for me. He is the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons and Chairman of the Tata Trusts.
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• Constant vigilance- a need or a strategy? Please share your views. A balanced outlook of Vigilance and Trust would be the ideal scenario. • It’s a rat-race out there. How do you cope with that? Focus just on your Business goals and the Rat race becomes insignificant. The Business Idea, its execution, and Customer-centric outlook will help you stand out in a crowd.
www.cylsys.com
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IF THE PLAN DOESN’T ORK, CHANGE THE PLAN, BUT NEVER THE GOAL.
www.underarmour.com
BUILT TO BREAK THROUGH Available in Men’s, Women’s, and kid’s
Business Story
WatchDog
A New Freedom Of Security
RAVI PRAKASH | CEO | APOLLO INFOWAYS PVT. LTD.
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force people to take the wrong steps to earn for bread and butter. This may cause an increase in the number of criminal activities.
There is a lot of crime in society. Due to which it is very important to have security and surveillance. The COVID-19 has created a major downfall in the earnings which may
Surveillance has become a vital element in the well being of society. While the world is at the cusp of the digital revolution the boost in the digital economy has helped businesses to expand and spread their business wings. A small threat can be a major reason to hold their growth back. In this scenario, businesses are in search of trustworthy security and surveillance solutions that can add strength to their businesses.
e love our people as well as businesses which made us whatever we are today. Because of which we remain very concerned about safety. Today, we are always in rush to be relevant in the market race. In such a situation, we cannot spend all the time with our loved once or we cannot always keep an eye on what’s going on in the office or in our surrounding.
48 October 2020
A prominent leader, Mr. Ravi Prakash, CEO – Apollo Infoways Pvt. Ltd., is making smart efforts to provide businesses top-notched security and surveillance solutions with the help of his vast experience in the field. Apollo Infoways’ product WatchDog brings intelligent security and surveillance solutions that protect people, properties, and assets. WatchDog ensures safety, security, and productivity in various industrial processes and helps to make the world safer. The company's integrated security systems have been used in various situations and they deliver comprehensive coverage. The Company Apollo Infoways Pvt. Ltd. is a leading provider of Security solutions and services for every segment of market, from retail to Enterprise customers. To get a boost in productivity, businesses need an expert team of people with advanced skill sets. Apollo Infoways empower industries by helping them with best of breed product to stand out from the crowd. To give an end to the search of businesses for cutting-edge security and surveillance solutions Apollo Infoways launched WatchDog, a product that serves industries, educational institutions, hospitals, etc. with utmost safety. WatchDog is one the most promising security brand in the Indian as well as an overseas market with enhanced technology and better quality products A decade-old legacy in the area of Network Security, Apollo Infoways has witnessed the industry being conceived and matures over the
period and has been at the forefront of every technological breakthrough. The company brings best of breed surveillance solution for their customers, which helps them to realize their vision of “Securing All” “WatchDog”. Their Offerings CITY PUBLIC AREA SURVEILLANCE • TRAFFIC EFFICIENCY WatchDog high-performance cameras with edge analytics are ideal for monitoring and detecting traffic flow. Once cameras are installed, analytics can be turned on, off, or adjusted as needed. Video analytics are extremely accurate and can be collected over long periods without fatigue. pedestrians and bicyclists. • RAPID RESPONSE Timing is everything in traffic management. When an incident occurs, Traffic Operations Managers need to assess and respond immediately. Their rapid response prevents traffic congestion from spreading to surrounding areas or when accidents are involved, it may save lives. COMMERCIAL SECTOR • CUSTOM VIDEO SURVEILLANCE FOR BUSINESSES Commercial areas like hotels, shopping centers, and office complexes require a robust surveillance system to ensure the safety of personnel and improve operational flexibility. Pelco offers sophisticated video management systems that operate discreetly and intuitively while seamlessly integrating with current infrastructures to afford real-time monitoring as well as multi-
location remote monitoring. • INCREASE SAFETY WatchDog’s commercial security camera systems offer enhanced reliability and safety through innovative features such as multi-location remote monitoring, Wide Dynamic Range for areas with challenging lighting conditions, automated vehicle access control through ANPR, and HD surveillance. Our complete surveillance solution ensures the safety of guests and staff while securing sensitive assets and data. • IMPROVED OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY Through the use of cloud storage and cloud-based VSaaS (video surveillance as a service) systems, WatchDog provides organizations with a unique platform to improve operational efficiency and flexibility. With facial recognition and dynamic access control, security personnel is better equipped to respond to emergencies in real-time. GOVERNMENT SECTOR • CUSTOM VIDEO SURVEILLANCE FOR BUSINESSES The first responsibility of any nation’s government is to protect the safety and welfare of its citizens and the nation’s property. When preparing for or responding to any emergency – be it a terrorist attack or natural disaster – having the right equipment and resources in place make all the difference. WatchDog is ready to support federal, state, and local government agencies with leading-edge technology to help meet this responsibility.
• INCREASE SAFETY WatchDog’s Government security camera systems offer enhanced reliability and safety through innovative features such as multilocation remote monitoring, Wide Dynamic Range for areas with challenging lighting conditions, automated vehicle access control through ANPR, and HD surveillance. Our complete surveillance solution ensures the safety of guests and staff while securing sensitive assets and data. TRAFFIC MONITORING • TRAFFIC MONITORING WatchDog high-performance cameras with edge analytics are ideal for monitoring and detecting traffic flow. Once cameras are installed, analytics can be turned on, off, or adjusted as needed. Video analytics are extremely accurate and can be collected over long periods without fatigue. • RADPID RESPONCE Timing is everything in traffic management. When an incident occurs, Traffic Operations Managers need to assess and respond immediately. Their rapid response prevents traffic congestion from spreading to surrounding areas or when accidents are involved, it may save lives.
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Intelligent Video Surveillance Solutions for Education • VIDEO SURVEILLANCE FOR EDUCATION School safety is constantly on the minds of students, parents, faculty, and staff. From small elementary schools to universities with multiple campuses, the security challenges faced by educational institutions require an efficient, cost-effective solution WatchDog provides comprehensive IP video surveillance solutions that integrate with current systems and analog cameras to keep people safe.
parking lots can also detect breakins and assaults, alerting security personnel through mobile devices.
24/7 coverage of physical surroundings, improving safety, and increasing operational efficiency.
HEALTHCARE & HOSPITALS • VIDEO SURVEILLANCE FOR HEALTHCARE AND HOSPITALS Hospitals and healthcare facilities implement Environment of Care standards to keep patients, visitors, and employees safe about physical surroundings, work processes, and operational procedures. Video surveillance systems are an efficient, cost-effective solution for 24/7 coverage of physical surroundings, improving safety, and increasing operational efficiency.
• REGULATORY COMPLIANCE Health care facilities must comply with a variety of state and federal regulations. Video surveillance solutions can alert security to unauthorized individuals and vehicles in restricted areas, attempted data breaches on site, and other compliance issues.
• CENTRALIZED AND REMOTE ACCESS MONITORING With IP video solutions, security • INCREASE SAFETY staff can monitor the entire facility Educational institutions need to be from anywhere there is Internet prepared for emergencies, access. Live and recorded from accidents to active video from multiple shooters. Video cameras can be Business is all about keeping your customers scanned to get a clear surveillance solutions always happy with your support services. You picture of any incident with real-time alerts provide school have to be always around when they need you and aid in personnel and the most. Your entire efforts have to revolve investigations. emergency service around customer service.”~ Ravi Prakash professionals with • COMPLETE multiple angles of PICTURE OF incidents, improving decisionFACILITY AND GROUNDS • OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY making and response times. Monitoring parking lots and The complexity of hospital emergency entrances allow medical operations requires systems that • POSITIVE LEARNING staff to proactively prepare integrate, such as video ENVIRONMENT responses and security staff to management, access control, and Students and teachers need to be reduce crime. Video cameras in visitor management. Pelco’s IP able to concentrate to succeed. public areas like waiting rooms, surveillance cameras and video Regardless of age, keeping students management solutions help security cafeterias, and hallways can alert engaged and motivated can be a staff to overcrowding, incidents, departments become more challenge. By creating a safer and emergencies. proactive in protecting healthcare environment, disruptions are facilities. minimized and students are better PRODUCTS able to learn and thrive. • IP Camera • RESTRICT ACCESS AND • (NVR) Network Video Recoder SAFEGUARD MEDICATION • TRAFFIC AND PARKING • AHD Camera Hospitals and healthcare facilities MANAGEMENT • (DVR) Digital Video Recoder implement Environment of Care Inexperienced drivers searching for standards to keep patients, visitors, • ANPR parking and students texting while • AI enabled cameras and employees safe about physical walking are a bad combination. • Wi-Fi Camera surroundings, work processes, and Video surveillance systems can • SFP Modules operational procedures. Video help improve flow and reduce • 4G Router (Load Balancer) surveillance systems are an accidents. Security cameras in efficient, cost-effective solution for
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50 October 2020
www.royalenď€ eld.com
Awakening
Ikigai F I N D I N G Y O U R
1. Satisfaction, but feeling of uselessnes
2. Delight and fullness, but no wealth
WHAT YOU LOVE
PASSION
MISSION 2
WHAT ARE YOU GOOD AT
1
IKIGAI
WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS
3
4
PROFESSION
4. Comfortable, but feeling of emptiness
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VOCATION
WHAT YOU CAN GET PAID FOR
3. Excitement and complacency but sense of uncertainity
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e all have come to this world with unique identities, personalities, problems, and realities. We are different in cultures, perceptions, and mentalities, but the thing that binds and hold us together are the basic human emotions and necessities. Everyone has different reasons to live for and different definition and perception of success in their life. Some are happy with their current lifestyle, some wish for more, and some want more. There are a lot of emotions and driving forces behind an individual, making her/him work harder, dedicated and striving for their goals and success. The most important thing in an individual’s life is a reason or a goal that makes one get up in the morning, that doesn’t let one sleep, that keeps the person motivated and up and running. That aim or goal or a set of goals gives one’s life meaning and a reason to live and breathe for, this is called Ikigai. Ikigai is a Japanese word that translates for being a reason to get up in the morning, to live for. Before finding out your Ikigai, one needs to be in touch with oneself and aware of themselves to begin this search. As it rightly said that no one understands you more than you, thus one should know their strengths and weakness. Next comes finding one’s passion, there
is always something that comes or feels natural to us. One needs to figure that out and search for the opportunities it can create for them. We have always heard that one should do something that they love, and it is completely true as that will not only give one utmost job satisfaction but will also be beneficial to those who will use your products/services. If one feels they are good at something, they should give that field a try as trying is the only way to find out which field or subject is for you or not. One should not overlook the fact that whatever one does, in the end, it’s the people who are going to use or consume it. Thus, one’s Ikigai is comprised of the impact they want to have on the world. Finding one’s Ikigai is not related to satisfaction in professional life but also gives one the feeling of completeness, thus improving one’s physical and mental health both. Your Ikigai is not necessarily supposed to be something common or something that is accepted worldwide, one can take anything that they are inclined to, interested in and turn it into a global scale. This will not only make a person work harder towards their goal but in a way, one is striving for something that could change the way the world works or consumes various products and services. One should not only find their interest
and inclination but should never forget to use it for the betterment of the humankind. Ikigai is something that one finds out in their life, they either search for it or stumbles upon it but that should not change the way one looks at life or things. This is nothing less than a journey as there is no set age for one to find their passion or Ikigai, so always be open to experiences and things in life as they come. Moreover, even if one does not find something that attracts or pulls them, which is highly unlikely, but one can create a passion or interest by reading and understanding different things or subjects. In the end, finding your Ikigai is not the sole reason or purpose to live, of course, it drives you to work harder and strive for perfection, and success in their life. One should always know that living and enjoying your life is also a priority and balancing is the key to happiness and your Ikigai.
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In a talk with...
Mr Rohan Warty B R I N G I N G T H E A C T I O N T O T H E B R A N D S
A
business always dreams to spread its wings beyond the limit. The digital era has created such opportunities for businesses. With advanced and innovative technologies, our lives have changed significantly. A business can survive in a crucial time and dream to expand if it is backed by a trustworthy B2B service provider. Telemarketing, Data research and mining, Lead Generation, Data Entry, Email marketing, and Transcription services empower businesses to climb heights of success. Keeping this need of businesses in mind, Mr. Rohan Warty established Xerviz Wlobal in 2015 to accelerate the client’s businesses’ growth. Mr. Rohan Warty, Founder and Managing Director, and his team of highly skilled professionals strives to innovate and provide cutting edge offerings to their clients. In this interview, Mr. Rohan shared his journey throughout and what Xerviz Wlobal offers. • Tell us about the company. At Xerviz Wlobal, we work together to produce outcomes that deserve a pat on the back. Established in 2015, we are a young and dynamic organization with a set of skilled resources. We swear by the idea of client satisfaction and work diligently towards delivering the best. Let this not sound like we are blowing our own trumpet, but we 54 October 2020
MISSION
Our spirits are always on an all- me high, we deliver dedica on daily and aim to establish tac cal partnerships with our clients, providing remarkable business solu ons. Our sole mission is the client's sa sfactory smile.
We are humbled by our achievements to date and use them as a stepping stone towards achieving greater milestones in the future, our vision is set on our goals and we are always looking forward to adding a new feather in our cap.
MOTTO
ISION
We love being praised and hence we are never missing out on quality! Our mo o has always been providing value-added and quality services.
take pride in providing remarkable B2B services which will help your business see a new horizon • What were the initial challenges you faced? When we started in 2015, we taught everything will go as per plan but that didn't happen. We had a tough time in the initial 1 and a half years to stabilize the company. We were constantly focusing on new projects and we were not able to convert them. There are many other companies that provide similar services and prospects taught we are new in the business and inexperienced. • Which was that point that triggered the growth of the company? Initially, we were targeting clients from metro cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, and also international but the conversion rate was very low. Then we changed our strategy, as we are situated in Goa and no other companies are providing similar services here, we started approaching Goan companies. Goa companies were working with
agencies from Mumbai and Pune for their marketing requirement and when they found a company providing similar services in goa, they were inclined towards us. This helped us and was the turning point for us. • What is the reason behind your company’s long-standing success? Client satisfaction and retention are our major strengths. We can provide the best quality services to our esteemed clients. There are some clients with whom we are continuously associated since 2016, 2017, and still going strong. The whole credit goes to the Managers, TL’s, and the team members. • What are the services the Xerviz Wlobal focuses on? How are your services different from those in the market? We are specialized in Telemarketing, Data research, and mining, Lead Generation, Data Entry, Email marketing, Transcription. There are other companies which provide similar services but not all the services
under one roof but we do that. Our clients do not have to look for other agencies; we are a one-stop solution for a marketing requirement. • How do you decide to take the company a step further in terms of your services? We are planning to add new services to our list like Social Media Marketing, SEO, Online Reputation management. • Is there any new addition to the list of products/services? Anything exciting you would like to share? Yes, recently we have added 2 new services to our list i.e Back-end support and Technical support service. We are working with e-commerce companies and providing them with their back-end support for the e-commerce platform. Also, we are working with US IT firms and they have outsourced the technical support department to us and we are helping their customers with the same.
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Minkulsum Shaikh (Sr. Manager – Operations) I am very proud to be a part of Xerviz Wlobal. I feel this company has always believed and supported its employees. I had joined Xerviz Wlobal in 2016 as a fresher and now working as Sr. Opera ons Manager. The company has not only helped me in learning but has helped me to iden fy my strengths and quali es. Till now it has been a challenging yet exci ng journey. I couldn’t have asked for a be er person than Mr. Warty to work under. Very Kind, Encouraging, Suppor ve, and treats all his employees with respect. He is more like a friend and less like a Boss. Thanks to Xerviz Wlobal and him for believing in me and giving me opportuni es to grow.
Vaibhav Kholkar (Operations Manager)
It’s been more than 3 years since I am part of Xerviz Wlobal, it is that posi ve energy that helped me to grow with new opportuni es. Xerviz Wlobal is a fast-growing company and soon we will be comple ng 5 years. Mr. Rohan Warty has helped me to become a good manager and turn failures into success. He is very suppor ve and I am grateful to work with him closely. He is a Great Entrepreneur, Good Teacher & a Best Friend.
Feena Pereira (Team Lead) I joined Xerviz Wlobal in the year 2017. My experience working for this company for the past 3 and half years has been really good. I was a fresher when I joined and now I have gained a lot of experience and knowledge, be it professional or personal. Rohan sir has given me a lot of opportuni es to grow and is very suppor ve. He has an amazing ability to bring out the best in all his employees.
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Vijukumar K (Business Development Manager) I am fortunate to be a part of this wonderful company that has grown from a fledgling start-up to a reputed company now creden aled with an impressive array of interna onal and na onal clients across a broad spectrum of industries. An efficient and dedicated workforce, a unique and fun-filled work culture, and most of all, its leader and Managing Director, Mr. Rohan Warty. He is an epitome of what every Boss should be like - a leader who can effortlessly marshal his workforce to achieve their full poten al and ins ll in them a sense of mission in their approach to their job. Taking a nascent idea and transforming it into one of the most successful BPO enterprises in Goa takes brilliance, courage, and dedica on.
I have been associated with Xerviz Wlobal for the last 3 years. Our companies focus is on providing quality service to our clients along with bringing the best out of the team members. The work environment is posi ve and friendly. Mr. Warty is a great boss to work with as gives posi vity and confidence to the team members.
Coralee Colaco (Team Lead)
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Tejal Metry (Team Lead)
I have been working at Xerviz Wlobal since 2018 and so far it has been an amazing journey. The company supports posi ve working rela onships and encourages all to be leaders. Mr. Warty is a great boss extremely approachable and easy to talk to, his main focus is to make sure all his employees are happy, and that is the difference between a good company and a great company.
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“A REAL LEADER IS A PERSON WHO DOES NOT CREATE FOLLOWERS BUT CREATES MORE LEADERS”.
• What do you think are the responsibilities of an entrepreneur? I feel it is not rocket science to become an entrepreneur, anybody who has a passion to start his/her business can become an entrepreneur. For some, the journey is smooth and for some, it is not. According to me, the responsibilities of an entrepreneur are to build Sustainable, Sellable, and Scalable Business. • Can you please brief us about your professional experience? After pursuing my MBA from Mumbai, I started working in Mumbai in the education sector and was handling sales and marketing for that company. I worked there for 1 year and came back to Goa. First I taught I will look for a job in my hometown and then after a few years I will plan to start my venture but God had some other plans for me at that time. Couldn’t find any suitable job, I decided to start my venture without any delay. I knew that outsourcing is a big and growing sector and should try to capitalize on the same. It is that 58 October 2020
moment I decided to start “XERVIZ WLOBAL”. • What are the key achievements of your entrepreneurial journey? Xerviz Wlobal is completing 5 years in November 2020. In these 5 years, we were very grateful to work with reputed clients across the globe. Xerviz Wlobal has been featured in many print and e-magazines. Xerviz wlobal was awarded “Vibrant Start-up of the Year 2019” by Start-up City Magazine. We were recognized among “10 Most Promising Goan Start-ups 2019” by Silicon India Magazine. I got honoured with the “Young Achievers Award for Business Excellence” at Incredible Goa Awards 2019. I was also elected as Treasurer of Goa Technology Association, Goa's only IT/ITES association with 80+ members for the term 2019-2021. • How do you look after your employees? What makes your team unique? We mostly hire fresher and provide them with the required training and professional grooming. Some
resources are working with us and have given us a commitment for more than 3-4 years. Apart from work we have fun activities planned every week which helps in team bonding. We have an open environment in the company and management is freely approachable. • One person, who you admire the most? I always say that 3 people play an important role in shaping my entrepreneurial journey. My mother, Reshma Warty, who believed in me since day 1 and always encouraged and supported me during my failures in the initial days of business. My uncle and my Inspiration to start my venture Late Mr.JaiwantPriolkar, Ex-MD of Progen ERP Pvt Ltd whom I always looked upon since my childhood. Mr. Mangirish Salelkar, CEO of Umang Software Pvt Ltd, my Brother, and Mentor, who gave me direction whenever required and a very important part of my professional and personal life.
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In a talk with...
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business leader is someone who converts a dream to reality-while doing so he inspires and motivates the people he comes across with. Leaders think of innovative ways to accelerate growth of the organisation by creating visions, values and blue-prints aligned with the present and future times. Mr. Samir Lodha, founder at QuantArt is a leader who is bringing about transformation in the field of foreign exchange and risk management with the help of his vast experience and team of expertise ex-investment bankers. In a talk with him, let’s discover more about QuantArt and his journey till now.
MR. SAMIR LODHA Empowering Businesses with Smart Forex Risk Management Services through QuantArt 60 October 2020
• Brief us about the company. QuantArt is a fast-growing niche foreign exchange and risk management advisory firm run by ex-investment bankers. The organisation brings tangible value addition(s) like cost reduction, risk mitigation, profitability enhancement, knowledge, expertise, and ideas to the corporates. QuantArt is trusted by large banks, by apex bodies like Clearing Corporation of India, and by corporates from large groups like Tata, Reliance, Vedanta, AV Birla, Hero, JK, RPG, and many more. Trust by such large treasuries certifies the value proposition, cutting edge knowledge and expertise which QuantArt brings. Senior advisors in the company are well known and appreciated in the industry for their knowledge and skills. They provide hands-on advisory and do not delegate the work to juniors. Being ex-bankers and having worked with top international and Indian banks they know the best possible risk management methodologies. QuantArt advises on the whole gamut of Fx and risk management. Whether it’s basics like cashtom, and forward booking or advanced stuff like exotic option pricing, value at risk, model calibration, CVA DVA modeling - QuantArt manages and advises on all. QuantArt has also trained over 1000 people from various companies and banks in the area of forex
and risk management. • What were the initial challenges you faced? There were two key challengesFirst of all, most advisors didn’t have the knowledge to handle the complexities found in this area - as a result, many corporates suffered losses and were hence wary of forex advisors. The second challenge was associated with the first one. Since the knowledge of the advisors were limited, the fee they charged was low and that had become the industry norm. Neither there was good quality work being done nor was there readiness to pay the fees required for quality work. • Which was that point that triggered the growth of the company? We have been growing consistently since our inception. Within a few years of our starting QuantArt, corporates realized the savings we were doing for them; our business grew through word of mouth. However, we have always prioritized servicing our clients over marketing. • How have the company graphs changed since the foundation? Can you share a few statistics?
• What is the reason behind your company’s long-standing success? We have consistently given results and lived up to our commitments. We have saved costs, brought in transparency with banks, simplified hedging; earned profits for our clients- all this while, protecting them from adverse effects of the market movements Our clients have consistently benefited financially after taking our advice. Also, all the senior advisors are focused on ethical and sincere client service philosophy. We don’ t take shortcuts and are very thorough with our work, we ensure long term gain(s) for the corporates who are our clients. We consider our profession more like that of doctors. Hence we do not delegate our work, keep ourselves updated with research, and diligently focus on adding value. • What are the products/services the company focuses on? How are your services different from those in the market? There are a few ways how we help corporates: • We have seen in 95% of the corporates that they pay a good amount of unreasonable forex charges to the bank and we invariably are able to reduce those charges. Surprisingly, this is applicable to many large corporates as well, including corporates with very smart teams. • For the exporters we are able to improve their rate of realization which adds straight to their profitability. For example, if export proceeds are realized at 78.00
whereas the market average is around 75.00 then that’s a 4% improvement in revenue and a much sharper increase in profitability. • Importers typically shy away from hedging because the hedge costs are on the higher side. We are able to reduce the hedge cost consistently for the importers and hence they are able to save, they are able to mitigate the risk, and at the same time not pay a very high cost. • Another area where we are able to help companies invariably is in interest cost reduction. If you have a rupee loan, typically the cost is around 8-9%. If you take a foreign currency loan on a full hedge basis, your cost will come down by 0.50%-1.00%. But if you take a foreign currency loan that is hedged in an optimized manner, your cost will come down by 2-3% and IRR will be close to 5-6%. That is a significant saving for corporates. There are many choices for long term loan hedging. When you have to hedge for long term loans- you can split the interest rate and forex rate hedge separately. Option structures or even the plain options work beautifully. Then there are different times when different strategies work well. So we keep all these things in mind while advising. Hedge accounting is also another area that is very important when you are hedging for the long term. • How do you decide to take the company a step further in terms of your products/services? In addition to our experience, we constantly do quantitative and qualitative researches. Having worked with so many corporates,
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• Is there any new addition to the list of products/services? Anything exciting you would like to share? We have started providing a 100% guarantee and assurance of value addition to corporates as we have seen from our experiences we are able to bring in marked profits. We have also devised a step-up model of fee which makes it easier for the corporates to start working with us and then when they work together for a while, they can judge our quality, and most of the time we form a long term relationship. • What are the key achievements of your entrepreneurial journey? We have structured our offerings so that corporates across various forex exposures can benefit from our advice. We have partnered with IIMC for training corporates and have trained 1000+ people across organizations. We have clients across all large industry groups. We have clients with USD 10 billion exposure and also a client with INR 5 crores of Fx exposure. The most important achievement is that we are in the knowledge business and have the top position in the industry. We have been able to add tangible value to clients and at the same time our revenue has grown at 50% CAGR. • How do you look after your employees? What makes your team unique?
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We are a high-performance driven organization. Our core team are IIM graduates as strong mathematical skills are required in operations. We are happy to recruit dedicated professionals from other institutes if they are able to blend in with a performance-driven environment. Our current team is extremely close-knit, sincere, and trustworthy. We believe our employee safety and wellbeing are critical. We were one of the first to mandate work from home in early Feb 2020much before the lockdown. We offer health insurance covering parents of our employees too amongst other employee benefits. • Is there any special experience with your clients you would like to highlight? We have saved crores of INR for our clients by advising them on when and how to hedge, using which specific instruments. While companies suffer forex loss once in a while, we bring consistent forex gain for our clients. • One person who you admire the most? Ratan Tata and Tata group as a whole -they do great business and try to ensure ethical practices; they take care of employees and at the same time channel huge amounts of wealth for social benefits. Other entrepreneurs I admire are Azim Premji and Bill Gates for the same reasons.
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• Constant vigilance- a need or a strategy? Please share your views. It’s the most basic need in financial markets especially in the domain we operate. However, your strategy has to be such that it insulates you from the stress of constant changes in the environment. • It’s a rat-race out there. How do you cope with that? Everyone has their own path and destiny- I work on mine while always trying to maintain balance. I do my work, strive, and leave the rest to God. Mr. Samir Lodha - A visionary leader Samir founded QuantArt in 2012 January and is running for the last 8 years. QuantArt has advised and trained numerous large organizations during the period on Fx hedging, rates hedging, strategies, algorithms, etc. Samir is an MBA from IIM Calcutta with over 20 years of experience. He had worked in senior positions with Foreign exchange treasuries of JP Morgan (Executive Director), HSBC (Associate Director), and ICICI Bank wherein he advised large companies across India on risk management and hedging of foreign exchange and interest rates exposures. He has sound experience and understanding of global markets, market economics, hedging strategies, hedge algorithms, price calculation, and risk-return optimization.
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we clearly can see the areas of value addition for an organisation, and then we pick up 1 or 2 challenges at a time and sort out the issues and then proactively move to another area of value addition.
ARISE, AWAKE AND STOP NOT TILL YOUR GOAL IS REACHED.
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