In this digital era, to scale your business to unmoved heights, it is important that you focus more on the total business solutions. These include anything from software solutions to IoT and IT services for your business. These solutions help you create a functional system for your organization and keep the processes in place thus increasing the efficiency of your organization and scaling your business.
Featuring for the Cover Story of The Enterprise World’s The 5 Best Microsoft Solution Providers To Watch is Datanetiix Solutions Inc, your One-Stop solution provider for software development, business intelligence and IT needs.
In this interview with Bala Sriraghavan- Founder/CEO let us get more insights in the working of the company.
Tell us about the company.
Datanetiix Solutions Inc. has been in software development business for close to a decade and a half. Datanetiix Solutions Inc started as a Customized Solution Provider and later expanded the services across multiple verticals such as ERP (Microsoft Dynamics), Salesforce, RPA, Mobile Applications and of late into Customized Solutions in AI/Blockchain technologies.
Datanetiix Solutions Inc has headquarters in California, having offices in Washington, New Jersey, EU, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, and a center of excellence in Chennai, and a couple of offshore offices in Hyderabad and Bangalore, India.
What were the initial challenges you faced?
Regardless of how well we prepared, there were initial setbacks when we started Datanetiix Solutions Inc. The major challenge was we didn’t have any Investors, Venture Capitals or Angel funding, it all kick started with the individual savings. Without third party investments, even though the company’s growth was slow, we were able to learn to handle things step by step while scaling up the business…
Investing our own money to build the company and reinvesting the profits to get things done was challenging. Being a small team, the recruitment process eaten up our valued time that could be spent on other areas of the business, but on the other hand, not having the right people to deliver the cost-effective solutions created many challenges initially.
Which was that point that triggered the growth of the company?
We initially started with what we know better & we are best with that is Customized Application Development, we employed talented design team & back-end development team which is the backbone of Datanetiix Solutions Inc. All the customers who came to us believed strong about Datanetiix Solutions Inc core team which worked with a successful note in their previous ventures, starting a company from 0 to 500+ employees. And we were able to live up to their trust. After the success of the application development services, we expanded our service verticals to MS Dynamics, Salesforce and adding new strategies etc.
How have the company graphs changed since the foundation? Can you share a few statistics?
We can calculate the growth rate in a company by comparing the number of employees hired & working, we started with a 4-member team & at present we have 90+ team members.
Graph:
What is the reason behind your company’s long-standing success?
We always believed that the long-standing or enduring success is for those who look for the brighter side & buckle up with a strong vision and our vision is “To be a reliable Consulting and Technology partner, hand-holding wonderful customers and leading the implementation of top-notch solutions for global companies across industry verticals.”
We understand that providing good service to our customers is crucial to gaining their loyalty and retaining their business, we‘re abide to this simple rule. We employed great management /leadership team & right talents, considering that the happy & engaged employees take care of customers.
Commitment, dedication, transparency among the team & customers, managing our business finances & adapting to new technology were also the major part in our success as a Company.
In a Nutshell reason behind Datanetiix Solutions Inc long-standing success is sticking to our company’s vision, mission, and core values…
Vision: To be a reliable Consulting and Technology partner, hand-holding wonderful customers and leading the implementation of top-notch solutions for global companies across industry verticals.
Mission: To build a steadfast and trustworthy workforce with high standards and ethical values to serve our clients with utmost transparency and trust. We visualize, in collaboration with our clients, the optimum technology solutions to the client’s business needs, providing the right guidance at the right time.
Core Values:
D–Discipline
A–Accountability
T–Transparency
A–Agility
N–Networking
E–Efficiency
T–Team work
I–Integrity
I–Innovative
X–Xenial
The Products/Services-
What are the products/services the company focuses on? How are your services different from those in the market?
We are a one-stop-solution provider for all your Software Development, Business Intelligence, and IT needs. We majorly focus on ERP (Microsoft Dynamics), Salesforce, Custom/Mobile Application Development, Infrastructure, Content Management System and bleeding edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Meta.
Our Developers go through intense training in every new technology that they want to pursue. We don’t believe in OJT. We have certified Technical &Functional consultants. We follow ‘Flexible Engagement Model’ allowing us to accomplish the project faster and at an affordable cost without compromising on the quality. That is how Datanetiix Solutions Inc differentiates from others.
Being a successful leader in Microsoft Solutions, please share your views on current business scenario across the globe.
Technology sector is going through a tough time partly due to the pandemic and partly due to the expected interest rate hike from the feds, what with Meta (FB) losing $230 billion a single day. Also, the war in Ukraine is “catastrophe” for the world. It impacts global economic growth apart from human calamities.
In this scenario, a key element of maintaining business continuity is the effective management of cyber security across the organization. The new ubiquitous phenomenon of remote work has made security even more critical for every organization, and nurturing cyber resilience has never been more important.
Also, the cloud has become a business imperative, particularly in the last couple of years, as companies have leaned on the added flexibility and benefits cloud computing brings for remote workers. As more customers turn to cloud adoption, it becomes imperative that we simplify the migration process so they can transition their workloads swiftly and effectively.
How do you decide to take the company a step further in terms of your products/services?
I believe Microsoft ERP technology will become the player with the largest market share in its domain in the next 5 to 7 years. With 23.85% of the market already locked in, its Dynamics 365 revenue growth last year being 39% (which is among the best in the industry) Microsoft is challenging its Service Partners by raising the bar in areas like AI and BI which have an integral / exciting role to play in their new Dynamics 365. As a Microsoft Partner and a service provider, we intend to retrain our employees in these fields AI and BI and Analytics and also concentrate on recruiting new players from the market who are already skilled in these territories.
Furthermore, Datanetiix Solutions Inc plans to use these competencies to go beyond Microsoft ERP. Initiated an Artificial Intelligence-based ISV product that adds value to the ERP Enterprise World. Apart from this, we are currently working on an innovative blockchain application partnered with the BC developer’s forum. Datanetiix Solutions Inc always believes in continuous improvement and learning.
Is there any new addition to the list of products/services? Anything exciting you would like to share?
We are planning to further increase our footprints in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation, Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality, and Block chain & NFT’s as these are the evolving technologies & we are sure these technologies will shape the business world in 2022 and beyond.
Leadership –
What do you think are the responsibilities of an entrepreneur?
I believe in the dictum “The True Measure of Leadership is Influence – Nothing More, Nothing Less”.
One of the hardest things an entrepreneur is forced to do is to make decisions on the run with minimal data available. Each day in our businesses, we are forced to make decisions based on market conditions – about whether to accept or decline a business deal or what price to quote.
But the most challenging part comes when I want to have the team to respond to my decisions. It is one thing to be a CEO of a multi-million dollar company and be able to rule with an iron-hand, and totally another to have to humble oneself to understand that I’ve to cajole the team forward with me, with confidence, and encouragement.
To be able to influence the whole team to respond to your calls positively is the most challenging part of a leader’s job. If a leader can gain that level of respect and loyalty from his force, he can inspire them to greatness.
Can you please brief us about your professional experience?
I started my career in Web application, later developed Ecommerce apps, e-learning and mobile apps, and then entered into the ERP vertical – CRM, HRIS, BI & Enterprise Application Management. I later gained expertise in Process Improvements, IT Support Outsourcing/Business Process – Onshore/offshore delivery. In my 23 + years of experience, I have worked all the way from Start-ups to Multi-Million dollar enterprises in different roles in Business Partnership Building and Strategic Planning.
What are the key achievements of your entrepreneurial journey?
Even as it may sound like a clichéd thing to say, I have worn many hats in my career and that is par for course for any entrepreneur. Though I started as a founder employee, over the course of the last few years I have done Product Lifecycle Management, created Sales and Marketing Plans, and structured Customer Support blueprints.
I have never let go of an opportunity to adopt an effective new technology to solve existing problems. And that innate desire to experiment with new tools has helped me manage cross-functional projects better. This experimental mindset is also one of the main reasons why I am able to mentor and help Start-ups and Enterprises with their day-to-day challenges.
How do you look after your employees? What makes your team unique?
One of my first mentors Bhaskar Srinivasan told me – Never ask a team member to do something that you will not do yourself. There cannot be a better way to look after your employees than following that simple rule. And once I encourage someone to take a particular risk, I make sure I back them all the way in front of the client. The uniqueness of a team is the synergy of all their individual strengths. Once they know you got their back, the resulting synergy is a beautiful symphony.
I practice yoga and pranayama for my physical and mental health. I encourage my colleagues to follow workouts/yoga/physical activities to balance their work/life and family.
We initiate blood drives and other Corporate Social activities that connect employees and the community.
What would be your advice to the budding entrepreneurs?
Have a vision….you should know where you want to go, before you jump in and run.
Do work you care about….Money should be a by product of your efforts, not the reason.
Challenge yourself….There is no better way to know oneself than pushing one’s limits.
Take risks….To grow is to change. And to change you must be willing to risk your temporary peace.
Believe in yourself….Competency builds confidence, if you have decided to start a company, you already know you are competent.
Find good people…..Better if you can employ people smarter than you.
Face your fears….You start withering the day you refuse to do this.
Take action….Sometimes you have to jump in with some basic analysis and let events/ circumstances take shape. You cannot anticipate every possible obstacle from here.
Which is the most inspiring quote you have read?
“Revel in being discarded, or having all your energies exhausted in vain, only those who have endured hardship will be of use. Samurai who have never erred before will never have what it takes” – Hagakure (from the book “What you do is who you are”)
This quote made a 180 degree change in my recruiting technique. My fascination for miraculous success stories ended and I started asking questions to learn about the candidate’s past failures.
Bottom line was building a scalable business model to enhance the revenue with nominal outflow & broad marketing strategy which gives influx and traction in the market.
Understanding that every unexpected circumstances are inevitable, so rather than fearing them, we handled all the challenges and expanded our team & took the company to the next level.
