Role Model: Pranav Pandya, Dev Information Technology Be at the right place at the right time Pranav Pandya,

after completing PG Diploma in Electronics, started off as a freelance IT consultant in 1990 catering to IT users training, software development, and first level preventive hardware maintenance in Surat, Gujarat. Later in 1990, he set up with his friend Mr. Chetan Desai the first company Intelligent Knowledge Based Systems (IKBS) Pvt. Ltd., which culminated in to the flag ship company Dev Information Technology Pvt. Ltd. in 1997 in Ahmedabad with his family friend Jaimin Shah as Visionary Founder Director. Started with an initial investment of Rs 300,000 borrowed from a relative and offering software solutions and IT services to the SMEs, the company today has five branches and total 2200 employees. Dev Information Technology has clocked turnover of Rs 22 crore in FY2010-11. The company boasts of a clientele which includes various government organizations like Panchayat Department, PWD, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, Irrigation Department and enterprises like Adani Group, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Vadilal Group, Digjam Limited and so on. In the beginning Pranav hails from a renowned family of Saurashtra with father Justice NJ Pranav and mother Madhuri as lawyer. He inherited his business acumen from his maternal uncle and cousins who have an established business in Saurashtra region. I started my company at a young age of 22 years after a short stint as a freelance IT consultant. My wife Kruti, an IT professional, is the secret force behind my overall success, said Pranav N Pandya, Director, Dev Information Technology Pvt. Ltd. It was in class 10th summer vacations at his cousins place in Mumbai where he had his first experience with computers on Sinclair ZX Spectrum. I was blown away by the graphic capacity at that point of time while playing various games. The whole experience was very impressive and left such an impact that I was lured toward the world of computers as a profession, averred Pranav. Initially, the company faced hiccups pertaining to the perception of customers that they need not pay anything for IT services as the same is included in the hardware cost. Banks and financial institutions also shied away from financing IT business projects as there were virtually no physical collateral to be offered except the fact that they would require to consider software personnel as a raw material. We aligned ourselves into close relationship with our customers and made them aware about the benefits of IT services and requirement of skilled manpower to manage the IT resources. At the same time, we got unsecured loans from family and friends to meet our capital requirements, said Pranav. The company forayed into e-governance projects as well as managed services for the government and private sector organizations in 1999. To be at the right place at the right time is the dictum which worked for my company. E-gov started in Gujarat post government of Gujarat announced its IT policy in 1998 and enabled it in 1999, which coincided with our plan of foraying into e-gov. This catapulted us into main league IT player status in Gujarat in the span of five years from our beginning, informed Pranav. The company got its major breakthrough in 1998 with a project to develop case law retrieval

software along with judgement database from 1960-till date for Gujarat High Court. The project ended in 2000. In 2000, the company bagged a project worth Rs 6,000,000 for automation of asset allocation, recovery, and house allocation processes in the Gujarat Housing Board. The companys status was further substantiated by maturing partner relationship with Microsoft (Gold Partner) along with Verisign (Sub-Certifying Authority Western India), and E-gov solution partnership with Adobe, Symantec, and Oracle. Managed IT services like digital signature technical support and sales, and IT infrastructure support also gained momentum from 2003. This did add up to cumulative and value-added growth of our company and made it what it is today, said Pranav. The company got ISO 9001-2000 certification in 2002 and secured SE1B credit rating from NSIC-CRISIL in 2005. CRISIL rating and ISO certification helped us locate the gaps that existed in our business model from the point of view of requiring introspection as well as correction in our finance practices and core business activities so as to ensure well being of the company. Further on such introspection we realised that art of delegation and to build sense of business ownership amongst our core team colleagues was lacking in us. Incorporating this correction definitely contributed to the success and growth realisation of the company, said Pranav. Current business Ahmedabad based Dev IT offers entire service portfolio including enterprise solution development, software license enabling and implementation, managed IT services, remote infrastructure management services, and digital signature enabling and implementation services. The company grew its top line by 22.9 percent, with revenues scaling from Rs 17.9 crore in FY2009-10 to Rs 22 crore in FY2010-11. Managed services contributed about 23 percent (Rs 5 crore) to the overall revenue and grew by 40 percent in FY2010-11 compared to Rs 3 crore in the previous fiscal. Sub-distribution of software licenses and digital signature contributed 54 percent; software solutions accounted for the rest. The company implemented CM Fellowship project in 2010 using SharePoint technology that enables CM office to invite fellowship application and manage entire selection process, monitor the fellows progress, and creating knowledge repository of the fellows research and findings which ultimately may be used as inputs by various departments during their BPR activity. The company also developed Vibrant Gujarat portal that marketed and supported Vibrant Gujarat 2011 summit. It was also backed with a back office management engine to carry out the event organizing tasks management and monitoring. The company also developed Online Plot Application System for GIDC that enabled industrialist and entrepreneurs to view availability and apply for GIDC plots in Gujarat. Business enterprises in the Western region are showing their readiness in complete outsourcing of all their IT needs. They prefer to concentrate more on their core business activities and competencies. This resulted into holistic growth of the company from both top and bottom line aspects as well as it fuels the physical growth of the company by way of large requirement of IT skilled workforce, said Pranav. We incorporated security audits to all service offerings, which strengthened our presence with the existing customers. This included setting up baseline tightly integrated with the monitoring center and governed by service level agreement (SLA). By delivering remote infrastructure management services from our NOC (Network Operation Center) with superlative guidance

from my colleague director Vishal Vasu having 30 skilled professionals monitoring more than 1000 servers in US, UK, and UAE, we have helped many global companies cut down their costs of infrastructure management. We invested in the open source monitoring solution and setup alert and notification mechanism based on the severity. We recruited a blend of domain experts and fresh resources to ensure that the cost of delivery is lowered and the benefit is passed on the businesses, he added. The company observes business finishing and readiness program while hiring fresh middle management/ top management professionals wherein the gap between the academics and real business is addressed. During such training internship compatible talents based on their attitude and aptitude toward our companys various business activities are identified and taken in for incubation. 360 degree transparent evaluation process is also carried out to infuse positive and corrective feedback thereby enhancing the chances of retaining of the employee as it subsequently results in work satisfaction and growth, informs Pranav. Future journey With his business philosophy to address the business opportunity and business needs with utmost sincerity and to keep room for innovative approach in the business, Pranav targets revenue of Rs 50 crore in FY2011-12. We are focusing on managed network services and enterprise solution services and targeting segments like technology, telecommunication, finance, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and media, he added. Though its current focus is largely on west India, Dev IT expects to expand its enterprise solutions, managed IT services, and remote infrastructure management services nationally in Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, Haryana, Goa, and Maharashtra and internationally in Canada, US, UK, and Middle East. On a personal note With leadership mantra of being inclusive, collaborative, and humane, Pranav considers Ratan Tata as his role model for his humility, clarity of thoughts, and no qualm in accepting mistakes. Music, reading, trekking in the woods, and making note of flora-fauna are some of the activities he indulge into as time permits. He has also planned to setup legal reconciliation / counseling centre in the memory of his father Justice NJ Pranav. He appreciates Indian and Western classic music as well as pop and rock music. He likes reading biopic and biographies of inspiring nature. He has read Stay Hungry Stay Foolish and Connect the Dots by Rashmi Bansal, Where Have All the Leaders Gone by Lee Iacocca, Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth, and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century by Alvin Toffler, and Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships by Eric Berne. Pranav aspires to have Mercedes Benz and a dream holiday in Europe and USA by road. Among his family, friends, and peers, he wants to be remembered as a person they can bank upon in any circumstances. Milestones * Developed case law retrieval software and judgment database from 1960-till date for Gujarat High Court in 2000. * Bagged an automation project worth Rs 3,800,000 in the Gujarat Housing Board in 2000.

* Received ISO 9001-2000 certification in 2002. * Secured SE1B credit rating from NSIC-CRISIL in 2005. * Sub Certifying Authority status from Verisign-Sify as the principal CA recognised by Govt of India in 2006. * Recognised as best e-gov regional partner by Microsoft from 2007, year on year. * Microsoft Dynamics President Club World Wide recognition in 2010. * Best e-gov partner recognition from Adobe in 2011.