In a special event held at the InterraIT Noida premises, Edgar Kiwiet, CEO of Inshoring Pros and Asoke Laha, CEO of Interra Information Technologies Inc. met to discuss the changing IT industry landscape, emerging opportunities and the growth projections. Both the IT visionaries emphasised on fostering innovation, meaningful collaboration and exceeding customer expectations through advanced technology solutions.
Media personnel present at the event were provided with an opportunity to pose their queries and concerns regarding the industry which were candidly answered by the two leaders. Here are the excerpts from the interview:
- Is there a future for foreign software companies in India?
Kiwiet: “We believe that the traditional way of offshoring and outsourcing has become a concept of the past. We operate differently. We are a local company with a network of expertise that we see as equals, not as subcontractors. Today, new teamwork-based and customer inclusive Agile/Scrum and Bi-Modal development strategies are gaining momentum, so you need to be integrated with your customers business. It is all about allocating the best specialist wherever in the world, and integrating it into the customers team, be it local or remote. This inversed perspective and approach is what we call ‘InShoring’ and we have been very successful in this new way of doing business”.
- What are your strategies for India?
Kiwiet: “As we see the European economies rising, the shortage of experienced ICT staff is becoming accentuated. There is a definite need to collaborate with specialists outside of Europe. But for that, we insist that only “value adding” partnerships count and that is where many companies across the globe have a lot of catching up to do.”
We have developed a unique software engineering process that meets the demands and challenges of the European market space and seamlessly connects the best specialists in their field, across multiple locations. It is not only about finding the best people, but also about the process. A process that operates seamlessly across traditional company borders”.
- What’s the focus of the partnership between InShoring Pros and InterraIT?
Kiwiet : We are very selective about the companies we partner with. Size and head count is not what matters. It is all about having multi-disciplinary skills, being the best in specific fields and having the right attitude and company culture. In InterraIT we have found such a business partner.
In our networked model we operate as one company with multiple entities across the globe. We only connect the relevant dots to address a specific customer need. We share one process and share all of our resources and know how. We offer our expertise “On Demand”- as much or as little as you need at any given moment: That is the power of a networked business model. It is easy to scale up and at the same time you remain flexible, lean and mean.
Together with InterraIT we contribute to the business success of our customers across the globe with our own local native ‘Business Engineers’, Technical Coordinators and ‘User Experience Architects’ (UX) in close collaboration with Software Engineers from our shared expert centres in USA, India and Europe. We add our value locally to our customers and we leverage this value with the full potential of InterraITs hands on experience and strong work force. With this partnership we remain agile to our customers and yet are able to scale up fast and professionally”.
Laha: “Together we service and provide continuous co-development for several Start Ups, Scale Ups and SME’s and also cater to specialist needs at larger companies such as Mazda in the USA, NTT in Japan and PostNL in Europe. With InShoring Pros as our localized and expert point of presence we are able to leverage our full potential within Europe, next our strong presence in the USA. We consider Inshoring Pros as an integral part of InterraIT, not a separate company. Our combined track record displays a strong presence in the Telecommunication, Retail and Logistics, Automotive and Renewable Energy sector. We have a lot of experience working with innovative customers in the USA which we can now also offer to the European market place. With this business partnership we are getting the fast track into Europe”.
InterraIT and InShoring Pros will operate under the brand “Resourcing Pros”, connecting the best worldwide.
- How do you cater to Indian companies which are diverse in size, culture and revenues?
Kiwiet and Laha agree: “We both recognize that quality is key and experience is what counts. With Resourcing Pros we connect the best worldwide and provide high quality and on time solutions and thereby provide maximum business returns to our customers.”
- What are the challenges faced by a Dutch company in Indian market?
Kiwiet : It’s the partnership that’s key. Forget about traditional offshoring and outsourcing: it is all about networking and connecting the best worldwide and being able to offer this ‘On Demand’. It is about “value adding” by the best in their field at the right moment and not about procuring the cheapest labour in large quantities. With InterraIT, we have developed a unique software engineering process that meets the demands and challenges of the European market space and seamlessly connects the best specialists in their field, across multiple locations.”
- How do you source talent? How do your Indian partners help in talent sourcing?
Asoke Laha, CEO of InterraIT: “From our headquarters in the USA we have recognized and experienced this trend first hand. It is true that nowadays it is more important to have the right and experienced expert available ‘On Demand’ as part of a mixed scrum team, also involving key stakeholders from our customers. Having a strong local presence at the customer location is key. Today the differentiator is not size, but ability to deliver Quality to customers. Quality and agility is our DNA. We are now extending this strategy to Europe, by further investing into our existing business partnership under the brand Resourcing Pros”.