The 10 Most Admired CEOs to Watch 2018

www.insightssuccess.com AUGUST 2018

THE

10

MOST ADMIRED

CEO’s to watch 2018 Bill Conner President & CEO

BILL CONNER:

A Vanguard of Transformational Technology Shifts

Exponential Leaders: Redening Business as a Catalyst

T

he pace of technological change is accelerating at an exponential rate. On the other hand, the global economy is more inter-connected and more competitive than ever before. Complex, volatile, and far-reaching threats are associated with the security of populations and peaceful nations across the earth. In such an environment, there are robust leaders – one who are committed to convert the business challenges into exceptional opportunities and disrupt the mankind at every level.

The leader of any organization should not single-handedly set the direction of the company, the workforce also matters when it comes to decision-making. The world has entered into a new epoch, where the employees don’t leave the jobs, they leave their bosses. Leaders who are dedicated to create a framework which encourages the employees to meet the daunting challenges of the 21st century can successfully fill the gaps of employee-boss relationship. A relationship that can reshape the various aspects of the business world and craft a pathway for civilization.

Passion is sending humans to orbit and beyond the horizons, to Mars and even the stars. The passionate players and CEOs are setting high expectations for themselves – not just in terms of visualization and skills, but in how they express appreciation and represent civility. They have the spark which can ignite the fire of motivation in the aspiring tech-enthusiasts and path seekers, and uphold their company's core values in every facet of their lives.

The planet is witnessing the advent of frontrunners who understand how their words and actions influence not just the culture inside their companies, but the public's broader trust in complexities of the markets, shared progress, and opportunities for all. They are embracing changes and going an extra mile with a philosophy to transform the environment for better. They are introducing a whole new chapter of revolution which would create a one-of-its-kind history.

While 2017 was an enthusiastic year for the established as well as the emerging CEOs, 2018 is a year where they will take the globe beyond the success horizons. Looking towards a bright and innovative future, we present you our special issue highlighting “The 10 Most Admired CEOs To Watch in 2018” In this issue we will help you to walk through a list of outstanding leaders who have benchmarked their existence with innovative services. Keeping up the sheer pace with the developments in technology, they have paved a creative pathway in their domain as well as the marketplace.

On the Cover of the issue, we have featured Bill Conner: A Vanguard of Transformational Technology Shifts. He is a success-driven persona, with a career spanning more than 30 years across high-tech industries. Bill has been instrumental in executing an aggressive strategy to achieve market leadership across a variety of measures and takes great pleasure in working with the industry's most talented cybersecurity experts.

Along with such an insightful cover story, we have covered up other fascinating stories of remarkable business personalities like Cindy Jutras: Technocrat with Curated Business Acumen, Doug Bartek: A Technology Pioneer Revolutionizing Enterprise Communications, Meir Givon: A Creative and Intuitive Business Expert, Raj Vattikuti: A Technology Visionary and Acclaimed Business Leader, Vaios Vaitsis: The Clairvoyant, Fabricating the Vital Needs of the Customer Experience Optimization, and Venkata Narayanan: Connecting Dots of the Analytics Ecosystem.

While flipping the pages, take a note not to miss out articles masterly crafted by our in-house editors.

The article Female Entrepreneurs Contributing to Future Economic Growth from Futuristic Approach puts the limelight on the contribution of the women in global economic revolution.

Turning some more pages will help you find AI Impacting the New-Age Business Leadership and Workforce from Tech Talk and The Journey to Self-Discovery from Editor’s Desk. More interestingly, this edition also comes up with an extraordinary article Develop Your Innovation Culture for a Future-ready Organization crafted by a well-known industry expert.

Looking at the emerging opportunities and the growing possibilities, this issue of ours will help you understand the role of CEOs in this industry and their contribution in transforming the world for better.

Let’s start reading!

Rahul Niraj

CONTENTS Cover Story 8 Bill Conner A Vanguard of Transformational Technology Shifts

Articles From Editor's Desk The Journey to Self-Discovery

22

CXO

Tech Talk

30 16 Develop Your Innovation Culture for a Future-ready Organisation

AI Impacting the New-Age Business Leadership and Workforce

Futuristic Approach Female Entrepreneurs Contributing to Future Economic Growth

38

20

Cindy Jutras: A Technocrat with Curated Business Acumen

26

Doug Bartek A Technology Pioneer Revolutionizing Enterprise Communications

28

Meir Givon A Creative and Intuitive Business Expert

34

Raj Vattikuti A Technology Visionary and Acclaimed Business Leader

36

Vaios Vaitsis The Clairvoyant, Fabricating the Vital Needs of the Customer Experience Optimisation

42

Venkata Narayanan Connecting Dots of the Analytics Ecosystem

Editor-in-Chief Senior Editor Managing Editor Executive Editors Contributors Visualiser Art & Design Director Associate Designer Co-designer

Pooja M. Bansal Anish Miller Suhel Mashayak Rahul Niraj Brain Smith Anmol Preet Singh David King Amol Kamble Sapana Shinde Asha Bange

Art & Picture Editor Paul Belin Jayant Khanna Senior Sales Manager Passi D. Business Development Manager Peter Collins Marketing Manager John Matthew Business Development Executives Brad Lee, Sophie Smith, Akshay Sales Executives David, Kevin, Mark, Vijay Technical Head Jacob Smile Technical Specialist Amar, Pratiksha Digital Marketing Manager Marry D’Souza Online Marketing Strategist Alina Sege, Shubham Mahadik, Vaibhav K SME-SMO Executives Prashant Chauhan, Uma Dhenge, Gemson, Irfan Research Analyst Chidiebere Moses Circulation Manager Robert, Tanaji Database Management Stella Andrew Technology Consultant David Stokes sales@insightssuccess.com

August , 2018 Corporate Ofces: Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com

Follow us on :

Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd. Off. No. 513 & 510, 5th Flr., Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk, Pimple Saudagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411017 Phone - India: +91 7410079881/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85 Email: info@insightssuccess.in For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.in

www.facebook.com/insightssuccess/

https://twitter.com/insightssuccess

We are also available on : Copyright © 2018 Insights Success, All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Insights Success.

Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success.

10CE

s

Bill Conner

A Vanguard of Transformational Technology Shifts

MOST ADMIRED

,

h e

TO WATCH 2018

“

We help your organization optimize security, manage growth and ease administrative burdens

“

T

n life, a thread is a fragile dream and the opening of the needle is the window of opportunity. One who has the flair to set the thread in the needle will successfully stitch the attire of success. Creating a wardrobe of milestones in a tech-enabled world isn’t something that can be achieved overnight.

I

same time in 2017. Further, SonicWall’s patent-pending Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMITM) technology stopped more than 12,300 never-seen-before cyberattacks and malware variants such as those found in PDFs, Microsoft Office documents, and chip-based attacks such as Meltdown, Spectre and Foreshadow.

One such success-driven persona, with a career spanning more than 30 years across high-tech industries, is Bill Conner. With a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Princeton University and MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Bill is a corporate turnaround expert and global leader in security, data and infrastructure. Some of Bill’s notable milestones include taking Nortel into enterprise data networking with the $9 billion (USD) acquisition of Bay Networks and later spinning out Entrust, a leader in identity-based security technology.

Steered by Bill, SonicWall's automated, real-time breach detection and prevention platform protects customers and mitigates advanced attacks, including ransomware, zeroday attacks and other unknown threats.

CEO’s Take on Current Scenario “In a constantly evolving cybersecurity landscape, it is critical for SonicWall to deliver cutting-edge solutions to combat the growing number of attacks,” states Bill. In the first six months of 2018, SonicWall Capture Labs threat researchers recorded 5.99 billion malware attacks.

Ransomware attacks also surged to 181.5 million in 2018, marking a 229 percent increase over the same time period in 2017. Also, 69.7 percent of web sessions were encrypted

by SSL/TLS standards, leading cybercriminals to hide malicious payloads in encrypted traffic. This trend led to encrypted attacks increasing 275 percent compared to the

“

Bill leads SonicWall to deliver best-in-class solutions, including: Capture Cloud Platform – Delivers SonicWall's complete portfolio with intelligence including Capture Labs Threat Network, reporting, analytics, visibility from the Capture Security Center and advanced threat prevention by Capture ATP sandbox.

Capture Security Center — Helps form the foundation for a unified security governance, compliance and risk management strategy. By establishing a holistic, connected

Innovate more, Fear less

“

Bill positioned Entrust to be acquired by private equity leader Thoma Bravo in 2009. After being the president and CEO of Entrust for almost 13 years, the team strived hard to sell the company for 6.5 times Thoma Bravo’s original investment. In 2016, Bill joined SonicWall as the President and CEO.

About SonicWall SonicWall has been fighting the cybercriminal industry for over 26 years defending small, medium-size businesses and enterprises worldwide. Backed by research from SonicWall Capture Labs and the formidable resources of over 26,000 loyal channel partners around the globe, SonicWall’s award-winning, real-time breach detection and prevention solutions secure more than a million business and mobile networks and their emails, applications and data. This combination of products and partners has enabled an automated real-time breach detection and prevention solution tuned to the specific needs of more than 500,000 organizations in over 200 countries and territories.

approach to security orchestration, Capture Security Center can federate all operational aspects of the SonicWall security ecosystem.

“

“

We deliver superior real-time network protection for today and tomorrow

attachments until they are reviewed by an authorized administrator.

Next-Generation Firewalls – Available as hardware or virtual appliances, SonicWall firewalls deliver network security, control and visibility for small- to medium-sized businesses, mid-tier enterprises, data centers and service providers.

Meet the Supportive Leader Bill takes great pleasure in working with the industry’s most talented cybersecurity experts. This empowers him to design and build real-world solutions that protect users from today’s most advanced cyberattacks. This inspires Bill to push standards and empower organizations in the cyber arms race.

Capture Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) – This cloud sandbox service is designed to discover and stop unknown, zero-day attacks. Capture ATP includes Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection (RTDMI) to help customers identify and mitigate insidious memory-based threats, future Meltdown, Spectre and Foreshadow exploits, as well as malicious PDFs and Office files.

Driving SonicWall in an ever-evolving threat landscape, Bill consistently faces a myriad of complexities from every angle, particularly as the organization positions itself ahead of modern cybercriminals. “This is a daunting task, but it’s the name of our game. And we’re good at it,” says Bill.

Capture Client – An endpoint protection solution that applies advanced threat protection techniques, such as machine learning and system rollback.

Bill has been instrumental in executing an aggressive strategy to achieve market leadership across a variety of measures. His impetuses on the following key factors that made SonicWall an independent company and a leader in the market include:

Web Application Firewall (WAF) – Designed with advanced web security tools and services to keep data unexposed and web properties safe and undisrupted in peak performance.

Secure Mobile Access (SMA) Appliances - A unified secure access gateway that enables organization to provide anytime, anywhere and any device access to any application. SMA delivers a granular access control policy engine, context-aware device authorization, applicationlevel VPN and advanced authentication with single sign-on to enable organizations to move to the cloud with ease, and embrace BYOD and mobility in a hybrid IT environment.

Email Security - To better protect communications, SonicWall Email Security scans a wide range of email attachment types and analyzes them in the cloud-based, multi-engine Capture ATP sandbox to block suspicious

Channel Development - This helped SonicWall to distribute its solutions exclusively through channel partners, launching the successful SecureFirst Partner Program, which has grown to in excess of 26,000 committed partners worldwide.

Partner Enablement - To support the success of the channel partners, the company introduced SonicWall University in April 2017. It offers free on-demand training to make onboarding easier and help partners quickly capitalize on customer opportunities and increase revenue.

Product Innovation - Over the last nine months SonicWall has delivered 24 new and updated products along with 160 million lines of code.

“

We’re committed to delivering cost-effective solutions that help you stay one step ahead of cybercriminals

“

Having a word with Bill regarding the success of SonicWall, he said “Our leadership team works hard to ensure that vision becomes reality. We’re committed to stretching goals and providing the support, innovation and enablement our customers and partners deserve and expect.”

Illuminating the Young Minds For the young generation desiring to be a successful entrepreneur, Bill asserts, “Discover what you’re truly passionate about and — what’s equally important — learn what you don’t like and why. Build a foundation of knowledge that starts at the very base of the industry you're interested, no matter what it may be.”

Future Visualizations Bill believes cybersecurity’s value proposition will depend upon the organization’s way of protecting its assets, not by a vendor solving it thoroughly. Once companies properly segment networks and begin protecting them differently, there will be a significant change seen within the market. He adds, “I also believe cloud and mobile technology will play a significant role in how business and security will evolve. While their benefits are gamechanging, from a security perspective it introduces an entirely new set of risks.”

To tackle these advanced risks, both traditional and emerging security technologies need to withstand market complexities. Technology is driving new architectures that bring unforeseen security and privacy issues.

Acknowledging that security and privacy issues are finally being exposed and talked about by governments, businesses and individuals, Bill emphasizes that the world will witness more powerful cybersecurity solutions in the future.

SUBSCRIBE

TODAY Never Miss an

Issue

Yes, I would like to subscribe to Insights Success Magazine.

Global Subscription 1 Year.......... (12 Issues) .... $250.00

6 Months ..... (06 Issues) ..... $130.00

3 Months ... (03 Issues) ....

1 Month ...... (01 Issue) .....

$70.00

$25.00

Date :

Name : Address :

Telephone : Email :

City :

State :

Zip :

Country :

Check should be drawn in favor of : INSIGHTS SUCCESS MEDIA TECH LLC

CORPORATE OFFICE Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754,(302)-319-9947 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription : www.insightssuccess.com

MOST ADMIRED

,

10CE s T

h e

TO WATCH 2018

Company Name

Management

Brief

Altimerik altimerik.com

Raj Vattikuti Founder & Chairman

Altimetrik catalyzes technology transformation for global enterprises, while driving agility, velocity and precision.

BigTapp Analytics bigtappanalytics.com

Venkata Narayanan, L Founder & CEO

BigTapp focuses on providing Big Data & Analytics solutions to the companies.

GIV Solutions giv-solutions.com

Meir Givon Founder & CEO

GIV Solutions provides world-class cutting-edge enterprise management software solutions and services.

MediaSmack mediasmack.com

Zach Thompso CEO

MediaSmack specialize in creating beautiful, compelling websites and marketing strategies for businesses that range from start-ups to large companies.

Mint Jutras mintjutras.com

Cindy Jutras President

Mint Jutras is an independent research and advisory firm that specializes in analyzing the business impact of enterprise applications.

NTT i3 ntti3.com

Nina Simosko CEO

NTT i3 is the Silicon Valley-based innovation center for NTT Group, one of the world’s largest ICT companies.

PEI Brewing Company peibrewingcompany.com

Jeff Squiress President

PEI Brewing Company brew and distribute the Gahan line of handcrafted ales along with Beach Chair Lager, the first beer to be canned in Atlantic Canada.

SonicWall sonicwall.com

Bill Conner President & CEO

SonicWall cyber security products protect organizations from today’s most insidious threats including ransomware, encrypted malware, mobile threats and email-borne attacks.

Tango Networks tango-networks.com

Douglas Bartek Co-founder, President & CEO

Tango Networks delivers innovative enterprise mobile communications solutions.

Validata Group validata-software.com

Vaios Vaitsis Founder & CEO

Validata Group is a leader in the Enterprise Software market for DevOps and Continuous Testing for Temenos Core Banking.

Develop Your About the Author Natalie Turner is a Keynote speaker and Author of the book Yes, You Can Innovate. Discover your innovation strengths and develop your creative potential which was selected as book of the month in both the UK and Singapore earlier this year. She is the Founder and CEO of The Entheo Network, a global innovation company and has exemplary expertise in the eld of marketing, business strategy, and leadership development. Under her leadership, the company provides a suite of innovative products and services to help individuals and organizations create new sources of value whilst building innovation skills, capabilities and culture. She is also the inventor of the 6 ‘I’s® Innovation which measures innovation strengths of individuals and teams to unlock the innovation culture in an organization.

INNOVATION for CULTURE a FUTURE-READY

Organisation A

s the digital landscape continues to change at a rapid pace, dismantling and disrupting the way that we do business, how can we ensure that our leadership and organisational thinking evolves at the same rate? The CEO is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the company that they lead, which, in today’s world, means ensuring an organisation can adapt to this fast rate of change. To do this, leaders need to know how to innovate with agility and speed. This means, on the ground during day-to-day work, that each employee has a clear understanding of how they contribute to creating value out of new ideas and a common language to enable them to work together. As a CEO, part of your role is to foster a culture of innovation that can harness the often disparate skills and mindsets required to successfully innovate. The key is to understand that innovation is a journey, which includes spotting trends and discontinuities and generating new ideas, through to investing and implementing those ideas that can potentially have the most impact. The skill is to know how to match people’s strengths to the right part.

www.6-i-innovation.com.

How do employees currently react to innovation conversations?

Often, the first people to embrace innovation tend to love ideas and can identify trends, patterns and opportunities. They are curious and fit the classic stereotype of creativity – playful, open-minded and attracted to

16

August 2018|

Leader’s Voice

Natalie Turner Founder & CEO

August 2018|

17

novelty. Innovation, truly deep and sustainable innovation, combines both creativity and discipline, which are curious bedfellows. It is a considered process that requires a raft of different skills and ways of thinking, combined towards creating a common outcome. In fact, the innovation journey is more like a cycle that can start at any point, not just in the playful and curious spaces.

There are probably many employees in your organisation who do not identify with this sense of curiosity, or think that they have light bulb moments, but who are nonetheless crucial to the success of innovation as an outcome. You will not embed an agile innovation culture without showing employees of all stripes and skillsets where they fit in. The innovation culture needs a common framework and language. Within this shared understanding, different styles are more likely to interact with, and appreciate, the contribution of others. Creating the best environment for each stage of the journey, so that people are empowered to contribute their strengths will improve the likelihood of success.

Understanding the innovation journey Start with aligning teams around PURPOSE, what are they trying to achieve and why? Then move to how they can identify opportunities through understanding trends and patterns, often related to changes in human behaviour. Then move to the creative space where people ignite ideas, through practices such as brainstorming and value proposition design. After you have an array of ideas, submit them to analysis and experimentation, separating the good ones from the bad, investigating whether they are useful, not just novel. The interrelationship between these three spaces is often where you see design thinking processes in action. Now, if you have a few really good ideas that have a high chance of working, start to think through how to best make them work. If not, revisit the original-identified opportunity or generate alternative ideas and solutions.

When ready for investment, innovation leadership is really critical. This is often the graveyard of ideas. Here demonstrate courage; assign resources, whether it is people, time or money. Once ideas are funded, find people who are great at implementation and getting things done. Once the idea is starting to get traction and have an impact, harness the skills of improvement and optimisation to scale and leverage the ideas into other areas of opportunity.

There are no straight roads. This is why innovating is often so difficult. Not only are you trying to do something new,

18

you have to harness diversity towards an often unknown outcome. Creating the best environment for each stage of the journey, so that people are empowered to contribute their strengths, will help to create a successful outcome.

This means teaching people when to contribute and when to pass the baton on to someone else. This is true collaboration, anchored in a clear purpose that is focused on the success of the idea.

Give each of your employees a proactive role in the innovation journey Culture could be termed “how we do things around here” and part of what contributes towards this is how leaders act and behave towards the people that they manage and lead.

Even more so when it comes to innovating. If people understand their contribution, they will have the confidence and courage to start thinking of themselves as innovators.

They will also understand when they will have the most impact. The innovation journey needs a different culture at different points; a culture that allows for ideas to be generated is not the same as one needed to investigate those ideas.

Innovation and the CEO Lead by example. Understand the part of the innovation journey that you are best at, and be aware of the bias that you will have because of that. Increase the awareness of yourself and others,so that you can empower everyone to cultivate environments that allow their strengths to flourish.

Ensure that every skillset and its contribution to innovation is respected and rewarded. This can only be done by understanding the whole of the innovation journey, end-toend. Diversity is key, if you have a lot of people who are good at generating ideas, you may end up with very little that actually gets done. If you have a lot of people who are good at implementation, you may end up dealing with today’s work very well, but not have the culture of a future-ready organisation that can adapt to fast-paced change tomorrow. In empowering your leaders and employees to develop their creative potential, in the broadest sense of the word, innovation will start to seep through the whole of your organisation, embedding a culture that will increase the likelihood of you creating impactful value out of new ideas.

August 2018|

www.inď€ onic.com

CINDYJUTRAS A TECHNOCRAT WITH CURATED BUSINESS ACUMEN

W

omen have come a long way in overcoming barriers and transforming the world for better. They are creating a hallmark of their persona in all aspects of mind, thoughts, rights and decisions by tramping beyond the limitations of social and family life.

Such females are making strong moves in all business sectors including the most intricate and challenging world of entrepreneurship.

One such epitome of women empowerment is Cindy Jutras, who is an acclaimed expert in analyzing the impact of enterprise applications on business performance.

After completing her Masters in Applied Science from Boston University and BA from Merrimack College in mathematics, Cindy started her career as a programmer/analyst in 1975. After working in a midsize manufacturing company for over two years, she decided to work with the software companies themselves.

Spending a brief stint of almost thirty years, at companies that produced and sold enterprise applications, Cindy explored everything from designing and writing code, product management, marketing, pre-sales and consulting, to pricing, licensing and alliance management. She then reinvented herself as an industry analyst, covering the software she once

20

designed, wrote, marketed and managed. Being a seasoned software and business professional with over forty years of corporate experience, Cindy founded the technology research and advisory firm- Mint Jutras in 2011.

About the Vibrant Veteran Having deep domain experience in manufacturing, supply chain, enterprise performance and financial management, Cindy is the President at Mint Jutras. She has been instrumental in creating a niche by enhancing the business outcomes 3x and driving the company beyond success horizons.

Under her leadership, Mint Jutras specializes in analyzing the business impact of enterprise applications.

Having years of technology experience and fresh primary research, Cindy states, “We offer actionable insights on how to make software investments pay dividends. We deliver this insight through content such as published reports, blog posts, speaking engagements and advisory services.”

Further she added, “We write and speak to business decision-makers, but our customers are the solution providers of enterprise applications.”

Cindy's support has assisted the company in developing signature products which have unlocked the doors to its success. She is the driving force in continuously evolving these products and services, acknowledging

the growth and changes in its clients’ businesses.

Being the backbone of the company, Cindy believes her prime achievement is in building a reputation as an expert in her field, a trusted advisor, and source of positive influence. She is an articulate and compelling speaker with an ability to convey potentially complex concepts with brevity and clarity. She has also authored numerous magazine articles, hundreds of research documents, and a book on ERP Optimization.

President’s Take on the Changing Industry Scenario Driven by her passion to produce something tangible, Cindy asserts, “I live in the world of technology, and that world is experiencing change at a pace we never could have imagined when I first started out. Keeping abreast of that change is a challenge, but it is also exciting.” She believes that technology impacts every business leader. Currently, there is a fundamental need for educating business leaders about the developing technology in order to encourage their aptitude and inclination to leverage it to improve their businesses.

The Framework of Inspiration Cindy’s source of inspiration and role model was her father. Acknowledging him as the fuel for igniting the flames of motivation in her, Cindy states, “He

August 2018|

MOST ADMIRED

,

10CE s T

h e

TO WATCH 2018

infused in me the belief that I could be anything I wanted to be.” She adds “He was, and I am, what most people today would call a maker.” Watching her father planting a garden, building their home, some of the furniture in it, stirred Cindy with enthusiasm and inspired in her the desire to produce something tangible, as a gardener, a crafter, a writer or an artist. This philosophy perfectly highlights her professional life, whether she is developing her surveys, writings, and communications or mentoring the emerging professionals.

Some Speedbreakers on the Way Every analyst and analyst firm operates under a different business model. Cindy faced several challenges on her way to achieve milestones. While serving the vendor community, her biggest challenge was to meet the changing needs of the community and withstand the complexities of the industry.

Cindy is on a mission to establish Mint Jutras as a unique brand with her sheer determination, unique writing and speaking style, and the insights derived from quantifiable data.

Aiming for a Much Brighter Future Currently, being the President at Mint Jutras, Cindy believes that she is in the twilight of her career. She is evolving with the changing times with a mission to continuously learn, grow, and transform the world into a better place in the near future. Cindy assures that the company has a bright future and is consistently growing its influence in the market through products and services that continue to improve and advance.

August 2018|

Cindy Jutras

“

President

We aim to add value for our clients.

This is the key to our sustainable success, rather than concentrating on generating revenues

“

Advice to the Budding Entrepreneurs Cindy’s advice to young entrepreneurs: look to start a business you are going to enjoy building. Don’t sentence yourself to a life of drudgery. Be clear in defining the business, developing a business model. Hold true to that foundation, but also evolve with it. “Be willing and able to take risks and be willing to have a new idea or product offering fail. Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” she emphasized.

21

The Journey

to Self-Discovery E

ntrepreneurs set up their new ventures with a new and unique vision, goal, and its future. These entrepreneurs face many challenges over the course of their journey. However, ďŹ nancial challenge is the most painful ones they have to face. Making a list of all the ďŹ nancial challenges can aid a business and a new starting player in attaining sustainability and economic stability.

The Small Business Association estimates that around forty-four percent of startups and small business survive at least for four years only. Others cite that poor capital management, overspending, and the lack of reserve funds are some of the common reasons behind a business closure. All these three terms come under the ďŹ nances of a company.

22

August 2018|

From Editor’s Desk

August 2018|

23

One way to address the financial problems is to use the 4R formula i.e. Review, Revamp, Research, and Rewrite the company’s business plans. By using this formula, they can take action against the things that are not working out.

Working Capital Issue Startups have to wait for their big clients to pay up so that they can manage their expenses. Entrepreneurs must save at least the expenses of six months as its working capital, which can help them in engaging new customers and create a productive business pipeline. Players can also avoid inadequate working capital by cutting-costs up to twenty percent and set the cut out as the working capital. For the startups that are yet to make profits, should make sure that they are adequately financed before taking any harsh decision, which can affect their survival in the industry.

Non-consistent Cash Flow Issue Most of the project-based business relies on their cash flow, which further relies on the flow of the project and the services rendered. It is therefore important for the company to have a good business team ready to connect new and reliable clients and projects. For the company that does not rely on the cash flow, must construct a flow of consistent cash flow at the proper time. If the client is unavailable to pay on-time, the businesses should think newer methods of client engagement. They should be patient and make decisions that would help them while dealing with the clients in the future.

Another way of improving the cash flow is to get a down payment for the product and the services provided. This down payment will aid the companies in covering the expenses associated with the project sales and profit margins. Firms can also set a day in the week to go through the accounts, payables, and checks.

Bookkeeping Issue Corporations can hire organized bookkeepers, which can save a lot of time. If they cannot find one, they can give this responsibility to one of its team member. The firm can improve by distinguishing the discretion and non-discretion spending. These include rent, office overhead, inventory purchases, and wages. The companies can even save further by polishing their overall marketing plans. Identifying and creating a larger clientele that can develop marketing strategies can help in promoting the service and products. Firms must set goals and expectations for marketing initiatives and develop the tools to improve the revenue outcomes.

Wrong Predictions and Revenue Issue Businesses on a day-to-day basis have to predict the company’s revenues. This is even truer for the businesses that are dynamic in nature. Most of the predictions can be measured on a month-to-month basis. Although a lot of factors that are dependent upon the revenue prediction, but mostly it rely on the relevancy of the business. By foreseeing accurately, the firms can generate good revenue that is crucial for the cash flow statements. By paying attention to the seasoned fluctuations and affected timelines, they can predict the revenues accurately.

Hiring Issue Hiring a good staff is not an easy task. A decision like over-hiring can create additional costs for the company in contracts and long-term employee liabilities. The employer is responsible for its employees and they have to provide them with the employee benefits that increase the costs. The key solution lies in hiring the term-based employees, freelancers, and independent contractors as they will provide services only for the time worked and employer do not have to add payroll costs in paying them. These independent contractors are paid only for their time spent on the work.

Depending upon the job, firms can easily find out that whether these are perfect for the job or not. In return, these can absorb the work-related wages and can add the benefit of costs.

In eliminating the conundrums, the mind-power and descision-making of the entrepreneurs is important. They can seek loans and grants which are specifically tailored towards boosting the company's finances. Even some of the vendors allow the company to offer their assistance and can refine the business debts. The players should not haste in making a decision. They should be thoughtful and intellectual for deciding the expenses. It is important for them to think strategically. They should be aware of their decisions and should seek guidance in decision-making and in expenses.

24

August 2018|

DOUG BARTEK A TECHNOLOGY PIONEER REVOLUTIONIZING ENTERPRISE COMMUNICATIONS

S

tarting a successful company is a major business accomplishment, a mark of a distinguished career.

Starting multiple successful companies and leading the vanguard of disruptive technical innovation is an even rarer track record of achievement.

That’s the track record that serial entrepreneur Doug Bartek continues to build on. He’s distinguished himself in a range of technology markets leading multiple startups and breakthrough ventures, including shepherding a company through a successful Initial Public Offering.

Throughout his four decades as a business executive, Doug built his reputation as a recognized leader by spearheading more than 20 successful company sales, acquisitions, mergers, and financings of high-tech firms.

In the early 1990s, Doug served as president and CEO of a startup called Acumos, which made innovative computer graphic chips. In 1992, Acumos was acquired by Cirrus Logic and Doug became president of a division at the company. He multiplied the division’s revenue by a factor of ten over five years to make it the company’s most profitable group.

Doug returned to the start-up world in 1996 by establishing communications semiconductor maker Microtune, which he eventually led to a successful IPO. Doug’s current venture is built on his vision of enabling companies to take advantage of evolving mobile technologies. In 2005, he and Andrew 26

Silver co-founded Tango Networks, the firm Doug leads today as president and CEO. Hallmarks of Leadership Supplementing and fostering his business world achievements, Doug's education further illustrates his focus on success. He completed his Electrical Engineering undergraduate degree at the University of Texas, Austin, summa cum laude. He earned a Master of Engineering & Computer Science degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from Arizona State University.

Over the years, Doug has been recognized by the business community with a host of awards and designations spotlighting his business success and entrepreneurial focus, including Tech Titans CEO of the Year, NRCC BusinessMan of the Year, and E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year.

About Tango Networks Doug's current company, Tango Networks, empowers enterprises to maximize the reach, impact, and value of their communications systems by extending and integrating them with any mobile device. The company excels at offering products and services for mobile unified communications, enterprise text messaging, compliant mobile communications, mobile integration with CRM, and phone usage restrictions for company drivers.

Tango Networks recently launched its Kinetic Cloud service in Europe and the Americas, enabling these solutions to be easily adopted by customers via the cloud.

Under Doug’s leadership, Tango Networks has won numerous industry awards for innovation and landed major contracts with Tier 1 mobile service providers and enterprises.

Doug’s passion for innovation has led the company to deliver dozens of groundbreaking technical advancements, with the company recently receiving its 60th issued patent on the technology underlying its mobility solutions.

Sparking a Revolution Mobile technology is transforming the world of communications. But most enterprises have not been able to take full advantage of this technology for their employees.

The problem is that mobile communications services available to enterprises are essentially the same ones designed for and sold to consumers. The features are very basic and not business standard. The communications themselves cannot be directly controlled by enterprise Information Technology staff.

But enterprises are demanding change.

They want to control the features and costs of mobile communications just as they do today with landline communications, ensuring quality and complying with regulatory requirements.

Doug’s passion for innovation is sparking a revolution in enterprise mobile communications to meet these needs.

“Our Kinetic Communications technology turns mobile phones into August 2018|

MOST ADMIRED

,

10CE s T

h e

TO WATCH 2018

extensions of a company’s communications systems,” he explains. With Tango Networks’ solutions, IT departments can control employees’ communications on mobiles just like they were using traditional desk phones. They can record calls with the same recording tools used for landlines. The result is that an enterprise can harness mobile technology to make employees highly efficient, responsive and productive without sacrificing control. In this way, Doug’s company is fundamentally changing how enterprises operate, a trend that some industry observers have described as the new generation of communications or the “Second Wave” of mobility.

The Challenge of Innovation “Innovation drives me, but innovation is hard,” says Doug.

Anybody can see a problem and dream of potential solutions.

But Doug recognized that turning such dreams into reality requires a practical understanding of how technology is actually adopted and used by customers. A good example is how Doug’s company has transformed the use of another company’s product called “Jabber.” A product from networking giant Cisco Networks, Jabber is an internal enterprise communications tool used by employees for sending messages to one another and collaborating on projects.

But Doug and his Tango Networks team recognized that the tool could be even more useful if it could enable employees to communicate with people outside the company who are not using Jabber.

The result is a revolutionary new way for companies to communicate, using text messaging from business numbers to interact with customers, partners and others in the outside world.

Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs “Embrace innovation and follow your vision,” Doug says.

“But don’t overlook the opportunities that can appear right under your nose.”

Future Outlook Doug believes that the world is ushering in a new era of mobility that puts an enterprise’s IT managers directly in control of employees’ mobile business communications. “I expect that this will be the norm industry-wide in the next five years.”

August 2018|

“

Tango Networks optimizes mobile communications for the modern enterprise

“

In investigating this opportunity, Doug and his team learned that customers were excited to use Jabber in this new way.

The Tango Networks’ technology team invented a way for Jabber’s internal messages to be turned into mobile network messages. Now a Jabber user could send and receive text messages from their business number and communicate with anyone on a mobile phone.

Douglas J. Bartek Co-founder, President & CEO

27

MEIR GIVON A CREATIVE AND INTUITIVE BUSINESS EXPERT

O

ne has to create his own innovative pathways in order to shine and imprint the success on the globe. Bringing-in something simultaneously intelligent and endearing by surpassing the portrayal of challenges is what makes a leader extraordinary.

One such admired persona empowering teams and professionals to storm forward with his leadership and futuristic vision is Meir Givon. Since childhood, he has been passionate about creating value and innovation.

“Challenges motivated me from the start, through my youth and as a grown up person by growing my own family and professional teams, up to becoming a mature leader” says Meir.

The Entrepreneurial Voyage Meir has completed his graduation and masters in Information Systems at the Technon -Technology Institute of Israel. He has also acquired an additional master’s degree in Entrepreneurship & Innovation (MEI).

His passion for delivering solutions to complex problems helped him to fuel distinctive portfolios at various renowned organizations. Meir has left a clear trail of innovation, leading the R & D in the field of IT, Organizational and Engineering software solutions for more than thirty years, twelve years in the Israeli Navy ITC organization.

With his constant efforts and dedication for seven years, he also became a partner and leading senior VP at Endan- an IT Solutions software house.

Throughout this journey, Meir was

28

successful in educating hundreds of fine experts, made some exit opportunities while creating great value and helped these organizations to attain profitable outcomes. Meir idolizes his brother Dan and one of his commanders as the prime role models for overcoming the hurdles of his entrepreneurial journey. He believes in taking inspiration from every person around him and cherishes every moment in his own professional way.

Identifying and innovating cuttingedge required solutions to globally spread challenges and requirements encouraged Meir to become the Founder & CEO at GIV Solutions in 2001.

He was invited by the Tel Aviv University for two years as an external lecturer in the topic of ERP systems and acted for several years as a Member of the judges of Israel IT AWARDS national competition. He also got the honor of being a lecturer at international forums in EAM, SMART CITY, China, Europe, the US, and Israel. Apart from this, Meir was also a member of the Steering Committees, Host and Facilitator of professional conferences.

About GIV “It is not by chance that the hidden meaning of the company’s name is - to GIVe. We strive to innovate all the time. We are an Innovative organization creating Solutions.” says Meir.

With Israel as its HQ and a center of R&D, GIV provides excellent organizational leadership, consulting

and technological solutions to enterprises keeping par at the latest IT technology. It has offices in North America, China, and South America, as well as strategic partnerships abroad.

Quoting “win-win win between the Company entity, the Team, and the Customer” Meir asserts, “For long term sustainable company, all the three sides must exist order to have everlasting and prospering Business High-Tech organization.”

The company consistently strives hard to create and deliver a unique experience to the customer through its value-added services. Under the leadership of Meir, GIV offers organizations a platform to progress, achieve milestones and also manage the in-house changes. It specializes in managing Organizational business processes, project management, strategic consulting methodologies, change management in organizations while introducing disruptive technologies and business processes change, Implementing and assimilating IT-based management solutions on a variety of topics.

Additionally, the company also offers smart city management systems (GIVCITY™), Smart solution for education, training organizations (GIVCAMPUS™), roads (GIV-RMS™) bridges and structures (GIV-BMS™) a system that meets the rigorous standards in Israel and worldwide, Railway and metro infrastructure lifecycle management (GIV-RAIL™) .

Also, GIV is a prestigiously awarded gold partner of Infor, chosen as partner of the year for three years of the last six.

August 2018|

MOST ADMIRED

,

10CE s T

h e

TO WATCH 2018

With seventeen years of sheer determination, Meir has been instrumental in encouraging his team of professionals and assisting GIV to reach a multi-annual average of two digits growth per annum. His experience, patience and vision to go an extra mile for the customers have made him and the company exceptional.

Meir’s extraordinary skills have helped the company to establish prospering lines of consulting and solutions. He helped GIV to achieve several milestones including: • Strategic Consulting and Project Management - Computer Management and EAM. • Launch of PLM Pharma • The Infor Representation Agreement in Israel on the INFOR EAM system and implementation was signed • Development of “Intelligent Road & Bridge” R & D programs • Signing an agreement with the largest water corporation in the country, with a 19 years horizon.

A Colleague’s Voice Addressing Meir his colleague asserts, “GIV is led by a man who redefines the concept of innovation every day. He has the ability to see people in depth and breadth, to find inspiration in them and to apply it in all of his actions. His life is divided into innumerable fractions and parts, each of them fills a different need for him, and they all combine in order to create, initiate, innovate, invent and dream.”

Futuristic Vision With a vision to engrave a global footprint in the near future, Meir asserts, “We will keep giving the best solutions and services, leading the company to new goals while sustaining innovation, recruiting new, talented, passionate, and motivated employees to join GIV family, creating new generations of high level experts, consultants, and service providers.”

August 2018|

Founder & CEO

“

Since 2001 We GIVe more than IT

“

Enlightening the Young Entrepreneurs Meir believes that right processes along with smart decisionmaking will surely take the youngsters to newer success heights. He suggests the aspiring and young minds to create a highground which will help them to withstand the market complexities. “Do not be afraid to aim high in your vision and dreams - it is the main thing about being an Entrepreneur, but make sure that the implementation of the dream should be done always with one foot on the ground giving the chance to the other reach far on your right track” he added.

Meir Givon

29

T

oday, AI is on a creative pathway with its applications going beyond the horizons.

Independent research has stated that it is taking its footsteps to the business world and inuencing the workforce. It is impacting the new-age business leaders and unlocking discoveries that businesses haven’t yet conceived. Its successful help to automate processes such as administrative tasks suggests that it won’t be long before AI will

30

August 2018|

Tech Talk play a proactive role in the business operations. This integration of artificial intelligence in business operations is generating a platform for human empowerment. This platform is providing the business leaders with tools necessary to automate redundant tasks, spot patterns within new and existing data and uncover important insights that have the potential to make lives better.

Strategic Advantages across Industries In the face of AI, business leadership is undergoing a gigantic shift and adopting cocktail of skills. According to an independent global survey on artificial intelligence, majority of the organizations and business leaders are deploying AI technology to automate and make the business processes more efficient. Leveraging artificial intelligence technologies chiefly for business process automation, is often viewed as a good starting point as it can deliver rapid improvements. The chief executives have monitored and reported tangible benefits from the artificial intelligence applications in their companies.

The industries and the emerging leaders are obtaining advantages to security and privacy, deploying AI technologies in organization’s data. As a result, continued investment in the data management is seen across different industrial sectors. The introduction of artificial intelligence in the businesses is providing the new-age entrepreneurs with improved process performance, productivity gains due to IT time spent on higher value, improved security, compliance and risk management, and increased market share. It also powers the enterprises with improved employee retention.

Integration of AI into Workforce The deployment of AI technology in the organizations is significantly going beyond the accuracy and productivity of comparable human activity which undoubtedly states that the AI is already matching human capabilities in certain areas. Business leaders are getting well aware of AI’s potential and are monitoring operations to support their personnel. They are leveraging artificial intelligence to augment existing human skills and make employees better in their work. They are also focusing on employee training to help them develop adaptable skills for the future.

Besides, smart algorithms are decisive, unwavering, and informed which would in many ways create very effective workforce and leaders.

AI is blurring the dividing line between employers and machines, thereby supporting the new-age entrepreneurs.

These entrepreneurs are building training data that demonstrates the machines to be smarter and in turn, machines are progressively able to support elements of workforce intelligence and learn more about the workforce

August 2018|

experience. Significantly, AI is about enabling machines to augment and complement personnel functions. The business leaders are moving towards the symbiosis of the two. With the implementation of artificial intelligence, the employers can design business processes that make the best use of resources. This will help empower the business leaders and their organization’s employees to work smarter and more productively. AI creates a way of operational excellence for the workforce and makes them agiler. It develops responsive skills in the business leaders making them firm for the complexities of the business market.

Embracing Greater Presence of AI Technology AI is integrating into more operations within enterprises, which is redefining the fundamental concepts of leadership across several levels. These levels include the overall strategy, customer experience, leveraging technology and human capital. Recognizing this revolutionary shift in the leadership, four out of five chief-level officials identified that their future business strategies will be informed through opportunities offered by artificial intelligence technology.

Significantly, these officials are confident that the organizations’ executive personnel have the ability to adapt the leadership skills as AI technologies are adopted within the businesses. Along with a strong belief in leadership strength, they surveyed strongly and agreed that artificial intelligence will benefit the organizations at all levels. They have approved to the idea that AI technology will improve the leadership skills and boost the investment areas in employee training, recruitment, building new solutions based on data, modernizing technology and new digital services and solutions. These investment areas will develop a positive vision in the leaders and upsurge transparency into the business operations.

Looking into the Future Many enterprises across all the sectors will witness the benefits of artificial intelligence in the coming future. It would become the mainstream amongst the new-age business entrepreneurs and more companies are planning to invest in the AI technology. This increase in the scale of AI will be the driving force of future business revolution and tangibly benefit the business leaders. It would help the business leaders to uncover new opportunities and head off potential risks. The artificial intelligence technology is changing the idea of training – as one-time-initiative. The future with AI will motivate the organizations to adopt a culture of lifelong learning and facilitate opportunities for staff to continuously develop new skills. Also, business leaders have to evolve their skills to gain a deeper understanding of the technologies that have the ability to drive their business forward in the years to come.

31

RAJ VATTIKUTI A TECHNOLOGY VISIONARY AND ACCLAIMED BUSINESS LEADER

T

echnological changes are the biggest, most disruptive forces that have been challenging mankind for decades. Bringing an intelligent and endearing entrepreneurship into this portrayal of a tech-enabled world is not an easy task. One has to be remarkably resilient in order to paint the success canvas in an inspiring way.

investing in talent, platforms, and capabilities.

Raj B. Vattikuti is one such committed philanthropist and serial entrepreneur, aiming to create organizations that can steer the world towards a sustainable future where the end-user is more empowered.

Raj founded Altimetrik with a vision to challenge the conventional IT industry.

Unlike the traditional players that sell projects, outsourcing, and time and material resources, Altimetrik works on New Thinking that drives innovation with its clients by building Digital Products that lead to new revenue creation opportunities, and also enable superior margin generation.

These products are reliable, scalable and come with accountability-led, riskbased engagement models. This increases Altimetrik’s stake in the customer’s business success. Raj propounded an ecosystem comprising people, unified teams, pathways and platforms that, when combined, helps customers see and feel a new, more productive (and energized) way of working.

Raj’s entrepreneurial journey began in 1985 with the founding of Covansys Corp. - initially named as Complete Business Solutions Inc. He led Covansys to become one of the leading software services provider globally. It was acquired by Computer Science Corporation in 2007. Meantime, Raj also founded the Vattikuti Foundation, Synova, Inc., Davinta Technologies, Vattikuti Technologies, and Vattikuti Ventures.

After seeding a string of successful enterprises, Raj Vattikuti founded Altimetrik in 2012, with a vision to create a global organization that catalyses digital and technological transformation by continuously

34 01

About Altimetrik “We fundamentally believe that our customers know their business and their customers the best, so we act as the catalyst to them to deliver solutions and functionality at a speed they didn't think was possible,”, says Raj.

Headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, Altimetrik has offices in the USA (Southfield, Princeton & San Francisco), India (Bengaluru, Chennai,

Pune & Mumbai), Uruguay (Montevideo), and Singapore.

Currently, his sheer determination has allied Altimetrik with the biggest players in the financial, manufacturing, healthcare, and automobile domains to engage in transformational programs in their organizations.

The Ardent Leadership Raj is the key driver, aiding Altimetrik to successfully propound an ecosystem that addresses the three main facets of transformation – talent, culture and technology. This ecosystem named Playground creates an influx of superior talent that embodies Digital Culture, and works as unified teams with shared outcomes. The Playground methodology combines people, pathways and platforms, making the perfect use of technology through DevOps, Agile, SCRUM and other advanced processes to deliver solutions to customers with speed, precision and agility.

With a philosophy to transform the way organizations approach IT, Raj stated, “We want to create an IT environment that is highly collaborative, innovative and effective.

This will not only help the businesses to focus on what they do best but also constantly advance their customer experience.”

August 2018|

MOST ADMIRED

,

10CE s T

h e

TO WATCH 2018

A Comprehensive Vision Raj has set the foundation of Altimetrik with a vision to enhance the role of technology vendors to strategic partners who can envision the roadmap for organizations to achieve their transformation objectives. As a part of this synthesizing end-user centricity into their DNA is an imperative. He is consistently striving hard to make business models and processes more simplified and straightforward.

By contextualizing this approach in every aspect, Raj proclaims that “People will be able to live better lives, do better work, and achieve more value in everything they do.”

Being the founder of Altimetrik, Raj dedicates his success to his employees. He believes that profitable business outcomes emerge from the inspiration he gets from his employees. He encourages every engineer in the company to develop and apply a product mindset in whatever role they are into. He further adds, “The most inspiring moment, the greatest motivation happens when I see my employees achieve a solution that is truly transforming and futureready.”

Plans for the Future Addressing his employees, Raj states, “I want to see Altimetrik helping at least 50 organizations go through their transformation journeys in the near future. That to me will be the greatest achievement.”

He aims to achieve this by honing and nurturing millennial talent to achieve their full potential. With Altimetrik, he is planning to help organizations evolve to a truly digital culture and cultivate pathways and platforms for the organizations that can match with the speed, freedom, and intelligence of the next generation.

August 2018|

Raj Vattikuti Founder & CEO, Altimetrik

“

We accelerate digital missions through technology platforms

“

Illuminating the Young Minds Raj suggests budding entrepreneurs to focus on building effective business models and innovating pathways to uplift its scale. Rather than focusing on making money, he encourages new entrepreneurs to prioritize employee engagements that bring in a culture of collaboration and lead to bigger outcomes. His advice to the young minds is to build a work-culture, where the employees can seek opportunities to transform themselves. “This will also develop a consultative strategy not just in technology transformation but in the area of transformation that will be truly seminal including talent and people,” added Raj.

35

VAIOS VAITSIS THE CLAIRVOYANT, FABRICATING THE VITAL NEEDS OF THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE OPTIMISATION

W

hen one studies great entrepreneurs, there are individual traits that will stand out; however, there are few traits that are common amongst most. These traits sometimes are a gift and sometimes attained, but in both the cases, observing the need of industry is mandatory to succeed in entrepreneurship. Vaios Vaitsis, the Founder and CEO, of Validata observed such industry needs and established a platform that caters one of a kind and unique services.

The Commencement of the Platform Vaios possesses profound knowledge in data life cycle management, project intelligence, and test analytics software. He acquired these skills by developing software for companies through the development of global partnerships and channel sales. Prior to Validata, he was the Founder, President, and CEO of two successful startups, where he was responsible for developing channel sales & franchising alongside with talent acquisition and team building.

Strength of Vaios lies in his ability to observe the needs of clients and the industry. He has the ability to adapt to unpredictable circumstances and a unique understanding of market accelerators. Leveraging extensive knowledge and experience of the application lifecycle management (ALM) over three decades, he saw the need for the model-driven, integrated ALM solution coupled with the automated testing capabilities. Based on his understanding and vision, he 36

established Validata in 2004. With thirty years of experience in the two startup software industries, and unique expertise in the field of software test automation, he is a progressive entrepreneur in the software industry.

machine learning with Validata to make it more intelligent, and be able to automatically search for bugs which further increase the user experience with better quality alongside with the increased productivity and lower costs.

Validata- Platform for the Open Enterprise Vaios’s vision was to make the most mature, easy-to-use platform for the software industry. Envisioning this vision, Validata, a script-less, no-code platform, radically accelerates the delivery of digital testing. It is powered by the industry-leading model-based test automation, agile test data management, provisioning, service virtualization, and many more services.

The platform offers a unique approach, focused only on the thing that matters: The End User. It validates, predicts and monitors the user experience both before and after each release, across the multiple channels of engagement focusing on testing the true, end-to-end user journey.

“Packaged applica ons like core banking systems are the core of cri cal business processes and intelligent test automa on is now a cri cal business requirement to unlock and accelerate digital transforma on,” says Vaios

It is a platform that provides unified DevOps and Continuous Testing. This platform is capable of integrating itself with both open source and commercial software such as HP QC, CA clarity, Atlassian Jira etc. while delivering a ‘single version of the truth’ across all the projects. It enhances DevOps pipelines, linking business, development, and operations enabling faster product delivery with visibility ensuring optimal digital experience and delighting customers by meeting their goals. After observing the software future, Vaios made sure to integrate AI,

“We have reached a cri cal point where everything that companies did before is no longer enough. The rise of Digital Technologies, web and mobile apps is changing the behaviour of banks with a drama c change iden fied in end customer experiences, opera onal processes, and business models for engagement.”

In this digital applica on economy where most of the tes ng today s ll being manual or semi-automated, Validata’s breakthrough technology enables QA and DevOps teams deliver quality at speed and increase test coverage and scalability in a way that manual tes ng or tradi onal scrip ng could never have done before.

Embracing Challenges as an Opportunity Vaios started his journey in the market that had less knowledge about automation. The initial establishment of his business did not go hand-in-hand with investors. Industry’s sceptical nature about the venture of world of robotics and automation kept these August 2018|

MOST ADMIRED

,

10CE s T

h e

TO WATCH 2018

investors on hold. Banks were reluctant in initiating a cultural shift and embracing a change. They were also reluctant in adopting new technologies and ways of providing services, especially to the new companies. At the same time, Vaios also had to compete with the established technology giants. However, he embraced these challenges and his success and the company’s growth successfully proves company’s early critics wrong.

Observing the Industry Needs The software testing industry was lacking innovation in the last decade. Organizations were adopting immature solutions which were limited in integration capabilities, end-to-end testing coverage, and preventing fast ROI. This situation resulted in an increase in the overall cost of ownership. Consequently, test automation was failing because it was expensive to maintain and withstand the manufacturing process.

Vaios perceived that, if a software vendor could produce repeatable testing assets, it would eliminate the additional costs of the automation script maintenance which are a resource-intensive and expensive every time an application undergoes a change. Clients will be able to adopt test automation as a strategic long-term solution and benefit from lower costs and faster ROI. A Unique Philosophy Validata and Vaios, both are all about customer satisfaction and try to get themselves in the customer’s shoes to gain competitive edge. Vaios says ‘“how we have always done it’mentality will only hold you back ”.

Self-Motivation is the Real Key towards Success Vaios always tries to lead company with his enthusiasm and passion. He thinks that “the real motivation comes from inside and feeling passionate about what you do”.

According to him this is the most prominent way to hold the roots of success.

Priming the Company for the Future The company looks further to invest in recruiting new people and opening new offices across Asia and the US to support their rapidly evolving client base. Vaios sees Validata even further on its current way to consolidate its position as a global leader. He knows, to stay on top, he needs to stay ahead of all technological trends and continuously turn ideas into innovations.

August 2018|

“

Our mission is to become the trusted leading provider for DevOps and Continuous Testing for the banking and finance sector

“

While describing Validata’s vision, Vaios says “We drive innovation. We hire smart, innovative people with a track record of doing smart work. There is no room for primadonnas. We all strive to remain humble and deliver great work that makes us proud”.

Vaios Vaitsis Founder & CEO

37

FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS Contributing to

FUTURE ECONOMIC GROWTH

38

August 2018|

Futuristic Approach

August 2018|

39

E

ntrepreneurship is vastly growing and is a transforming trend of the 21st century. Female entrepreneurs are being the helping hand of this arising alteration. Currently, they are working in almost all sectors of the world. They are now running independent occupations and enterprises with their leadership capabilities and are introducing a global economic revolution. They are discovering more and more ideas to generate self-employment and income. They have started recognizing the business opportunities around them by crossing each and every obstacle and hurdle to attain stability and give rise to the future economic growth.

Motivation Plays an Essential Role Proper guidance and inspiration is needed for casting a female into a successful entrepreneur. Economic development can be easily attained by engaging them in the startup landscape. Prominent measures should be taken to motivate them about the growing enterprise opportunities.

Financial independence and workplace flexibility with proper assistance vitally helps them to nurture in all aspects to become successful entrepreneur and run an enterprise.

They need to be encouraged in each and every manner to choose their field of interest and profession. Economic development can be achieved when they start to recognize their weaknesses and remain firm in the dynamic business environment.

Challenges to Overcome It is not easy for a woman to be a successful entrepreneur.

She has to pass several tests and overcome a diverse range of challenges including lack of education, limited mobility, and balancing work-life etc. They can come up with flying colors if provided with the opportunities that can turn them into a dynamic leader with expert skills and capabilities influencing them to a successful business entrepreneur.

Also, the government should vigorously promote their education settings and networking opportunities to create a secure environment for them. They can be the catalyst by dictating plans, actions, and the decisions that lead to economic development.

Eliminating Gender Discrimination Women are categorized to be more inferior to men. This inequality is the barrier for most of the women who want to be independent and seek their goals and profession.

Shoulder-to-shoulder operations between the females and the males will help the economy to develop prudentially.

Gender inequality should be removed to attain the stable economic practices. Women should be seen equal to men in all the sectors to develop globally. More women engaged in businesses will benefit the decision-making capabilities of

40

the businesses and the enterprises. Gender inequality removal will build a transparent socio-economic environment which will change the face of the economic development.

Technology Reshaping Businesses Led by Women The growth in economy is the edge where technological influence arises. This technology helps a female entrepreneur to connect to the prospective markets with their respective services and products thereby leading to the economic growth. They can acquire new and innovative skill sets and implement them in their firm. Technology enables a businesswoman to attain much better customer connect and satisfaction. The workplace and enterprise can be more secure for a woman entrepreneur by this use of technology. The integration of, ideas led by female entrepreneurs and the involvement of technology can lead to the growth of economy. Technology is bridging the gap between the businesses and the females.

Necessity of Working Capital Access to finance is the biggest barrier for a woman to start a business or enterprise and is also necessary for the economic development of the enterprise and the world.

Proper finance can surely provide them with stable capital operations and functions. The government should take necessary measures to fund the businesses led by them.

This can help them to develop their sense of trust in the monetary and make them steady in the field of finance and managing capital. Economic development can be empowered by this financial help provided to the females.

They can seek their goals and successfully support the economy through this funding. Finance will help them to raise their earnings, manage the money and help them to build a stable income plan respectively.

Women entrepreneurs will surely be the pillar of the economic growth and long-term development of nations in the coming future. Besides, their contribution in the different sectors in terms of the growing agricultural and other global labor force in the coming years will be major.

They would make better decisions and plan a course of action for economic growth and global development by working in the private as well as the government sectors.

They will majorly serve their share in the future economic growth and motivate the future generations. Women employment rates will certainly benefit the global GDP to grow in the emerging decade. They would surely be the catalyst for the economic growth and development thereby helping the roots of different sectors of the socio-economic environment to develop in the upcoming future.

August 2018|

VENKATA NARAYANAN CONNECTING DOTS OF THE ANALYTICS ECOSYSTEM

I

n this fast paced tech-world, innovative thinking and swift moves are the traits to selfdiscovery. Success comes to those who create their own benchmark in presence of the established market players. One such trailblazer focusing on generating measurable business value from data is Venkata Narayanan. He is a seasoned entrepreneur having innovative prowess and broad experience in delivering Business Intelligence & Analytics solutions for strategic and tactical applications.

Apart from seminar circuits, Venkata has dedicated the initial days of his career to preaching and building systems that leverage data and provide competitive advantage to the organizations. A vital start to his journey includes a long stint at Institute of Systems Sciences, National University of Singapore (NUS) where he was an adjunct faculty. He continues his teaching activities as Adjunct Faculty in Singapore Management University (SMU) since 2012.

Acknowledging his teaching experience, Venkata asserts, “I find these teaching experiences a two-way street – interacting with students is rewarding with different perspectives brought by them. I probably learn as much, if not more, than what I am able to share my experiences with them!”

In India, after having an experience at Wipro from 1984 to 1991, Venkata moved to Middle East (Muscat in Oman) in order to work with a private airline. With a passion to do something on his own, he came to Singapore and launched his first startup Knowledge 42

Dynamics in 1997. Wherein, he worked with a vision to provide ‘Business Class’ experience at ‘Club Class’ pricing in the context of leveraging data for competitive advantage.

Knowledge Dynamics acquisition by an NYSE listed Global IT major in 2005 brought him back to corporate life where he held various portfolios in the domain of Business Intelligence and Analytics. His last role involved incubating emerging technologies like Cloud and Mobility. Witnessing an inflection point in enterprise adoption of Cloud led Venkata to be the Founder and CEO of BigTapp Pte Ltd in 2013 with a vision to provide global-best-in-class analytics solution at affordable price points leveraging Cloud. Today, his thirty years of phenomenal experience in the field of management and consulting helped the company to establish itself as a trustworthy brand amongst the existing players.

About BigTapp BigTapp is a technology company generating value through Big InFo ActiV platform and providing affordable Big Data & Analytics solutions to companies irrespective of the scale and size. This AI-based platform identifies customer intent by processing transactions & interactions.

Adding more insights to the intent, BigTapp enumerates customer profiles by determining personal attributes, relationships, life events, sentiments and buzz. As such, the company leverages the customer insights through a Knowledge Graph and delivers effective marketing solutions

to the digital enterprises. The platform is also used to customize the customer experience based on data driven insights.

The company’s business model comprises license sale of its products and associated services using Analytics. He has been instrumental in embracing every single opportunity and helping BigTapp to grow at a steady rate of more than twenty percent year-over-year in terms of revenue.

Also, his determination and constant efforts has assisted the company in achieving several milestones including the recognition of its IP and business model amongst the world’s 50 most innovative tech startups by TieCon Silicon Valley in 2017.

The Dynamic Techie In the initial years of entrepreneurship, Venkata was inspired by Richard Branson, the business magnate and founder of Virgin group which helped him to deliver value at affordable price.

On the other hand, he also discovered the efficient use of capital by idealizing- renowned e-commerce baron- Jeff Bezos, CEO at Amazon.

Vastly experienced by age but young at his thoughts is the best way to describe Venkata. His leadership skills helped him in supporting various management roles including the Senior Vice President & Head of Strategic Initiatives in Tech Mahindra. He consistently works hard with an aim to democratize analytics and make it available to large corporates as well as the SMEs.

August 2018|

MOST ADMIRED

,

10CE s T

h e

TO WATCH 2018

Over the years, Venkata has helped BigTapp in overcoming various challenges and deliver best-in-class products and services. He played a vital role in catching the waves of business analytics and crossing the hurdles of secured cloud and data. Being the driving force behind company’s success, he states, “Mitigating these challenges often involves education and consulting on best practices. Some examples of knowledge & skills we need to pick outside our core competency are: Contract Law, PDPA Act and Customer Communication Management.”

Exploring the Philosophy Venkata considers analytics industry as fast approaching peak of overinflated expectations. He believes that while machine learning and AI are playing an active role in developing innovative solutions, unrealistic expectations on the outcomes are frequent. He expects a ‘correction’ soon followed by more realistic expectations on what can be achieved using Analytics.

Growth Plans Focusing proactively in ASEAN and India, Venkata is all set to expand its horizons in the US. These US engagements would grow efficiently in the future due to the focused sales & marketing efforts of Venkata and his team of professionals. His further plan is to continue investing in building more capabilities to the products and increase support for more non-english languages.

August 2018|

Venkata Narayanan

“

Founder & CEO

We believe that Customer Knowledge should encompass stated and unstated needs and made available and actionable to all

“

Igniting the Flames of Entrepreneurship Venkata believes that the youngsters should focus on keeping the costs low while providing a scalable solution to a real problem in order to withstand the market complexities and attain profitable outcomes. He also believes that pivoting based on market reaction rather than holding on to initial vision is necessary for an individual to navigate the cornerstones of the entrepreneurial voyage and the startup enterprise. He proclaims “Entrepreneurship is a rocket science – similar to a rocket that needs an engine to move it from one orbit to another, you need an engine to move the startup from one orbit to another higher orbit! That engine could be new market, new product, new people or new investor etc.” He further added, “Often the engine that propels a rocket to the next orbit is jettisoned once the rocket moves to the next orbit. Similar thing can happen in your entrepreneurship journey. At one point in time – even you (the founder) may no longer be relevant. The venture may require someone with a different set of skills to take it to the next level – that’s the time for you to cut the umbilical cord and exit.”

43