It all adds up with Tally Date:   Friday , December 02, 2005 Synonymous for business accounting software Tally Solutions is now diversifying into the enterprise solutions market after being in the software solutions segment for nearly two decades. Founded in 1986, the company for a long time targeted the SME enterprises with homegrown products. Tally started by Shyam Sunder Goenka and Bharat Goenka, the father–son duo has now evolved into a complete solutions provider for accounting. The earlier straightjacketed line of functioning meant the company had only its star product called ‘Tally 7.2’–an accounting software package geared to handle financial accounting, inventory management, sales, purchase orders, invoicing, statutory reporting and MIS, to do all the speaking. In spite of this many at Tally were all fired up by the prospect of working in an Indian product company. Vikash Agarwal, 29, Technology Architect (R&D) who has spent six years at Tally says, “This is one of the few companies in India that is into mass marketing of products a la Microsoft of India. It’s exciting to be part of this product story.” When there are multinationals operating in India making enterprise level products why would a techie join Tally? “To be a big fish in a small pond,” says Shriram Dharbha, Head Corporate–HR & OD, Tally Solutions. With the company growing at a tremendous pace, now is the time to join Tally and grow with it. “Bharat Goenka a brilliant coder himself, and is also a brand to reckon with,” adds Dharbha. Efforts are on to turn Tally into a global company. “Being a part of the global brigade would essentially mean having products that are on par with global standards,” says Missy Devlin, Head–Marketing and Corporate Communications, Tally Solutions. Accordingly the company has established offices in London, Singapore and recently in Dubai. With 1.5 million customers worldwide, active in 88 markets, Tally has a foothold worldwide with India bringing the larger pie of the revenue closely followed by, the Middle East and ASEAN. Tally is amidst a surge in customer demand with half of India’s 100 largest companies listed in Economic Times 500 such as Reliance, Ranbaxy, Maruti Udyog, Infosys and Wipro to name a few, and MNCs like General Motors, Gautier, Honeywell, Morgan Stanley, Intel and Pfizer deploying Tally solutions The Enterprise Management Solutions Group at Tally is preparing for the launch of its new product—Tally Ascent. Targeting the large pool of medium to large enterprises, Tally Ascent incorporates retail, automotive and financial services versions. This has led to the acceleration in recruitment at Tally during the second half of 2005. The EMSG group is still hungry for talent and has very ambitious plans. Operating with 80-100 people till January 2005, the company is now 650 strong. With heavy attrition rates in the industry, Tally differentiates itself with competitive compensation packages. Dharbha has hired general managers, vice presidents from rival companies; he feels the attractions are the position, compensation, role and challenge at Tally. With almost two decades of steady development, Tally has displayed a focused learning approach. While other companies use licensed platforms for product development, Tally has its own in-house database management system, graphics management system and language development system. “In other companies people start with working with client relevant technologies like JAVA, .NET, CRM and change to learning newer technologies every six-eight months depending on customer requirements whereas in a product company like ours which deals with proprietary language–the Tally Definition Language–there is a consolidation of skills and hence there is an opportunity to grow with continuity,” says Dharbha. With an impressive attrition rate of just 3.5 percent, Tally reveals no surprises in keeping their techies tied to the job. “This could be due to the proprietary language that the product team works on,” shares Dharbha, while he adds money is not the only motivator but a challenging and exciting job that keeps the talent. Challenging moments are many at Tally… “Before Tally 7.2 was released in March 2005 there was a very small time-frame to make it VAT supportive, a challenge which was met successfully,” reveals Agarwal. “The Tally culture is value based and there is a familial ambience,” vouches Dharbha. All in all, a sure shot combination wherein a techie’s career with Tally will not dally.