Guarding the Turf Date:   Wednesday , November 29, 2006 Year 2006 has been an exciting one for Hexaware Technologies. Rated sixth among the ‘Best IT Employers from India’ by a recent survey, the company has also positioned itself in the august company of the ‘Niche Players in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant 2006’ and has been listed as Nasscom’s fastest growing Indian companies. After receiving approbations from all quarters, the celebratory mood among all employees is perceptible. Its confident Chairman and Founder, Atul Nishar, emphasizes, “We always have a good time here and enjoy every bit of the work that we do.” This confidence comes naturally for Nishar and his team whose commitment helped build a success story over the years. Since its inception in the early ‘90s, the IT services provider has been working on a large canvas like business analytics, enterprise applications, legacy management, HR-IT and independent testing. With over 119 customers worldwide, the Rs.390-crore ‘mid-tier’ company has recently added another 11 clients to its kitty. We shall overcome However, just a year ago, things were quite the opposite at the Hexaware camp. The company went through a turbulent phase after PeopleSoft, its key client, was acquired by Oracle. As one of the top five vendors of PeopleSoft, its India Services Center was set up in Hexaware under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) agreement. After its acquisition, this center was transferred to Oracle; along with it a section of its employees. As almost 14 percent of Hexaware’s revenue came from this center–the clouds of apprehension only got thicker in the Hexaware community. Despite the tough challenge ahead, Nishar was not disconcerted. “ We suffered loss both monetarily and emotionally, but in business one has to move on, build on one’s forte and it was an opportunity for us to further demonstrate our ability,” says he. Nishar proudly claims that it was his trusted employees, who worked day in and day out to generate the business from other quarters, during those months. Within six months, Oracle committed that it would support PeopleSoft customer installations. And the next quarter witnessed Hexaware’s strong win-rate in the PeopleSoft space to reinforce its position as one of its top vendors. Riches in niches In spite of the company’s array of domain expertise, when it comes to verticals, it prefers to be a niche player. Nishar feels only when you foray in select areas, it becomes easier to guard your turf. Though a chunk of its business comes from banking and financial services and manufacturing, in the last few years the company has been bullish on niche verticals like airlines and transportation. Today around 14 percent of its revenue comes from aviation, where one of the popular services is to develop and implement e -ticketing solutions for various airlines. In terms of geographies too, the SEI CMMI Level 5 Company is fairly selective. Around 30 percent of its business comes from the European market. Apart from its ventures in UK and Germany, the company has also opened shops in Belgium, Netherlands and Scandinavia in a short time. “From the beginning, we have also been identifying underserved market. We figured out these are highly scalable in terms of business and resources and invested upfront into these areas,” notes Nishar. With its other offices in Japan and Mexico, Hexaware is now setting its eyes on South America. At the same time, its recent alliances with business intelligence (BI) provider SAS, followed by Illinois-based Mu Sigma to support data warehousing practices has helped the company strengthen its BI practice. On the PeopleSoft front, Hexaware still contributes a significant percentage. Business has been further boosted by General Atlantic, a leading global private equity firm, which has picked up a nearly 15 percent stake in the company investing $67 million. “The alliance with General Atlantic will open the doors in terms of getting more clients,” says Nishar. Fun@Work The company is also opening doors for new talent, as it plans to double its headcount in the next two years. Currently, with around 5500 people, Hexaware claims to be a highly ‘people-centric’ organization. Fun@Work is what gives lot of space to the employees in terms of responsibility, roles and flexibility at work. “Fun means giving the best projects to our employees, working with some of the most reputed Fortune 500 clients and in creating a healthy exuberant atmosphere in office,” says P K Sridharan, President, India Operations, Hexaware Technologies. A significant amount is invested in ‘Hexavarsity’, the in-house institution for mentoring, continuous learning, skill upgradation and cross-cultural communications, for techies to work in a global milieu. Deependra Chumble, Chief People Officer, Hexaware Technologies says, “Clarity of role and open communication are the key two areas we emphasize. We have hired a team of counselors who explain to the employee his roles and expectations from the company, alongside his career growth.” From ‘Hexacare’, a program for counseling techies, to a concierge desk, the company has also invested in other areas such a medical, dietetics and physical fitness of employees by roping in specialists. Sridharan feels only when the employee feels a sense of belonging to the company he feels for its growth. “At Hexaware, we have created an environment to make them feel at home,” he comments. Looking forward With a Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing Lab in Chennai, and a Proximity Center in Manhattan, New York to focus on its Asset Management and Capital Markets practice; the company recently opened a new campus in Pune. It aims at building three more campuses in Chennai, Mumbai and one in eastern India by the end of 2007. Acquisition, Nishar spells out, is the key to remain among the best of breed in this mid-tier domain. Its recent acquisition of the U.S-based FocusFrame, a specialized automated ERP testing provider is a step in that direction. The latter’s already established relationship with Mercury and SAP would open new opportunities for business. So what’s next? For now the company is content, though not resting on achieved laurels, assures Nishar. The IT-service provider is on a mission to explore myriad avenues as a way of growing. And soon, Nishar promises, to add many more feathers on its cap.