Sanjay Mehta
CEO
MAIA Intelligence
Sanjay Mehta is a member of:
The Journey: Early days to how I got here
I have been in the IT industry since 1993 with more than 18 years of
experience.Initially, I ran a bespoke software solutions company called
Global ware in early 90’s. I also had an experience of running a dot com
company for a very brief stint from 1999-2000 which dot.com business
busted. Then, I founded Udyog Software India Ltd.which became the
largest selling excise software company and 2ndlargest brand in India in
Packaged Software (D&B 2007). Exited this venture when a US based
company wanted to enter in India markets. I also had an investment in
ERP Services Company where I exited with average returns in 2007.
My
experience includes create successful start-ups and creating software
brands and marketing them. I have knowledge of Indian software product
market and specliazed domains like Manufacturing, Retail &
Distribution.
Since2006 I am the CEO & founder of MAIA
Intelligence, an enterprise application software product company with
less than 50 technocrats and mission to democratize BI.
Also
currently I am secretary for ISB (Indian School of Business) CEE Alumni
Mumbai Chapter and secretary of IAMCP (International Association of
Microsoft Certified Partners) for India Chapter. I am NASSCOM Regional
Council Member for West. I am also a member of IT Committee at Indian
Merchant Chambers (IMC) and Indian Angel Network (IAN).
Decisions that mattered
American scientist Carl Sagan once said, knowing a great deal is not the
same as being smart. Intelligence is not information alone, but also
judgment, the manner in which information is collected and used. This
holds as good for companies as it holds good for individuals. The
start-up we were part of had taken decisive growth steps, implementing
ERP software. The customers were happy with the product, but often found
that an ERP implementation alone would not suffice to meet their
information needs.
The Turning Points
My efforts and laser beam focus has so far helped me defeat bigger and
highly funded competitors in diverse business. My two most precious
assets are: time and money. My secret weapon is know how to cut through
bureaucracy.
Work and Role: Then and Now
After we had set up this ERP product, we found the challenges of
creating lots of report. People were putting in data and saying that
they weren’t getting enough back. The Udyog team added a reporting tool
to the business software as a plug-in and found the users liked it.
Customers soon started asking for reporting features in specialized
business software such as customer relationship management and human
resource application.
After having tasted initial success, each
day that goes makes it easier for us to reach our goals. Being
recognized as a significant player in the BI space by the industry,
media and customers is our biggest achievement.
Two Years Down the Line
Going forward BI space shall definitely is going to mature and open up.
BI will meet the demands of tomorrow’s digital natives; integrate
seamlessly with cloud data and platforms; align people, conversations,
and data with business strategy;and make the most of the infrastructures
we have today.
- Simple: the right interfaces for the right people at the right time
- Seamless: tightly integrated with data sources, applications, and business processes
- Social: allow people to collaborate around analyzing information and making decisions
- Strategic: closing the loop between strategy to execution
On-demands BI, embedded BI, etc. would be the future roadmap.
Changing Days: Lessons Learnt
Following are few of the lessons I have learnt across in my professional life.
One
has to go where the other guys haven’t. Take advantage of what you have
so that you can beat the competition with what they don’t. Many believe
that great ideas and lots of energy will always triumph, so they waste
countless dollars and years fighting the bad guys on their own turf.
Well that is not the case many a times.
In any industry, you’ll
discover is that the people with power are those who either do the
buying or make lots of sales. Follow the money! The money leads to
power—the power to make decisions, the power to build the business you
want to build, the power to hire and fire and shape and dream and
succeed.
What I learnt along the way
Following are few of the things which sometimes keep us awake at night:
In spite of the rapid growth of the company, there is always a big
question mark on “How Do We Make It Big?” There are several factors that
as a start-up, we had to work upon, to keep everything in the air –
marketing, fund raising, product development, team building & so
on….
My startup feels like a juggling act. How do we keep
everything in the air —product development, fund raising, marketing,
developing a team, keeping the coffee cups clean… Every day we just hope
that when we do inevitably drop something that it isn’t the chainsaw.
We need to be an execution machine! All great problems to have! It keeps me on my toes.
Trends to Watch Out For
Quite a few trends like self-serve, real-time analytics, on the go
enhanced data visualization, and BI through mobile are shaping up in BI
space.
My Advice If You are Starting Out
Do what you are passionate about, with required skills and experience.
At the same time the business plan should be able to derive big
opportunity for revenue. Starting a new business is one of the most
exciting things that you will experience in your life. It is also one
the best decisions that you are ever going to make. Also, constantly
look for mentorship from a senior industry veteran who can help sharpen
your vision further.
Areas of specialization
A lot is happening in BI front-end space beyond conventional drill down,
slice-dice. We have already started exploring the Web 2.0 based
technology wave of RIA (Rich Internet Applications) based BI. This kind
of intuitive GUI was never experienced before by business users.BI on
Rich Internet Application technology is evolving.
Books/ Websites I Recommend
Business Intelligence Blog - http://blog.maia-intelligence.com which has
now become the hub for most comprehensive compilation of enterprise
level corporate IT content, including information on emerging BI
software trends, CIO community, events and knowledge, Challenges, vendor
commentary, compliance considerations and other areas of interest to
both global and Indian companies, technology professionals and industry
constituents.
Last But Not Least
BI professionals must understand and address critical challenges to
manage the work flow smartly in a BI environment. BI project has to be
recognized as cross-organizational business initiative, and to
understand that as such they differ from typical standalone solutions.
Business sponsors to be engaged who enjoy required authority in the
enterprise. Availability or willingness of business representatives for a
BI. Skilled staff available for BI project implementation (ETL, data
warehousing, etc.) and management. The project should follow a breakdown
structure and a methodology. Business requirements should be analyzed
and business activities to be standardized. Dirty data should be tackled
before being ready for BI as it may drastically impact business
profitability. The necessity for and the use of meta-data should be
understood well.
