Mr. Ranga Reddy, CEO and Co-founder, Maveric Systems, there has been notable traction in business. In an exclusive interview to Mouseworld Now, Mr. Ranga Reddy reveals his business priorities, plans, message to the channel community and much more. Here are the edited excerpts…
Q. Would you please give a brief introduction on the corporate journey of your brand so far? Which milestones you consider to be important in this journey?
Ans. Maveric Systems was founded in 2000 as an independent software testing company, with a strong focus on the BFSI sector. Today, the company is a leading provider of IT Lifecycle Assurance, and has moved up the value chain to offer end-to-end Assurance services. Maveric partners clients across the entire IT adoption lifecycle (as below)from requirements–to-release with IP-led solutions. The Assurance services provided by Maveric Systems are Requirements Assurance, Application Assurance and Program Assurance. Recently, the company has also expanded its services to the telecom sector. Headquartered in Chennai, and having offices in Mumbai and Bangalore, Maveric also has its presence in the UK, US, Middle East and APAC with 1000+ employees.
Q. What are the principal product/service categories that Maveric Systems deals in?
Ans. The company’s key service categories are Requirements Assurance, Application Assurance and Program Assurance. These services are aimed at delivering successful outcomes for leading corporates in BFSI and telecom verticals.Usually, the IT adoption lifecycle involves multiple vendors and there is no single vendor throughout the lifecycle. Maveric provides a singular approach by partnering with clients from requirements-to-release through its host of services.
Q. What is the main philosophy of your brand?
Ans. Our brand promise is to provide the assurance that powers businesses to new heights through Domain Expertise, Product/ Application Knowledge Innovation and passion. We are the committed assurance partner who understands the client’s business and takes accountability for delivering tangible outcomes. The objective of Maveric Systems can be defined as to be a thought leader in the IT Lifecycle Assurance space.
Q. What opportunities and challenges do you see for IT Lifecycle Assurance providers in India?
Ans. The global IT Lifecycle Assurance market is estimated to be about USD 39 billion. Our opportunity primarily lies in helping a company reduce its wastage of IT budget that is incurred due to poor definition and management of the IT requirements. Reports indicate that this will minimise 35% wastage of the IT budget. There is also a 25% improvement in the requirements’ stability, post-production defect seepage and the overall program timeline shrinkage and a 7-15% increase in the initial project cost.
Given the nascent stage of the IT Lifecycle Assurance market, customers need to understand the offerings of the Assurance market, which is and will be a niche game. Today, there is an increased drive towards outsourcing of assurance across all regions and among a wide ranging class of customers. The industry for the first time is tending to believe that there could potentially be a few $ billion players with discrete Assurance Services. Therefore, this industry is likely to attract new entrants in the years ahead. Also the practice of outsourcing of Assurance services and the intensity of competition varies from region to region. Even in outsourcing, Assurance is often bundled with other services in majority of the markets. The distinct outsourcing of this service is increasing and is yet to reach a critical proportion.
Q. How are Maveric Systems products poised vis-à-vis products from major competitions in the market?
Ans. After completing 12 successful years in the industry as a leading global independent software testing specialist with a strong focus on the BFSI sector, Maveric Systems has moved up the value chain to offer end-to-end Assurance focussing on ‘defect prevention’ apart from ‘defect detection’.We partner our clients across the entire IT adoption lifecycle, from defining the requirement till the product goes live in the market and engage deeply with the client’s ‘Business’ in addition to IT. The Assurance industry is at a nascent stage and Maveric currently enjoys the advantage of being the only player in this uncontested market. Our Assurance-only business model that brings diverse competencies under one umbrella is our biggest differentiator.
Q. On the face of the on-going global economic slowdown, there is a slump in demand from the BFSI and Telecom sectors. What plans have you in place to beat this demand slump, while still ensuring quality?
Ans. According to market information, there has been no fall in demand in the BFSI and Telecom sectors. Gartner in its May 2013 report on ‘Forecast: Enterprise IT Spending for the Banking and Securities Market, Worldwide, 1Q13 Update’ states that there will be an increased spending by Indian BFSI sector on IT products.
Q. Maveric Systems won award for ‘Best Banking Technology Partner’ at Banker Middle East Industry Awards, which recognizes both corporate and individual distinctions amongst top performers in the financial services. Would you please elaborate on this?
Ans. Maveric has been working closely with banks and financial institutions in the Middle East market for the past 9 years as the Technology partner providing software testing and, more recently, IT Lifecycle Assurance Services. This year, Maveric won the ‘Best Banking Technology Partner’ award for itsexpertise in core banking, Islamic banking, retail, brokerage, trade finance, credit cards, treasury and cash management, in the Middle East. Maveric was selected from across the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Lebanon by popular vote, gathered amongst the technology decision makers and business leaders of banks and financial institutions in the Middle East.
In a recent report by NelsonHall, an analyst and advisory firm, Maveric Systems was identified as a Transformation Specialist in the Middle East region, serving ‘Transformation Focused Clients’.
Q. Please brief us on the recently launched Test PAR (Test Process Assessment Report) and the Maveric Intrapreneur Program?
Ans. Over the last decade, we have built expertise around leading industry standard solutions deployed. Test PAR is a unique 5 day assessment of organization’s testing lifecycle effectiveness. The assessment benchmarks against the industry standards and comes up with key operational, tactical and strategic recommendations to improve time-to-market, cost efficiency and quality. The objective is to identify improvement areas that can deliver at least 30% reduction in defect leakage within 12 weeks.
We believe that entrepreneurial zeal is the key to turn our vision into reality. To fuel this expansion, we encourageleaders who are passionate about building world class assurance services and products. An Intrapreneur at Maveric can pursue his/her passion with complete financial support for the team and the venture; bundled with in-built access to markets, clients, infrastructure and highly responsive support services. The Intrapreneur will also be empowered to create a 5 to 15 million USD business with the support and guidance of Maveric’s co-founders.
Q.Given the fast pace of change in the space you are in, what kind of R&D work you do to stay ahead of competition?
Ans. Maveric has anMoU with IIT Madras to further its R&D through a combination of research projects, consultancy, student sponsorship and joint IP development activities. Under the aegis of this partnership, Maveric set up a dedicated R&D facility with a 40-member team in IIT Madras Research Park in July 2010 which was later accredited by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR). This R&D centre has a strong focus on creating IPthat helps to substantially improve the quality of test design, quickens test execution and achieves exponential reduction in testing cycle times. Our key focus now is IP creation for the Assurance space. We are currently working on creating a product for the requirements management space.
Q. As a fast-growing player in the IT Lifecycle Assurance space, where would you like to be in the next 5 years or so?
Ans. Currently, the global IT Lifecycle Assurance market is at a nascent stage and is estimated to be about USD 39 billion. Deep Domain competency, product knowledge and large transformation program experience are required to become a successful Assurance Services Provider.
We have added Requirements Assurance and Program Assurance services to our already mature Application Assurance service portfolio. This makes us capable of supporting our customer’s assurance needs from “Requirements to Release”. In addition to the service expansion, we have expanded our industry focus from Banking & Financial Services and Insurance to include Telecom.
In the next 5 years, in addition to our assurance only positioning, as part of our competitive differentiation, we are making long-term investments in:
• Domain Leadership and IP development.
• Establishing a strong service ethos
At the end of 5 years, we are working towards being a 2500 member team, with revenues in the range of INR 400 crore, 30% of the same coming from IP lead services and a global top 5 position in IT Lifecycle assurance space and top 3 position in chosen markets – India, MEA, APAC & Europe.
Q. What are the current trends in the IT Lifecycle Assurance market?
Ans. Verticals like BFSI and Telecom, which are mature in terms of IT adoption, are early adopters of IT Lifecycle Assurance Services. Banks and telecom players in Europe and the Middle East have already started reaping the benefits of Assurance services.
Banks with de-centralised programs (banks in Europe, as opposed to banks in the US) are more suited to employ these services.Client needs are evolving and they are not looking for ‘Assurance also’ companiesbut rather looking for ‘Assurance-only’ companies. The forecast for the IT Lifecycle Assurance market looks positive.
Q. Would you please detail us on the range of clientele you have in India and overseas?
Ans. Maveric’s client portfolio includes a wide array of renowned banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, leading software product companies and telecom companies.
Q. What constitutes your key India strategy?
Ans. Our focus in India comprises of local end using organisations in the banking, insurance and telecom verticals. Further we are committed to being assurance partner to the Indianbased product and services captives of the global majors.Currently, we derive 25% of our revenues from Indian market and our medium term strategy is to push the same to 30 % of our revenues over the next three years.
We understand that Indian market is highly price sensitive and the delivery models are to be fortified by investments in development of platforms and tools that enable long-term partnerships and year on year productivity gains to sustain margins.
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