Cloud solutions have become the most prominent plan of action for businesses today. As the industry grows, so does the entire business landscape, throwing in newer opportunities as well as challenges. Vikas Bhonsle, CEO, Crayon Software Experts India, shared his viewpoints on cloud business in India, about the different challenges, opportunities and the roadmap ahead.
Khushagra: What is the presence of Crayon in India right now and personal positioning in the IT market at the moment?
Vikas: We have just completed 20 years of our presence here in India and this has been a very rewarding journey for us. Today Crayon Software Experts India has a country-wide presence and with our extensive channel network, we are also able to sell in extremely remote regions of India. We focus primarily on the software and cloud sectors with our solutions, services, and offerings that covers the whole spectrum of customer’s requirements. We examine our customer’s fundamental software footprint before they migrate to the cloud and after that, assist the client in switching to the cloud.
Over a long period, we have continuously evolved. Since our inception seven years ago with pure-play software, asset management services, and licensing, we have grown significantly in strength and capability. And we currently have a very good portfolio that gives us a very strong position in the market.
As a recognized leader in digital transformation, our framework is very transparent. We emphasize on the criticality of data protection and good data practice through our cloud solutions.
Khushagra: What are the challenges you are facing as an industry?
Vikas: Where there are opportunities there will be challenges. The ongoing ‘Great Resignation’ and the enormous gap in tech talent are two of the biggest trends in our market today. While this trend is not particularly unique to the tech sector, it is more prominent within the tech sector than it is in others. Therefore, I would imagine that one of the major issues for most organizations—whether it be for us or one of our customers—is how to acquire the necessary skill sets. How can we draw in talent? Today the most valuable commodity in the market is a skill, as we can see. People are no longer seeking experience; instead, they are interested in the set of skills that one brings to an organization, and they are prepared to pay for that kind of skill set. There is a need for skilled personnel across a variety of technological stacks but again, there is a dearth of such professionals making the available talent a high-cost factor for companies.
I’m not claiming that the tech business has never struggled to find qualified employees; nonetheless, these difficulties are suddenly becoming extremely noticeable.
Khushagra: For about two decades now, the market has seen gradual growth and huge innovation. So where do you think is the scope to have more business, especially from Crayon’s PoV?
Vikas: In my opinion, there are great opportunities today in the market, whether it is from Crayon’s perspective or anyone else’s. Clients in the same verticals have various levels of customer maturity. It is incredibly challenging for me to describe what I perceive in a single, comprehensive brushstroke. Customers have various needs as various industries have multiple sets of mid-market or enterprise customers, and even within the same verticals.
Regardless of what we say about digital transformation, many clients still function in a fairly traditional manner. Many customers are still in the process of adapting to the cloud. They have no idea how to tackle the entire situation. And everyone is aware of the digital shift. They, therefore, want to join the bandwagon without fully understanding what they want to gain from it. As a result, there is a tremendous need for education and awareness, and we conduct workshops solely for these purposes.
Khushagra: What does the future roadmap look like for Crayon? Are there any new announcements?
Vikas: The future roadmap is interesting because the key areas in the cloud industry are going through constant evolution. Companies are today tasked with reducing carbon footprints, protecting financial and social capitals, and complying with emerging disclosure requirements, making Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards increasingly important. Crayon being a cloud-only company very well understands the necessity of bringing in accountability in cloud usage, and this is what we are helping our partners and customers with – to bring sustainability in their cloud practices. Another important aspect of cloud usage today is the responsible use of AI. The world of AI is becoming denser than ever, and the progress being made in its development is creating new opportunities and improving lives of people and businesses globally. The progress of AI is highly accelerated, but it is also raising alarm on the question of fairness, interpretability, privacy, and security of software systems and data. We are partnered with cloud companies, who apply the best practices in responsible use of AI, which are human-centric. The opportunities are big as well as the responsibilities. Our AI practices are governed by principles, and we take the same approach when we help our customers in their AI adoption and transition.
As for progress, Crayon Software Experts India is on the right path is what I am confident about. But there is always more room to improve and grow. As rapid as the cloud adoption trend is, the customer needs are also expanding. We are currently working at positioning ourselves as a constant source of support for our partners and customers on their digital transformation roadmap. So yes, you can expect to see and hear a lot from us over the next six months.
