Streamlining the business process and its picture-perfect execution requires more than what is visible in plain sight. More so when the business is up for renovation or upscaling making business leaders run after off-the-shelf products or building the needed ones all by themselves. Unfortunately, in many cases, it is a sheer waste of resources, because many of the products do not yield the desired results. To bridge this gap, it takes an external actor to come in to aid business houses with fitting solutions as and when needed. OpenTurf, as a Virtual Technology Office is here just to do that via revolutionary technologies like artificial intelligence, and machine learning, particularly in providing analytical insights and executing AI integration. Analytics Insight has engaged in an exclusive interview with Zunder Lekshmanan, Chief Technology Officer, OpenTurf.
1. Kindly brief us about the company, its specialization, and the services that your company offers.
Focused on bringing innovative ideas to life, OpenTurf has been founded by people who have built products in Wireless, Internet, and Telecom for two and half decades. We specifically specialize in shipping products and believe any unshipped code is just about building useless inventory. Our real strength is our people who have been working with a single-minded focus to upgrade the efficiency and effectiveness of clients’ businesses. We have built our team from scratch and practice the highest level of customer orientation in our business.
2. With what mission and objectives, the company was set up? In short, tell us about your journey since the inception of the company.
At OpenTurf, we live with the philosophy of customer orientation. We firmly believe that if we deliver value to our customers, the rest will fall in place. We have successfully established a Virtual Technology Office (VTO) in the past three years and successfully implemented a Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) model of doing business. We have been helping clients to make a complete transformation from their conventional business practices to integrating technology stacks. We offer a one-stop solution for SAAS-based conversational AI platforms, micro-lending platforms, fintech gateway, fintech integrations, and building solutions on embedded devices.
3. Tell us how your company is contributing to the IoT/AI/Big Data Analytics/Robotics/Self-Driving Vehicles/Cloud Computing industry of the nation and how the company is benefiting the clients.
The new-age solutions offered by OpenTurf have helped the IoT and Big Data Analytics categories in a significant manner besides helping robotics and Cloud computing to post enviable growth numbers quarter on quarter. In terms of the benefits to the clients, our solutions have helped clients address their preventive maintenance needs and utilization of heavy machinery, and detection of anomalies in their high-performing systems. OpenTurf also offers personalized recommendations for the clients based on small data and its solutions also enable clients to offer real-time credit at the point of the sale.
4. Kindly mention some of the major challenges the company has faced till now.
Among the primary challenges we face in the industry is the quality and reliability of the data. The company needs to be equally sensitive about the data privacy of the respondents and working within the domains of regulatory and statutory restrictions is another significant challenge that we face in our daily operations. Sometimes the clients who were expecting something dramatic out of the proof of work concepts (POCs) also present us with a challenge.
5. What is your biggest USP that differentiates the company from competitors?
One of the unique selling propositions (USPs) of OpenTurf is its ability to provide low-cost solutions to its clients. We are very careful about the quality of the data and do not commit anything until we thoroughly go through the collected data. We are staunch followers of the industry’s best practices and use the tools that have already established their credentials among the businesses. In addition, we are absolutely transparent about our work culture and ethics and clearly tell clients what can be done and what cannot be done.
6. How is IoT/Big Data/AI/Robotics evolving today in the industry as a whole? What are the most important trends that you see emerging across the globe?
The categories such as IoT/Big Data/AI/Robotics have come of age and now established their credentials in a robust manner. The primary factor driving the growth of these categories is the utility of data-driven insights which help decision-makers to make the right decisions in their respective industries. The trend of data democratization is also in progress and this ever-growing coverage of data, especially in the industries such as healthcare, Battery Farms, and Agriculture will lead to the production and manufacturing of better products and services.
7. How is Machine Learning (ML) shaping the IT/Big Data/Robotics industry today? How is it changing the role of CIOs and Leaders?
Machine learning (ML) is revolutionizing various sectors and its application in areas such as IT/Big Data/Robotics is changing the dynamics of these categories. The algorithms behind ML are bit complex but thankfully today increasing advances in research, powerful hardware, and standard models have made it easy to tailor and deploy solutions for specific business needs. These things have simplified some of the work pressures of CIOs and leaders as these people get the support from these models for predicting future scenarios, carrying out various experiments, and being able to choose what can deliver the highest return on investment. Also in the future, CIOs are expected to adopt only those ML mechanisms which offer the highest value to businesses.
8. What are your growth plans for the next 12 months?
In the next 12 months, we are planning to focus on the following areas: a) Invest heavily in people development, b) establish satellite offices in remote towns, and c) establish relationships with colleges and universities to ensure the industry readiness of students. We have already started to make limited progress on all these fronts and are expected to pick up further momentum in the coming months.
9. Which industry verticals are you currently focusing on? And what is your go-to-market strategy for the same?
We are specifically focused on covering organizations in the following verticals: a) FinTech, b) Document AI, c) Omni-Channel Messaging, and d) Experiments around Web3. All these verticals offer attractive opportunities for business and by focusing on the same fundamental principle of delivering quality products in a cost-effective manner, we are quite confident of our success in all these verticals. We are equally enthusiastic about the potential of these industries and striving to create an ecosystem of stakeholders with whom we can communicate, connect, and collaborate for achieving the greater good of businesses and society.
10. What is your Leadership Mantra?
Centered on quality, value for money, and customer orientation, our leadership Mantra is to deliver enriched customer experiences to the target market. We swear by the values of trust, transparency, and authenticity and firmly believe in the philosophy of “under-promising and over-delivering”. We don’t make false promises to our clients and if we can’t walk the talk then we rather prefer not to talk.
