Express Computer caught up with serial Entrepreneur Jayant Ramchandani to discuss his latest idea-insourcing
Jayant, tell us about the new idea you have- insourcing.
The idea came out of my 25 years of experience in technology, in working with global teams, and in doing both entrepreneurial activities as well as large company projects. In the first instance, we had the notion of “outsourcing” which was in some ways a mercenary business based on cost. There was no “meeting of the minds” and “sharing of culture” and when cost ceased to be a factor, all parties were footloose. It was transactional. This simply didn’t work for my business. So we created Lakeside Infotech to disrupt outsourcing and to introduce insourcing. So what is insourcing? Simply put, insourcing is very much about getting the best people in the most relevant geographies to focus on relationships, shared risk, product and IP development, and culture sharing. The notion that two companies can be “extensions of each other” comes true in insourcing. Insourcing is not only our business model, it is our belief system.
Disrupting outsourcing- isn’t that sacrilege in a country that has made billions with outsourcing?
Not at all. We believe very much in the IQ and Management power of Indians and others, outside the large Western countries. Insourcing is saying- “Look cost is one factor but when you truly add it up, the cost advantage is not that high. In reality, quality and sustainability far outstrip myopic cost considerations” Further, we believe in cultivating a milieu, a culture of freedom, innovation, problem-solving and not rote delivery. We are in fact suggesting that countries like India (and others) are powerful in terms of high-end human resources not just commodity skills.
Tell us about Lakeside
We are based in Silicon Valley, Navi Mumbai, Bangalore with an expanding footprint. We think of ourselves, indeed of insourcing as a whole- as geography agnostic. We have a very powerful relationship with a security company- Protegrity- and serve as a product development hub for them. We talk about this case because, frankly, we have grown from a few dozen people to over 150. And that’s just in that relationship. The point here is that we are a people-first, marry me for life type of company and not an ephemeral player with a narrow skill base. We are believers in deep competencies not basic skills.
JR, tell us about yourself
I’m an entrepreneur at heart. My partner and I just exited one of our companies- Novitaz- with a profound IP play. I have been fortunate to get a first-hand experience of the best India and the US has to offer: undergrad and grad school IIT Kharagpur and Stanford respectively, and beginning my career at Thermax in India and then working for Fortune 500 and startups in the US. My day-to-day work at Lakeside has given me a truly global perspective.
