Volume 18, Number 1 Article by J Ramachandran and Pranav Garg March, 2006
Breaking Conventional Paradigms In Conversation with Rajesh Hukku, CMD, i-flex Solutions :
In order to move up the value chain, it is generally acknowledged that Indian companies need to focus on software products as well as services. This transformation has been successfully accomplished by i-flex Solutions, with Flexcube, its flagship core banking solution, ranked world number one for the fourth successive year in 2006. The company’s business intelligence and data analytics product, Reveleus, which helps global financial institutions meet the new compliance norms, has been rated as a leading product by the Gartner Group for completeness of vision and the ability to execute. Oracle, the $14 billion applications software giant, has recently acquired a strategic stake in i-flex in a bid to consolidate its offerings on the financial services vertical.
Speaking to J Ramachandran and Pranav Garg, Rajesh Hukku, Chairman and Managing Director, shared his views on how Indian companies can make it in the global arena. While idea generation is key, there have to be resources and opportunity as well. He shares his experience in founding and growing a company and establishing a culture of democracy and passion, and discusses the rationale for i-flex’s unique business model that straddles products and services. It is vital for a company aspiring to global leadership, says Rajesh Hukku, to acquire domain expertise and specialisation; to think and act global; and to focus on the customer. These three principles have driven i-flex’s transformation from a software product company into an IT solutions provider. In order to achieve its mission of helping financial institutions excel in their business by providing end-to-end solutions, the company has put in place a build-buy-ally strategy. The Oracle deal, which will give i-flex an unparallelled reach in the global market, has also provided the company with an opportunity to take a fresh guard and reinvent itself.
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