Archive for November, 2010

In Indian high-tech companies, employee relationships often tend to be transactional and attrition numbers are typically very high especially during good times. When I joined Navatar a couple of months ago, to lead engineering for the Cloud Computing Excellence Center in NOIDA (India), I didn’t expect anything different. What surprised me, though, was the list of global system integrators that were aggressively approaching Navatar employees – these integrators include Accenture, IBM, Wipro and HCL.  Other global stalwarts such as Thomson Reuters, Barclays, Dell, Dupont, Pitney Bowes and Bank of America have also been recruiting Navatar talent in cloud technologies.

If we put the attrition issue (that I have to deal with) aside, the big positive in all this is that Navatar has become a trusted name not just for financial firms looking for SaaS solutions, but also companies seeking the most experienced and talented cloud resources.

As a recent addition to the Navatar team, here’s how I see it: When it comes to Force.com, we are considered one of the pioneers, after hundreds of deployments. We created one of the most complex commercial cloud products HandsOn Connect. Our thought leadership is reflected in our books (Force.com as Your Key to the Cloud Kingdom), whitepapers (Do’s and Don’ts of the transition to Cloud Computing), articles (Ten Common Mistakes Architects Make), webinars (Architecting Commercial Apps) and opinions (Why Multitenancy Matters in the Cloud).  In addition to Force.com, we’re really into the cutting edge of cloud technologies such as Azure, Google Apps, as well as mobile platforms such as Android, when it comes to our engagements.

However, I believe what really sets us apart is that Navatar is truly a cloud product company. We are one of the top resellers of salesforce.com. In financial services, our Mutual Fund Cloud, M&A Cloud and Private Equity Cloud, dominate the market.  Financial firms in more than 20 countries use the Navatar cloud service – including firms such as Jefferies & Co, Carlyle Group and Guggenheim Partners. We pioneered the concept of cloud products where customers don’t pay anything for implementation or support services.  And Navatar has done all of this without any outside capital and still stays cash-flow positive.  We went through the recession without any downsizing or salary cuts.

The projects we execute and the products we develop are cutting-edge, and a hard act to follow.  It is therefore not surprising that several of our alumni, that helped us start the NOIDA Cloud Computing Center, have expressed interest in returning. In addition, the good news is that talented engineers are beginning to reach out to us directly, as word about our success spreads.

As for me, retaining and expanding our extremely talented team is critical, as I begin the task of scaling a unique and proven cloud computing model.  I must clearly outline what it means to work for a company with true cloud DNA.  I have to help each of our current and prospective team members answer the question:   Will I be better off getting a large brand name on my resume or becoming one of the leaders in the cloud computing revolution?

- Aurobindo Sarkar

Money Management Executive magazine highlights Navatar Mutual Fund Cloud in its latest Operations & Technology Special Edition. Navatar Mutual Fund Cloud now makes it possible for a wholesaler to get CRM, Sales Reporting, Transfer Agent Data and much more for a low monthly fee –through salesforce.com’s cloud. A great example of multitenancy at its best.

Editorial Director Tom Steinert-Threlkeld says it is now possible to measure funds sales performance across various channels.
“Take Navatar. This is a buzzword-friendly service that works “in the cloud,” giving you access to tools for managing relationships with brokers, banks and financial advisers “on demand.” Alternately, you can consider it “software as a service,” running on top of a suite of services offered by Salesforce.com, which pioneered the concept of letting companies subscribe to online versions of computer programs which they didn’t have to install or maintain.

Navatar’s mutual funds add-on to Salesforce.com lets sales managers see aggregate sales data from different regions of the country or by broker-dealer firm or other overall measures. But it also breaks down sales to the transaction, so the performance of any individual rep can be tracked and evaluated.”

Navatar Mutual Fund Cloud is used by prominent firms such as Jefferies & Co., Guggenheim Partners, Alps Funds. It includes transfer agent data from DST, Sungard, Envision and others. It also includes intermediary feeds from Schwab, Fidelity, DST and others.

To learn more about Navatar Mutual Fund Cloud, visit:

http://sites.force.com/appexchange/listingDetail?listingId=a0N300000016cPkEAI

To read the full article, you can sign up for a free trial of this publication aimed at leaders in asset management http://www.mmexecutive.com/.