Destiny's Child

Nitin Shah is a strong believer in fate. And he should be. Because it was this very fate that intervened his life when he was an engineer with CMS and handed him a business on a platter, literally.

Power: The ability to acquire big customers and better talent to improve your business

He still recalls the phone call he got from an acquaintance from Mafatal Consultancy Services (MCS), asking him to repair a tape drive, that other engineers were unable to rectify after 60 days. And Shah managed to iron out the problem within two days. Impressed by this, he was offered a contract for servicing the entire IT infrastructure for MCS for Rs 3.5 lakh, and was promised references to other corporates like Pfizer and Bombay Dyeing. For Shah, whose annual salary package came to Rs 1 lakh, this was a dream come true. Especially, since he had just gotten married and his wife encouraged him to dream big.

Shah started Allied Digital Services (ADS) in 1984 with his brother, Prakash and another employee, Vivek Gokhale. Gokhale used to accompany Shah for customer calls and worked with him for over eight years before moving onto Intel India.

Today, ADS has over 1,200 people with a business turnover worth Rs 159 crore in 2005-06. Shah is no longer in the thick of things now and prefers to concentrate solely on strategic issues and which new paths the company should chart. He is always striving to stay ahead of the growth curve. It is this determination that influenced him to get into the security and surveillance business a year ago. He has now taken this business further by setting up a security operational center in Mumbai.

What makes a winner?
According to Shah, to be successful one has to learn to delegate responsibilities. He recalls a few years ago, how every delivery challan, requisition order, pay slip and bank document had his signature. Over time, he realized that he was getting bogged by the operational duties.

He therefore set up a team of managerial people who would supervise various business activities while he would focus on unearthing emerging technologies, which could be developed into successful business models. This is probably why, despite Allied having its presence in 72 locations, his cell phone rings very rarely.

The other aspect that Shah focuses on most times is the branding of ADS as a technology provider. He believes that in this line of business, the customers are much aware of the vendor. To sell well therefore, it is pertinent that the solution provider also makes his brand a well-known entity.

Living to the fullest
Recently, Shah suffered a huge personal loss after his wife passed away. He is now making efforts to spend more time with his daughter and son, who are in an engineering college.

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