A Doyen In Making

With a dedicated team and an enterprising vision, Vikram Jain of Doyen Infosolutions nurtured his company from a six member team to a 100-strong organization in a short span of four years. In an industry rife with newcomers, who start businesses and then exit it just as quickly, sustenance is a forte. And this is what Mumbai-based Jain has managed to achieve for his company.

But to be able to do this, Jain was aware that he had to be better than the
rest. He decided the only way to go ahead was by maintaining service standards,
which was what had given him a head start in the initial days. This aside, he kept an open mind towards trying out new business ideas which helped him take his company on a path of steady growth.

When asked about the interesting choice of name for the company, Jain elaborated that the word 'Doyen' meant 'an expert' or 'a leader' of a particular field. Not only does it set a benchmark for the present but the name also gives its team the motivation to amass experience and live up to its name. The word, some say, is also a perfect fit for Jain's personality.

Vikram Jain with his family

“The name 'Doyen' was suggested by a senior member in our company. We chose
it over other names that were shortlisted like 'Dexter' and 'Diligent' because it symbolizes the strengths and values that our company imbues in our employees,” he said.

STARTING SMALL

When Jain began Doyen in 2005, it was with a small team of six. Now, the
company has a strength of over 100 employees. Before that, Jain had his own company called CBT Info Solutions for over five to six years. He claims that the experience he got with this company helped him to be better equipped in the IT world.

“I wanted to focus on development, implementation-related services and
technology solutions. I was able to do this with Doyen as we deal with
group-ware technologies, web technologies, security solutions and varied
program­ming expertise as well,” he further explained.

Staffed with qualified and experienced workers and exposed to cutting edge
technology and solutions, the company uses a structured methodology known as 3D. The latter is based on CMO and ISO technologies. “3D defines development. It ensures a smooth start to execute the projects at a minimal level of risks,”
said Jain.

PROMPT ATTENTION TO CUSTOMERS

At Doyen, what strikes any incumbent client at first glance is a stable IT
infrastructure with high speed connectivity. The organization also consists of a senior management team which comprises experienced members who have sustained
themselves in the IT sector for over 25 years. The workplace also has a 5,000 sq ft development center.

“We have a good number of people working on various software applications in a distributed environment in small teams, at various Doyen offices at Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru. But the bulk of the application development is done at our software center,” informed Jain.

“For me customer satisfaction is most important. I want to be the software
solution provider of choice in our chosen area of business by excelling in value proposition, delivery and support,” he said.

Jain believes that adding one customer at a time helped Doyen enter into
other segments like large application development and enterprise application
development. Working with the existing customers was an added advantage to grow
in the market.

Jain started the 'Custom Application Development' product with lots of
services. He blended them with products. This helped reach out to more and more
customers in the market. “We kept adding more customers in our line of business
and with time, added the finance operations delivery and HR in Doyen's fold,”
informed Jain.

DEALING WITH COMPETITION

Working in the IT sector for sometime now, Jain claims that competition has
been a challenge to reckon with in current market scenario. He observed that due to recession, growth margins slipped slightly which resulted in a lot of pressure from global companies.

According to Jain, 'team organization' works best. He believes that every
employee at Doyen works on this principle. “The employees in Doyen are very
flexible about their work schedules. Also, we boast of a mix of senior and junior team members. We give high priority to our commitments and our spirits are always high,” Jain expounded.

Overwhelmed by the success, Jain now plans to increase his customer base. “We have started collaborating with international clients. We are in the process of discussing various opportunities in the application development with them and also partnering with the IT companies,” said Jain.

FAMILY VALUES

Jain further shared that his family was also involved in handling other
businesses like textile, retail outlets, furnishing outlets and hallmarking. But his passion lay in IT and this made him initiate Doyen rather than involve
himself in the family business. “Doyen's stake holding is within my family
itself,” Jain revealed.

Jain, who is married, and has a six year old daughter, likes to think of himself as a family man. He tries to spend weekends with his family. But he also likes to catch up on some sleep, which is a rarity in this profile. A through sportsman, during college years, he was a member of both the hockey and volleyball teams. “I was born and brought up in an environment where outdoor sports were considered important, I thus grew up to be a sports freak,” shared Jain.

Jain is a self confessed Big B fan and he tries to catch his favorite star's movies whenever he can. He likes to listen to old Hindi songs on radio during the late hours at night.

JAIN'S BUSINESS FUNDA

Jain's business beliefs center on interpersonal relationships. He believes
that it is most important to identify and bring in people who are 'good at what
they do.

“Build your team with employees, partners and mentors. Trust them to give you honest feedback and take your company to the next level,” he remarked.

For Jain, the attempt should be to work with a positive attitude in all situations.

MINAKSHI SHETTY

minakshis@cybermedia.co.in