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Tough Team Builder 

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DQC News Bureau
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Delhi-based Sanjiv Bhavnani

committed the ultimate career hara-kiri by throwing up a successful corporate

job to start his own company. But this was not new to a person who always

believed in taking chances to succeed. His belief in himself and his personnel

managing kills helped him create and successfully lead Infotecnics.

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Profile 

Company: Infotecnics India Limited



Start up Year: 1991


Address: M 275, Greater Kailash II, New Delhi 110 048


Phone: 91-11-623 7044, 623 7045, 646 3094


Fax: 91-11-646 3106


Email: sbhavnani@infotecnics.com



Web site: www.infotecnics.com



Services: System design, networking, project management, hardware

supply, installation and maintenance.



Back in 1983, when Sanjiv

Bhavnani joined Blue Star immediately after his graduation, it was the only IT

company around, representing HP, Motorola, Texas Instruments and Codex. This was

the time when PCs had not hit the Indian market. His well-wishers cautioned him

against joining what was thought to be a mirage business. But Sanjiv decided to

take the risk and two years later he shifted to CMC.

Sanjiv jumped on board a

French software MNC as VP (Marketing) in 1989. In his short stint here he was

exposed to various offshore projects with clients like L’Oreal and Elf

Lubricants. But this did not quell Sanjiv's thirst for challenges and he moved

to Meera Computers as CEO where he had to set up the entire software exports.

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Sanjiv put everything in place

there by mid 1991 and when he found that the business could run without his

guidance, he threw in the towel and decided to go solo. Ask him about these

frequent moves and Sanjiv shrugs it off saying, "I was never satisfied

doing something mundane. I always wanted challenges. And this, I could have

found only in my own business."

When the going gets

tough…

Sanjiv started Infotecnics

International with a software development project from HP, USA. When MTNL

floated a tender in 1993 for software and hardware commissioning, Sanjiv knew

that Infotecnics was competent enough to handle the software part. But the

hardware supply needed immediate attention. This is when he tied up with Digital

and Tata Unisys for the supply of hardware.

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“It was a matter of pride

for us that we were shortlisted on all projects we bid for,” recalls Sanjiv.

But then the Sukhram fiasco took the country by storm and all the projects were

shelved. Working on the project for two years and finally realizing that the

outcome could not be controlled was the biggest setback that he faced. But the

entire process taught his an important lesson -- that hardware was an essential

component of the IT business.

The concerted effort to add

hardware to his product portfolio began. Infotecnics tied up with Holland-based

Tulip Computers for distributing their PCs in north India. But a couple of years

later, Tulip shut shop in the country. This set Infotecnics back by about Rs 40

lakh with a liability of providing three-year after-sales support on Tulip

machines.

“First they decamped with

our money and to provide support on top of that left us in the lurch,” says

Sanjiv bitterly. But despite this setback, he did not let his customers face the

brunt. He wanted his customer relationships in place and today, these very

customers have only praises for him. “Infotecnics are excellent solution

providers”, says MP Singh, GM (IT), Escorts Heart Institute and a customer for

the last three years.

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Growing from strength to

strength

Putting all the setbacks

behind him, Sanjiv ensured that Infotecnics grew from strength to strength. What

started as an one-man company with an investment of Rs 5000 in a room at

Sanjiv’s home, Infotechnics today employs 50 people in five locations across

the country with a paid-up capital of Rs 2.5 crore.

The turnover for the year

1999-2000 touched Rs 16 crore and Sanjiv expects to close 2000-2001 with

approximately Rs 25 crore. Infotecnics today boasts of two software development

centers at Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. The centers are engaged in web-related

software development projects for overseas clients.

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Today the company enjoys

strong relationships with Compaq, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Cisco, 3Com, Lucent,

Nortel, Novell, Microsoft, Computer Associates, Oracle, Network Associates,

among others. It has set up the India's largest ISDN network for the Delhi Stock

Exchange with Wipro as its hardware partner. Yet another feather in Infotecnics'

cap is that it has sold the only Compaq Tandem server in the country.

Focus on team effort

A thorough understanding of IT

and its applications has led Sanjiv to offer the right solutions to his clients.

This has proved to be his strength which has helped him to succeed in a highly

competitive market.

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Always focussed on team

effort, Sanjiv knows that motivated employees are an essential asset of his

company. He has managed to instill a sense of ownership among all his employees.

“We all have a deep sense of belonging in the company,” says Parag Agarwal,

Manager-Marketing, Infotecnics. “Sanjiv keeps his employees very happy”,

says Vijay Ahuja, VP, Infotecnics in the same vein.

But success has come through

aggressive measures as well. “Sanjiv has been able to achieve results most of

the time,” says Ahuja of Infotecnics, which can be taxing for the employees on

occasions. On the flipside, he adds, this also helps create a tough team that

does not break down in the face of a crisis.

Even those outside the

organization acknowledge the strength of the Infotecnics team. “The team is

strong and like a small family,” says Sandeep Sehgal, Regional Manager, Onward

Novell. Incidentally the company is among the largest partners of Novell in the

world and is in the process of being appraised by Novell to implement and deploy

Novell’s e-Directory services globally.

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Bigger markets, ahoy…

Looking for greener pastures

and growth, Infotecnics has entered into a joint venture with NetEdge Computing

for acquisitions abroad. The entire strategy of acquiring a company abroad is to

focus on creating a gateway for Infotecnics to tap the potential of the ASEAN

market. And the JV outfit has narrowed down on a Bangkok-based company for this.

“Though I am on board of the company, I am not in a position to reveal the

name of the company at this juncture,” says Sanjiv.

Also on the agenda is domestic

expansion plans. The company plans to have another branch operational in

Hyderabad within a month and shift to their new corporate headquarters at

Gurgaon, Haryana in another two months.

Vishesh Infosystems Ltd, a

Bangalore-based, ISO 9000 certified company, recently acquired a 33 percent

stake in Infotecnics after recognizing its strengths in the networking and

security solutions area. The acquisition of stake gives Infotecnics the

opportunity to leverage its strengths to grow faster. 

Mohit Chabbra in New Delhi

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