The Torchbearer: Faisal Husain

For the last two decades, the IT services industry has been the poster-boy of the Indian economy. Amidst the big guns of this sector, there has been a company which broke away from the ‘cookie cutter' approach with the vision of bringing value added top down advice and the ability to generate creative business, technology and commercial solutions for customers

Globally businesses are evolving at a faster pace than ever before, and innovation is the primary driver responsible for enabling advanced systems and processes that eliminate conventional geographical and logistical constraints. Innovation in technology and services has emerged as an enabler of new-age business ecosystems where producers, merchants, third-party providers and consumers interact more efficiently on a global scale. It is also responsible for making available a wide array of choices to end-users and improved customization to suit specific needs of the target audience. With such innovation as the inspiring spirit did Synechron come into existence with very little seed capital - somewhere around $20K, which was sourced internally from savings. "We started small, and as such, did not require financial support from any external entity. We have registered accelerated growth year-on-year and have been profitable since inception. As a result, we never felt the need for any private equity, venture capital, angel investors, etc," says Faisal Husain, Global CEO and Founder, Synechron.

BUSINESS OPERATIONS OF SYMECHRON
Synechron is an IT outsourcing and consulting services provider offering customized, high-end technology solutions & services specialized in two main verticals- BFSI- (Capital Markets, Insurance, Mortgage Banking Commodities, Insurance) and Digital Media Technology. With over 4000 employees, the company has emerged as a global player with presence across Pune, US, Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, UAE and UK. Husain witnessed several gaps in the services that were being provided by most of the major firms in India. "One key aspect was that these companies did not have an in-depth domain understanding of the client's business, which often resulted in a lot of issues. We started a company that was focused on high-end technology delivery, and utilized an approach of being a solution provider to our clients and not just a manpower supplier," says Husain. Initially, one of the primary challenges for Husian was to differentiate his firm from conventional IT outsourcing providers and to communicate his domain expertise to global majors. By focusing on agility, execution and customer satisfaction, he was able to ensure that projects are delivered on time and with the desired quality.

Synechron was founded in 2001 by Husain at 26 yrs of age with his two friends Tanveer Saulat and Zia Bhutta. Today, they are a $200mn company. Prior to founding Synechron, Husain was responsible for spearheading the technical development of enterprise level e-commerce applications for large financial institutions like Merrill Lynch and Dun & Bradstreet. "That's the time I realized the technology and domain understanding gap, which motivated me to start a company that will be extensively domain-focused and built upon high-end technology expertise," recalls Husian.

WHAT DIFFERENTIATES SYNECHRON?
Being domain-focused enables Synechron to provide tailor-made IT solutions and services to clients. "Our domain experts have extensive knowledge about client businesses, which enables them to drive IT implementations from both - the business and technology perspective," adds Husain. In addition, Synechron has dedicated Centers of Excellence (CoEs) that drive innovation in specific technologies such as Microsoft, Java, Opensource, Mobile technologies, etc. The CoEs enable the firm to deliver high-end technology projects to its clients. "This is how we are able to stand out from the competition. Another key differentiating factor is that we measure our success solely on customer satisfaction and not the financial matrix," adds Husian. Focused on financial technology and consulting services, Husian without taking particular names said that his firm's clients include several of the leading names in the Capital Markets, Banking, Insurance, Commodities, and Digital Media & Technology space. Husian can be best defined as a visionary with a positive bent of mind and high integrity. He is someone who can envision the best way forward for the organization as well as to act as the torch-bearer for the industry ecosystem it operates in.

 

HUSAIN'S MANTRA FOR SUCCESS
Husain considers that to be successful it is important to "Dream Big, keep things simple, and be honest to clients and prospects. Practice high integrity and make customer satisfaction your first priority." The firm acquired Double Effect, an Amsterdam and Singapore based management consultancy specialized in strategy translation and implementation in April 2013. Husain says that the acquisition have helped them improving their ways in lot more ways than one. The acquisition of Double Effect have made them more attuned to the management consulting needs of clients. The acquisition has enabled them to add Double Effect's management consulting expertise to their pre-eminent strengths and leadership in high-end technology consulting and delivery. The development underscores a game-changing shift for the industry that will usher a new trend of delivering true integrated management and technology consulting that impact business strategies and accelerate growth of financial institutions.

SPREADING WINGS
Synechron opened its UK office in 2007; its Singapore and UAE offices in 2009, and new offices in Hong Kong and Canada in 2010. The firm now has presence in 12 countries-US, Canada, UK, The Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, UAE, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia. "We have consistently focused on strategic geographical expansion to meet the growing technology needs of our global client base. Initially, we started with our offices in Pune, India and New Jersey, US. Since then, we have expanded our presence across the globe," adds Husian. Husain says that he has always been passionate about realizing his dreams and this has always driven him to remain focused. For him, "ambition needs to be backed by high integrity and being honest to clients and employees. Only then, it will become possible to transform your dreams into reality."