''People-management is still a niche focus area''

Start-ups can sometimes startle! Bangalore has one such IT company, which is only about a year-and-a-half old, but has already shown its mark in Human Resource Management System (HRMS) segment with its unique flagship product - sohamHR.

Rani Paruchuri, CEO, Dream Tekis, is a focused IT professional whose profile spans a variety of roles - from that of a corporate trainer to project manager to CEO. Specializing in HRMS is her forte, and this is where she sees her company growing gradually.

In an exclusive interview, Rani shares her company's vision for the HRMS segment with Ashwini R of CIOL Bureau.

CIOL: You recently launched a Web-based HR software system specifically targeting the SMEs. Is this the product you were looking for to differentiate your company from the rest in HRMS?

Rani Paruchuri: Yes, of course. This product - called sohamHR - was developed in an open source environment after conducting a lot of market research. It is a pay-per-user product, which has already seen releases of seven modules in just one year.

The USP of sohamHR is its cost-effectiveness. In fact, it can be installed at 55-to-80 per cent of the cost of other HR products available in the market. It is highly configurable and user-friendly. It takes just about 40 to 60 hours to implement our product in any organization employing from 50 to 50,000 people.

CIOL: How exactly does sohamHR help an organization? Please elucidate its purpose and functions.

RP: SohamHR is a complete HR solution that offers end-to-end services in the people management area. Several functions such as recruitment, employee administration, organizational management, payroll, appraisal, training, leave management, etc., are covered under its implementation.

Further, we are planning to take this HRMS product into SaaS in Q2-2007. Once this integration is complete, installing sohamHR in an organization will take only about eight hours.

Also, through our partner Sobha Renaissance Information Technology (SRIT), we are planning to take our HRMS product to the health sector. In addition, multilingual versions of sohamHR are in the offing, in order to 'internationalise' it.

CIOL: Why do you say that sohamHR is best suited for SMEs?

RP: SohamHR can be used in modules suited to any type of industry. For instance, recruiters can go for only the resume extractor solution from sohamHR to shortlist suitable candidates. Also, the operational requirements of small and medium businesses, rather than of bigger enterprises, are best taken care of by our product.

CIOL: Your client portfolio already includes biggies in the IT industry such as Oracle and Accenture. Where do you see your company going in a few years from now?

RP: We are technically very strong, and our strength lies in product development. HR is still a niche field in India, and this is where I see Dream Tekis making strides. Besides offering customized products and IT solution, we have also expanded our portfolio in resource outsourcing to some US clients.

Of course, like any other start-up company, we have had our share of hiccups on and off. But these are temporal and we have managed to rise above them. In fact, I would like to emphasise that the attrition rate in our company, though a start-up one, is less than eight percent. With regard to revenue, we are expecting to post a turnover of Rs 60 lakh for 2006-'07, and Rs 2 crore by March 2008.

CIOL: Although being a start-up company, you seem to have made a presence in e-governance, which is upbeat now. Could you shed more light on this role of yours?

RP: E-governance is definitely upbeat now and there is no way any administration can afford to lag behind.

Dream Tekis has already completed the first round of talks successfully with the Andhra Pradesh government. We hope to deliver IT to their administration soon.