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Disha to foray into storage and security

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CIOL Bureau
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Founded in 1995, Aztec Software provides a comprehensive suite of outsourced software product development lifecycle services that accelerate development of software products, reduce time to market and help manage resources, cost and technology risk in a predictive model.

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Aztec's subsidiary, Pune-based Disha Technologies, is a pioneer in independent testing and quality assurance, and offers world-class engineering and consulting services to help customers in their test strategy, planning and execution.

Samir Bodas, CEO of Disha, in an interview with Arunima Nath of CyberMedia News, laments the below par quality of Indian engineering colleges, and shares the plans for his company's future.

What is Disha's positioning in the domestic as well as international markets?

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We are the largest public traded product engineering offshore company in the world. We have shipped - and helped shipping - over 15,000 software products, either developed or tested. No other company can boast of such depth and breadth of experience.

What is the company's global share?

It is a very fragmented market. We are certainly gaining market share. Last quarter we grew by 10% and the average growth is somewhere in the single digit.

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You are dealing in security identity management. How can your product help those Internet sites where hacking is a major issue?

We are focusing on security for software companies who do business with consumers on the web or do businesses with other businesses on the web. One has to be very careful about the designing and testing for such portal or site. In the process we have identified about 30 odd substantial security issues that might exist in these websites. We have come up with an approach for each of the flaw and have developed software IP as well approach IP for these 30 flaws, some of which are generalize and others are specialized.

Who are your customers in India?

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Yes we have been approached and helped but we can't name them, as it is a sensitive matter. The customer varies from various jobsites, mobile operators, etc. But till now the government hasn't approached us.

What differentiates Disha from other software companies?

The first thing, which differentiates us from other companies is our laser focus on product engineering, which very few others have. We approach this from the perspective not only of developing software well or architecting but testing as well. Probably we are the only public company with substantial focus on software testing. That really sets us apart.

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You have forayed into two new segments — Wireless and Networking technologies and Embedded and Devices technologies. What has been the success rate so far?

We have already got a customer in the wireless space.

What are the other verticals you are looking at?

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We are looking at storage. Post 9/11, storage and security have come into sharp focus.

How strategic is India to Disha?

The market is very bullish and for us that opens up lots of opportunity to service the companies who are coming to India. So we have recently opened a center at Hyderabad. Also we are planning to expand in Chennai.

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Which other geographies you are strong in?

We are very good in the US followed by India, then in UK for a while, and a few European countries.

What will be your stratagem for growth — merger and acquisitions or organic growth?

We will grow by increasing our customer base, expanding in other geographies and definitely we will look into acquisitions, which will help our growth. The acquisition will depend upon the capability of the company.

Who are the clients in India and Internationally?

We can't give out names, but we are servicing Microsoft India, Yahoo India, and definitely we are also servicing Indian companies.

What is the current employee base?

The current employee base is 2,000 plus and we are recruiting every month. But sadly the qualities of the Indian engineering colleges are below par. Though the students are bright but the standard of teaching leaves a lot more to be desired. We have to train them for at least six months and that too from the very basic.

What are your initiatives to ensure quality education?

Well in Bangalore we have tied up with an Engineering college and are helping them in developing their curriculum. Likewise in Pune also we have tied up with Wadia College.

Apart from that we visit the various engineering colleges from the second year itself and start identifying the students and provide them the opportunity to work on internship projects and later on try to absorb them in our various projects.

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