'Innovation needs ability to see beyond code'

As many software vendors are nowadays trying to integrate social networking into enterprise applications, Hyderabad-based Pramati Technologies helps them with services that enable them to adapt faster to market changes, lower engineering expenses and innovate better.

Jay Raghavendra Pullur, founder and CEO of the Indian product design and software company, talks to Sudhakaran of CIOL about the company's products, business model and the potential of the social media in the Indian business landscape. Excerpts:

What is Pramati's business model and how does it help software vendors with services that enable them to adapt faster-to-market changes, lower engineering expenses and innovate better?

Pramati is known for its focus on building world-class software products since the beginning. While our own product portfolio has been enhanced with SocialTwist (Tell-a-Friend word of mouth marketing) and Qontext (Enterprise social networking and collaboration), we offer services to companies looking to build great products. The product development services business is branded as Imaginea (www.Imaginea.com) and has grown out of Pramati’s core capabilities.

Building software products is beyond writing a piece of code against known requirements. Our customers understand that and come looking for a partner that carries the right DNA. They want us to supplement their market efforts with a team that can design, build and sustain product software. While lower cost is automatic, when development happens in India, the ability to put together the right skilled team is more important.

Our pedigree and focus help us bring the right people into the company and groom teams.

We are living in a world of social media and Pramati is also exploring the potential of the social media market through SocialTwist. What is SocialTwist all about?

SocialTwist is a venture of Pramati that is now considered a leader in social marketing space. The product Tell-a-Friend and its variants (premium offerings) are used millions of times each day in over 65,000 websites worldwide and by many well-known brands such as P&G, KLM, Barnes & Noble, Kraft Foods, Disney, ING Direct, etc.

You will find our products on many leading Indian websites like NDTV.com, IndiaPlaza, BigAdda, Jet Airways, Monster.com, etc. Our website www.socialtwist.com provides more information and offers a free version of the product too.

The explosion of social media has led to serious interest by marketers, in using it as the main channel to reach out to their target population. The cost of customer acquisition is increasing as paid search rates are higher and email marketing is getting very low open rates. On the other hand, person-to-person sharing gets much better open rates, but the user message is not as effective in selling as mailers from the company.

SocialTwist products give the best of both by combining the high open rates of interpersonal messaging with effective messaging of company mailers. Marketing guys love that and don’t mind spending money on using the SocialTwist product.

How effective is the social media as a product campaign platform?

There is no question about effectiveness of spreading news through social media and the viral nature of it. In fact, SocialTwist itself has been marketed almost entirely this way.

Unlike other mass market sharing widgets, SocialTwist has created Referral Marketing/Word of Mouth Marketing product built on sharing. SocialTwist is the product of choice by Marketing departments and Interactive marketing agencies.

A mere sharing tool does not lend itself for increasing the effectiveness of sharing or induce more sharing. Campaign managers need a product that can help them in designing the most effective message content and the ability to integrate them into rewards programs, sweep stakes, loyalty programs, etc. Successful campaigns have goals and agencies have to demonstrate to their clients that results have been achieved. SocialTwist campaigns come with analytics to do that.

Do you think social networking can revolutionize the way global enterprises are functioning? What is the role of Qontext in this context?

Businesses are in constant search of new ways to overcoming the shortcomings of email, intranet, KM and other collaboration systems they use. Collaboration determines problem solving, productivity and innovation abilities of a business. Email has become the defacto collaboration and communication tool despite serious limitations. Lack of sharing, overload and inbox burial, lead to suboptimal use of unstructured information. Intranets and content systems remain static and lack broad participation.

The answer lies in the success of Web 2.0 in the consumer space - getting people to participate. The heightened participation, content sharing, collective discovery and new communication tools, collectively called Enterprise 2.0, are attempting to bring Web 2.0 to corporate use. Enterprise Collaboration is among the top 5 technology trends of 2010.

Qontext (pronounce context, which stands for Contextual Collaboration) is targeted at bringing the benefits of social software and tools to enterprise internal use. Core part of Qontext is a private social network for a company, a walled garden inside which their employees are free to talk, share and connect with security and privacy. While other products in this space offer similar capabilities, Qontext is unique in bringing integrations into other business applications of the enterprise such as CRM, ERP, SCM, etc. Contextual collaboration brings business content into the social stream and there by delivers business value and ROI.

Anyone can go to www.Qontext.com and register for free trial. The product is offered under SAAS model and pricing is kept very low to increase quick adoption.

Which are the major business segments that Qontext is looking at? And how do you look at the potential of India market?

Qontext is targeted at mid-size companies, particularly with employee base in the range of 500 to 10,000. Services sector with high concentration of knowledge workers is a good segment for use of such products. IT companies, BPO, hospitality, R&D institutions, pharma and biotech are areas we are concentrating, in India, as they are well developed and offer great potential.

Could you please say something about the evolution of Pramati over the years and how the concept of Imaginea evolved from that?

Incorporated in 1998, Pramati has grown from a single product startup to a private, profitable, self-sustaining company with 300 people and 4 different locations. We are proud of our brand and our ability to innovate and build products that could succeed in the global competition.

Imaginea is a independent business unit of Pramati that delivers development services with key strengths in cloud computing, SAAS delivery, social apps and Java middleware.

What are your recruitment plans?

We are looking at significant growth in 2010 in both products and services side. We have recently expanded our Hyderabad operations to include a Hitec City office that can accommodate a 20 per cent increase in employee strength. We are also expanding our Chennai center, where User Interface engineering is the focus.

Pramati hires people particularly for their ability to think, articulate and execute. While technical skills are important for producing good software, innovation needs ability to see beyond code, understand users and usage patterns. As part of Pramati experience, our people get a holistic view of product software journey. They work with entrepreneurs and gain the experience to be the potential innovators of the future.