'Mix art, science for max results in your biz'

BANGALORE, INDIA: Entrepreneur Dhiraj C. Rajaram turned one by chance, like many others. After his stint with a big strategic consulting firm, he was, however, clear about which road he had to take.

"I wanted to be part of solving the problem, providing a better solution to the rising data and thus, got into this business," says Rajaram.

The business he is referring to is the nascent decision sciences and analytics services. The company he founded way back in 2004 and is currently the chief executive officer and chairman of is Mu Sigma, a decision sciences and analytics services company.

According to him, decision sciences is a combination of art and science that helps create a better art for problem solving. "It will grow exponentially in the near future, and youth should gear themselves up for this space," he reckons.

CIOL: How are business analytics and decision sciences important for the industry?

Rajaram: Every business needs to consistently make better decisions. In a world where the data is doubling and is contributing to Big Data, it is imperative for businesses to make data-driven decisions.

There is a huge need for analytics professionals today and it is very hard to scale this business. In the next 5-7 years, the segment going to achieve what IT did in the early '90s.

CIOL: What is Big Data?

Rajaram: Data is generated every microsecond and there is a gradual rise in volume and detail of information captured by enterprises.

Big Data is about managing huge amounts of data and giving a better analysis of it. Data analysis can now be done through a combination of hardware and software technologies, such as distributed computing, database technology, hardware and memory. Analyzing of Big Data needs the application of applied mathematics, business, technology and behavioral sciences.

Behavioral sciences help understand human cognitive biases. Understanding human biases that help make decisions will play a major role in analyzing and offering better solutions to problems.

CIOL: Can you tell us about your journey since 2004?

Rajaram: In 2004, we realized that there was a lack of talent in this industry, hence we started creating talents with our new venture — Mu Sigma — through Mu Sigma University.

McKinsey Global Institute estimates that there will be a shortage of  about 200,000 data scientists and analytics professionals in the U.S. alone by 2018. We try to bridge the gap through our university by creating more talents in this field than anyone else in the world.

We are a category-defining company in decision sciences. Thus, we like to call it decision sciences rather than business analytics.

Mu Sigma has grown 1600 per cent over the past three years, and was recently listed in the Inc magazine 500 list of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies. We cater to 75 of the Fortune-500 companies, among which most fall under Fortune 100.

CIOL: What specializations have you taken up in the segment and how many professionals are associated with you?

Rajaram: In pure play decision sciences and analytics, we are, arguably, the largest services company in the world. We work across the board, as over the next couple of years, more and more people will employ decision sciences.

We have 1,500 professionals based out of India and U.S.. About 80 per cent of our employees are from India. Also, we have our presence in the UK and would like to see a huge traction in other regions, including Australia, Europe and the Middle East.

We have already made 750 offers for the next financial year to graduates from 30 top schools in India.

CIOL: What do you look for in aspirants while hiring?

Rajaram: We adopt a holistic approach through four stages of hiring — written test that evaluates logical skills and aptitude as in GMAT or CAT, group discussion on a controversial topic, video synthesis round, in which candidates have to summarize the video content in a small piece of paper, and the fit interview that tests the curiosity factor.

CIOL: Which industry verticals do you cater to and in what way?

Rajaram: We offer services across several industry verticals, such as pharmaceuticals and healthcare, financial services, insurance, CPG and retail, technology, and media and telecom, apart from industry horizontals such as market analytics, supply chain analytics and risk analytics.

For instance, a pharma company takes years to research on and develop a drug, but soon after the patent is acquired, it expires. It means the company would get a very short window to break even.

It is here we extend help to the company to make data-driven decisions in aspects such as pre-compliance and post-compliance, by reaching out to the right target group, comprising doctors, end users and insurance companies, and leveraging through social network marketing.