Kalzoom Technologies: Zooming in on KM

While Indian SME players may find it tough to slug it out with the big boys in the software services space, they can compete aggressively and even win in the products space by virtue of domain knowledge and flexibility. Srikanth R P looks at Kalzoom Technologies, a start-up focused on building products for the booming Knowledge Management space

From L to R : The people behind Kalzoom—Shashank Dixit, Uma Ganesh, Moin Ahmad

The strategies of Israeli companies who have built a billion dollar IT industry on the foundation of innovation are perhaps the best to follow for aspiring Indian product companies. Pune-based start-up Kalzoom Technologies certainly wants to be a part of this clan by creating a highly customisable product for addressing the Knowledge Management space. Unlike many Indian product companies who have made the mistake of building a product for a booming market by virtue of price or functionality—Kalzoom has focused on creating a product which Moin Ahmad, one of the founders of Kalzoom, calls the ‘mass but customisation’ approach. Ahmad believes that a product’s differentiation comes not only in the way the product has been conceptualised but also in the manner in which the entire solution is put together for the customer.

Unlike the strategies of other vendors who have packed most features into one product, Kalzoom has instead concentrated on creating a basic framework called ‘Hive’. This framework incorporates collaboration tools, knowledge capture, archival and recovery tools and allows Kalzoom to configure the needs of different industries using the same basic framework.

Explains Uma Ganesh, CEO, Kalzoom Technologies, “The framework is extremely flexible and can be customised according to an organisation’s needs. Based on this framework we have created separate vertical solutions / modules for different industries. For example, in the manufacturing segment our focus is on Six Sigma. We have built a framework that helps a manufacturing organisation to become Six Sigma-compliant by following the process as described by the module. Similarly, we have different modules for the academic and the BPO segment—each concentrating on specific needs of different industries.”

In the academic segment, Kalzoom has concentrated on the 3C factor, namely cost, content and communication. The idea was to build a product that any academic organisation could operate by using the same infrastructure, leading to savings in costs. The second factor, content, is very important as it decides the standard of academic institutions. Currently, most institutions depend on visiting faculties for addressing the requirements of their students. If some students are lucky enough, they get to attend lectures of visiting professors. But the problem with this approach is that as soon as the visiting professor leaves, the knowledge leaves with him. If the knowledge of visiting professors is captured in a format that can be accessed later, the students can access the same information whenever they want. This concept can be expanded to the Web or other digitised formats and can be given to third parties who do not have the time to attend lectures at the time schedules followed by institutes.

Says Uma Ganesh, “Over 90 percent of our management institutions are dependent on working people. If we can give them collaborative platforms, it can open a lifelong learning opportunity for institutes.” The module for academic institutions built on the same framework allows an organisation to do this. As the reach of the institution extends beyond traditional boundaries, outside students would help in building the brand of the institute, enhancing communication. Similarly, in the BPO segment the company is concentrating on addressing the current concern—attrition. The niche approach has certainly worked for Kalzoom and can be seen from the number of clients the company has bagged within a short period of time—17 at last count in a span of one year.

While most would believe that Indian companies lose out in the software products game because of financial muscle and size, the founders of Kalzoom believe that being a young company, they are more agile to fine -tune the features of the product to the market place. Says Shashank Dixit, co-founder, Kalzoom Technologies, “Agility is key in the marketplace today. As a young company, what we lack in size and strength, we make up for in energy and stamina. In fact, our ability to change swiftly with the market will decide our fate.”

Another interesting fact about Kalzoom is the fact that unlike other Indian vendors who have primarily built their success on exports, Kalzoom is deriving a majority of its revenues from the domestic market. Says Moin Ahmad, “While most people think that it is difficult to find a good domestic market for software, we are finding it otherwise. The niche that we have chosen is of universal significance and there is tremendous willingness on the part of Indian companies to work with a young Indian company. With Indian companies becoming increasingly global in their approach, servicing them is as good as servicing any other client.” Having built a good reference client list in the domestic market, Kalzoom is now looking at exploring global markets.

The success of Kalzoom shows that even small companies can beat the biggest players in the products space if they focus on niche segments. This approach can be seen from what the founders want the company to be positioned and known as. Says Shashank Dixit, “We want to be know as the Toyota of software. Toyota was an underdog for several years. Now it is the most profitable of car companies—known and respected for innovation.” Following such illustrious footsteps, Kalzoom holds the potential to bloom into one of India’s few successful IT product companies.

srikanth@expresscomputeronline.com