HERALD: What is your field of speciality?
VARUN VINAY SAWARDEKER: Hectranet specialises in the delivery of ITIS and ITES solutions to digital marketers around the world. In today’s day and age where digital platforms are overtaking the conventional analog ones as the best way to reach a wider audience, digital marketing via email, social networks, mobile apps, etc is a rapidly growing industry especially in the west. We at Hectranet having worked in this domain for over six years now understand the specific needs of the digital marketing business very well which helps us to tailor our products to the meet the customer’s expectations. We provide end-to-end IT solutions to our clients which ensures that they can invest all their resources in marketing and branding while leaving the underlying IT infrastructure to us to build and operate.
HERALD: How does your company help Goans, specially start-ups?
VVS: One of the goals while setting up Hectranet in Goa was to give an opportunity to the countless IT professionals in Goa, myself included, who want to stay and work in Goa instead of moving out in search of jobs that would give them a chance to work with cutting edge technology and clients who are market leaders. Hectranet is proud of the fact that today we have over 50 Goans from different technical background like engineering, diploma, BCA, MCA etc working in our Margao office doing just that. Hectranet also provides training for various IT certification courses to students and professionals in Goa helping them bridge the gap between college and professional environment. Our trainers with industry experience strive to prepare the students for facing the real world challenges in IT workplace. We are also working on developing a range of IT related services and products we can offer to Goan companies specially start-ups at an affordable cost which would enable them to focus on growth. We are planning to launch these by the end of the year.
HERALD: Who are your major customers?
VVS: Our major customers are all digital marketers specialising in email and social media marketing who rely upon us for their IT needs. Currently our client base is spread across USA, Morocco, UAE and Ukraine.
HERALD: What issues did you have to face when you thought of launching this company?
VVS: Lack of clarity about government regulations related to IT companies, frequent power outages and unreliable Internet were some of the major issues I had to deal with in the beginning. I feel in the last few years Goa Government and various industry bodies have made a lot of progress as far as helping out new IT entrepreneurs and start-ups is concerned by means of incubation centres and mentoring programs. I remember in first couple of years of Hectranet, I would dread the monsoon season as that would mean fluctuating power supply and Internet downtime due to cables getting cut. More can be done from the Government’s side to resolve issues like these which would go a long way improving the IT ecosystem in Goa.
HERALD: What made you work as an entrepreneur in Goa?
VVS: It was primarily my attachment to Goa as this is my home and I love being here. I wanted to have an IT company in Goa which would give the opportunity to fellow Goans like myself to stay and work in Goa while not compromising on their career growth. The fact that we have a such a great talent pool of IT professionals in Goa which can be tapped with the right guidance and opportunity was a bonus.
HERALD: How do you see the Goan market?
VVS: As far as IT is concerned, I feel this is a very exciting time for IT service providers in Goa. The traditional businesses are now waking up to the enormous possibilities that IT holds and how it can help and transform the way business is conducted in Goa. This integration of traditional businesses with IT opens up new avenues for companies like Hectranet. One of the market survey that we recently conducted shows that majority of the Goan companies go to vendors in Pune and Banglore for their IT needs and end up paying exorbitantly for the services. We are working on providing these services here in Goa at a fraction of the cost which would be a win-win situation for everyone.
HERALD: Where do you see yourself in next five years?
VVS: I would like to see Hectranet grow in terms of the number clients that we service right now and the quality of service that we provide to our clients. Entering the Goan market with world class IT services at competitive rates is definitely one of the targets we have set for ourselves and we are working towards meeting that goal.
