CEO Insights India

Molding the newage scientists and engineers, to craft a skilled workforce to support the economic and social development of India after its independence in 1947, almost all of the 23 IITs are believed to be contributing coherently to the development of Indian Education and IIT Kanpur is believed to be one of the most prolific platforms amongst them. As an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, Dr. Deepak Singh (Founder & CEO, DK Infosolutions) believes that two major traits of his personality, ‘Patience and Flexibility' which are not only helping in his business endeavors but also in his day-to-day life, were honed by his alma mater IIT Kanpur. While all the midtier IT businesses were struggling due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic, Dr. Deepak managed to transform his business into a leaner and much optimized organization by adhering to flexibility and adapting to the current industry trends.

During his Doctoral research tenure with IIT Kanpur, he was nominated as a member of the Indian delegation for the prestigious SAARC IAESTE Internship Program, Japan. Playing key roles in several AI based research projects, which include implementation of Learning Management Solutions of several prominent educational institutes of Northern India and two projects funded by the Government of India, Dr. Deepak has emerged as one of the exemplary entrepreneurs of the new India.

Below is an excerpt of Dr. Deepak's interaction with CEO Insights.

How has been your professional journey so far? How are you implementing your learnings across your company's operations?
I started the company just after completing my Ph.D.from IIT Kanpur. Initially we struggled a lot because people were not ready to try their careers with a new organi

zation. We soon realized that we need to network and work upon our offerings, so we started developing unique products. We focused on the education domain and developed something unique for the universities. Also, we networked with the promoters of the universities in the nearby regions. This strategy helped us and gradually people started trusting us.

What inspired you to venture into entrepreneurship? Tell us about the unique propositions that you offer to your customers?
After my Ph.D. I got a job in a big MNC and was planning to join. But at the same time, some of my colleagues informed me about a PSU that wanted to develop software and was willing to pay well. Being in a transition phase and mostly free, I started working on the software and the project was implemented success fully within a few months. Motivated by this incident, I started thinking of becoming my boss and gradually convinced my colleagues to start a company of our own.

In DK Infosolutions, our forte is ERP for SMEs, especially for learning and development. Due to my background in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, we started integrating our ERPs with data analytics related tools. Currently, we are also offering some AI and ML related services to our clients which can automate the tasks for them. With our LMS we are offering animated content, which is a unique offering for the industry, we are receiving a lot of appreciation from our clients.

Which are the major milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction­ both at a personal and professional level?
Being a Lucknow based company and new to the field, we thought that it is quite impossible to bag any project of MNCs. But our first big project was of Mahindra and Mahindra Group. We worked hard and gave them a value proposition

so good that they assigned us the project. We are still working for Mahindra and Mahindra for the past eight years. The most satisfying thing is, that after accessing our services and product quality, almost all our customers choose us for their next projects as well.

How are you planning to take DK Info solutions to the next level? Tell us about the roadmap that you have planned for DK Infosolutions in the coming years?
Our delivery model is unique to the industry and enables robust scalability while maintaining cost efficiency all within strict quality control measures. Currently, we are still in the early stages of these experimentations, so it is difficult to provide quantifiable results. We expect a 10 to 15 percent reduction in the clients' expenditure in L& D after using our products.

What opportunities do you foresee for the young IT graduates? What advice would you give to the upcoming leaders in this segment?
Companies are now moving towards digital transformation, and this is a very promising time for IT graduates. If they have the right attitude and relevant skills, nobody can stop them from rising. Everyone, either a leader or a fresher via constant learning and unlearning throughout their life, needs to acquire the relevant skills.

Dr.Deepak Singh, Founder & CEO, DK Info solutions
Having completed his Doctorate from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Deepak has over fifteen years' experience in the field of academics and IT industry. His core areas of expertise include reallife applications of Artificial Intelligence and Embedded Systems. A visiting faculty in prominent institutes in Lucknow Deepak has published more than twenty papers in International Journals and has two patents. He is currently involved in a project related to Implementing Sensor Networks in forests to save wildlife.

Hobbies: Chess & Movies.
Favorite Cuisine: Awadhi
Favorite Book: 'Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell.
Favorite Travel Destination: Singapore.

Awards & Recognition: Aspiring Minds Award 20 Most Promising LMS Providers.