ISiM Industry Talk Series on Entrepreneurship (5) “SPI: Strategic & Operational Model” By Mr. Sid Mookerji Global CEO & Founder Software Paradigm Inc.

Abstract:

The International School of Information Management, University of Mysore organized a lecture titled “SPI – Strategic and Operational Model” by Mr. Sid Mookerji, Global CEO and Founder, Software Paradigms International (SPI) on 6th July, 2012 at 10:30 AM. This lecture was part of the ongoing Entrepreneurship Talk Series.

Mr. Mookerji’s talk was on entrepreneurship in the IT outsourcing industry and he gave a very detailed look into SPI – a global company with 1500+ employees which is focused on business solutions for retailers. He discussed SPI’s global strategy, using theoretical frameworks which ISiM students had studied in their classes – like the Five Forces Model, and Porter’s Three Generic Strategies. Particular emphasis was given to SPI’s strategic decision to cater to only retailers – thereby establishing a niche and strengthening their core services.
He also spoke broadly about the retail sector, the world outsourcing landscape, and the rapidly “flattening” global marketplace. Outsourcing firms, because our services are cheaper, have to pay more attention to quality and obtain numerous certifications. Otherwise, people would automatically relate low cost to low quality! Mr. Mookerji said the decision to specialize in the retail sector was based on the idea of “hyperverticalization”. We are not trying to do everything for everybody – but specialize and focus our brand and services he said. In the outsourcing arena – it is the buyer who has all the power, Entrepreneurs in the IT industry need to be client oriented and work hard to gain trust and minimize perceived risk. The highly interactive lecture ended with a lively Q&A session, where students and community members gained insight into Mr. Mookerji’s entrepreneurial motivations, challenges, and experiences.