Kerala is acclaimed as ‘God’s own country’ in India for its superlative natural beauty. Naazim Abdulla, founded Naico Information Technology Services with aim of making it ‘Kochi’s own software company’. He started his company in 2005 after working in the Middle East and North America for a period. 

Providing specialist services to companies in North America, Europe and the Middle East, Naico survived the global recession and came out stronger as a result of that tryst with adversity. Today, they are in the process of growth that is structured but are intent on ensuring that they continue to pursue ethical business practices. 

In conversation with GlobalLinker (GL) Naazim Abdulla (NA) shares the journey of his company and his plans for the future. 

GL: Tell us about your business.

NA: Naico is a software engineering firm founded in 2005. We work in the international market for software engineering services serving the North America, Middle Eastern and European regions. We are into custom built enterprise application development as well as geo-spatial application development. Geo-spatial services include creating applications that are related to maps and objects on earth. For example, a power company with wires in the ground or a water and sewage firm managing pipelines. These firms need their data to be stored in a way that works geo-spatially. We have been working to build geo-spatial solutions for city governments to make urban planning better.

I worked for ten years in the software engineering industry in the US. Then, I returned to India to work here and that’s how Naico was born. I left the comfortable life in the States to come home to India so I could be with my family. At the same time, I always felt an obligation of returning from a social aspect — building an enterprise that supports the community.

GL: What are the challenges you have faced in establishing your business?

NA: With my background of working abroad, it took me time to settle into working in India. When I came to India and started Naico, the procedure and the length it takes to get things started took me by surprise. But honestly, with that obstacle cleared it was quite smooth sailing thereafter.

The second challenge we faced was the economic recession in North America and the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2009. That hit us very hard. A lot of companies shut down in that period. I feel very proud that we came out of that period very strong. I consider that one of the biggest achievements in my career.

The third challenge is, most companies growing into the next phase from 25-30 employees to more see that their procedures and way of doing business have to evolve to keep up with the change. In order to scale up, we needed help from outside and got engaged with a consulting company and are now working on a three-year plan for growth.

GL: What is the USP of your business?

NA: If we look at the IT industry of today, companies of all sizes are starting out and growing. IT companies of our size have a pattern for what kind of projects they can take on and deliver. Some of the problems we have solved for the healthcare industry involve complex systems with sometimes billions of transactions. And there are also the very stringent privacy measures that must go into the systems we build for healthcare companies. Our capability is comparable to very large companies. Most companies our size cannot handle and deliver the kind of projects we have taken on.

Creating a positive social impact is very important to us. 

GL: What are some of the milestones of your business?

NA: We started with an 80-square foot office, with one employee, having no projects whatsoever, trying to figure out what the IT industry is all about in India. Not really coming from a management background and just being from a technical background getting the first project was the most challenging. We could have started with some smaller projects from the local market but we wanted to start with the right kind of project. We wanted to be able to demonstrate our ability to deliver and build our client profile accordingly. Getting our first project is our biggest achievement.

Since then, transitioning from the one-client company mode to building up the management layer so we could service multiple companies was a milestone. There were barriers that I had to break out of. Delegating to people who I had to trust with my personal commitments. It was very difficult to give up the day to day activities. But I couldn’t do everything.

The next big thing was making an investment on the company’s behalf. We were doing very well financially in the first 2.5 years. We had a choice to encash or refinance and grow bigger. I thought this was not the time to think about the financials but grow. This is how we got our present facility set up.

One of our clients, potential at that time, came to us with an application they had been building for the last three years. They were ready to scrap this multi-million-dollar project. Taking that project with a stringent timeline was a risk but I had complete confidence in our ability to deliver. That company was able to migrate to that platform and they are loyal clients of ours today.

GL: What role do you feel GlobalLinker plays in connecting & assisting SMEs?

NA: A business like ours is completely reliant on the international market. The reason why companies like ours exist is that we provide value beyond just providing deliverables. For active business development and networking, we trust platforms - conferences, online media and mechanisms. That’s where GlobalLinker comes into the picture. Reaching out to partners and vendors, doing that physically would not be sensible for us. The key differentiating factor of GlobalLinker is that it is really focused on helping small businesses build their brand and profile online. It helps networking between small business and potential customers.

GL: What is your big business dream?

NA: Naico has been in business for the last 12 years. We have a clear vision of where we want to be. We want to be ‘Kochi’s own software company’ like Kerala is ‘God’s own country’. We want to be the biggest in the city for providing services in software across the globe. I want to qualify the word ‘biggest’. Several factors are involved. It doesn’t have to be just revenue, or clients or number of employees. But rather biggest in terms of social impact.

GL: What is your message to aspiring entrepreneurs?

NA: I would like to quote Steven Covey. A lot of youngsters are exploring entrepreneurship and becoming successful. We also see a passion for wealth creation with an attachment to wealth. This overrides all other things. For us to live, we need oxygen and water. Similarly, for any business to survive strong financials and cash flow are necessary. However, we don’t live for the purpose of breathing and drinking water. Similarly, financials are essential for businesses to succeed however there is a higher purpose with business. We should not forget the ethical purpose of business. Being less possessive about money, we become less prone to the stresses about a business and we are able to live happily and contribute to the social aspect.

Network with Naazim Abdulla by clicking on the 'Invite' button on his profile  

Disclaimer: This article is based solely on the inputs shared by the featured member. GlobalLinker does not necessarily endorse the views, opinions & facts stated by the member.