Every sector in the country is going through significant changes in terms of their operations as well as the technological changes are taking place at a faster rate. Organizations are trying to keep up with the changes by improving their services, training the employees to understand the digitalization processes, putting the right employees to use the right technology and automation tools. The last part that helps a company is deploying the right automation technology and test out new products.
The demand for implementing digital transformation agenda for clients has grown in the past few years. The people need to be reskilled with changes in the processes which help in the journey of implementing the latest technology. Several companies are working in the direction of providing digital transformation services, but these solutions are focused on technologies and are very costly and time-consuming to implement. This is where two entrepreneurs, Atul and Nitin, came together to help with their startup – DigiTop.
The beginning of the journey
Born and brought up in Borivali, Mumbai, Atul Sinkar belongs to a middle-class Maharashtrian family, and he graduated from D.G. Ruparel College, Mumbai. He had worked with companies like Cox and Kings, TCS, and Capgemini in several leadership roles before he decided to become an entrepreneur and co-founded a boutique consulting firm DigiTop Digital Transformation Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd.
What is DigiTop?
A newly established consulting firm that started its operations in January 2019 was co-founded by Nitin Suvarna(CEO) and Atul Sinkar(COO). With their experience in managing sizeable global client relationships in the ITES industry and within one year of operations, DigiTop got the recognition as “20 Most Promising Digital Transformation Solution Providers- 2019” by CIO Review India.
The introduction of new technology like Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Machine Learning, and Intelligent Automation are becoming a challenge for many firms as they have to equip them in their operations. DigiTop is planning to address the business challenges with crucial service offerings as listed below:
1. Skill Development- Hire Train and Deployment (HTD) Model, enabling people with skills required for the digital way of working.
2. Providing Consulting for Business Transformation using our transformation methodology framework “ERA” which stands for Eradicate, Regulate, Automate.
3. Implementation of Cognitive, ML, IOT Platforms for driving intelligent automation.
4. Staffing for niche roles by offering Managed Services Model.
5. Center of Excellent (COE) for Intelligent Automation.
The initial challenges
Every startup faces some common problems at the beginning, such as hiring a motivated and hardworking team, finding funding for the operations, and luckily, the firm has an investor who provided them with the seed funding to start their services. The company also got empaneled with few great brands in the first quarter itself, and the billing procedure for the firm began in the first month.
Despite being fortunate with funding and getting brands, the major challenge they faced is the conversion of a potential client into a customer. The offerings by the firm are doing well among the clients, and the pre-sales cycle is stretched too, starting from the first interaction to finally get PO (Purchase Order) from clients.
Collaborations by the firm for growth
In conversation with TimesNext, Atul talks about how he believes in collaborating and creating an ecosystem that would increase the firm’s strength with the help of different partners. The company has partnered with a few product companies that are developing Cognitive/Machine Learning(ML)/ IoT based products that would drive intelligent automation.
DigiTop’s collaborations with product partners bring core technology expertise, whereas the firm brings functional expertise. This combination makes the overall product mature enough to mitigate the problem statement of clients. The experience they’ve had with the product partners has been encouraging and helped them be confident in making the ecosystem of partners more stronger in the coming years.
The first milestone and current growth of the company
The first milestone for the firm was when they received seed funding from an investor before even starting their operations. This gave them the confidence to hire people upfront and start the project. The next significant milestone for them was that they got empaneled with a global company, and their billing began in the first month of their commencement.
The company is working with several Indian and global brands to finalize with Statement of Work (SOW), which helps them to be on track and meet the business plan for the next three years. They are currently discussing a potential alliance with large innovative staffing solution provider to become their exclusive partner for skill development for the clients. They are onboarding a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) who will be responsible for designing the Go To Market strategy. They are also planning to expand their services in the market like the US, Europe, Middle East Asia, and Australia/ New Zealand.
Vision for the company
DigiTop started its operation to upskill the talent for future jobs, build a roadmap for digital transformation, deliver enhanced efficiency through intelligent automation. They want to become the trusted partners of the clients and design and implement digital transformation agenda for the firms.
