Role Model
The Pioneer of collaboration
Prabhakar Kini, Chairman, Kinfotech, has been instrumental in fine-tuning several industry practices. He shares his career path from working as a security specialist to becoming a software solutions specialist
By Sharmee Roy
“Some years ago we were a caterpillar, today we have transformed into a butterfly,” rejoices Kini, MD and Chairman, Kinfotech, Bengaluru. An enterprising businessman, Kini successfully introduced collaboration within the partner community at a time when the idea was unheard of. Not only was he successful in doing so, he also showed the way for others to follow.
A rousing start
While working as the VP of Merican Funds, a leasing finance company, Kini’s desire for diversification drove him to the computer education business. In 1987, he became a franchisee of Datapro Computer Training Institute. “The thought of running a computer institute made good business sense, and I began by providing finance to open franchisees of the institute. We opened five institutes across Karnataka. But my partners were not able run these institutes, hence the responsibility fell on my shoulders,” recalls Kini.
It was this debut tryst with IT that eventually led him to start his own company. The idea of setting up an outfit for the sale of software solutions seemed lucrative to him, so in 1990 he established Kinfotech. The company began by selling security software.
“When I surveyed the market I found that there was nobody offering security solutions such as anti-virus. I then partnered with local players like Red Alert,” says Kini.
The company’s first major partnership was with Dr Solomon in 1994. Within three years, Kinfotech became the number one partner of Dr Solomon. However, in 1997, the company was caught off-guard. “To my horror, one fine morning I heard that McAfee had bought over Dr Solomon,” recalls Kini. “With this I learnt my first lesson—never depend on one vendor, and diversify as much as possible.”
In 1996, Kinfotech won its first big order—worth Rs 10 lakh—from Canara Bank. The project involved implementation of anti-virus software at the bank’s offices.
Kinfotech’s good track record proved to be a boon, and McAfee appointed the company as its first partner in India. Following this, Kinfotech also partnered with Symantec when the latter entered India. By bagging deals with a few more security vendors, Kinfotech established itself in the market as a security solutions boutique.
In 2001, in spite of its success as a security specialist, the company felt the need to re-model its strategy to expand the business. It decided to venture into storage and backup solutions, and partnered with Veritas. The following year Kinfotech partnered with Autodesk and Adobe.
“Our distributor, Tech Pacific, insisted that we should start cross-selling Adobe and Autodesk products to our customers. We agreed. Then last year we became Adobe’s number one reseller in central India, and number three across the whole country,” says Kini. By 2005, the company doubled its turnover to Rs 12 crore. Kinfotech then diversified into becoming a software solutions player rather than being just a security solutions specialist.
Roadblocks
In 2001, the company saw some of its best talents being poached by its competitor. “It was a major blow. In addition to five of my employees, they also took some of our important customers. The competitor vowed to bring our shutters down. But I fought back to regain most of my customers. Money can’t buy customers, only good service does!” states Kini.
In 2006, when the company was all set to mark its entry into the retail market, it suffered yet another blow. The shop never took off. “We booked a shop in a mall for our IT retail, but even before we could start the mall shut down. We therefore had to drop the idea,” informs Kini.
Not only was the retail business a failure, the company’s plan to set up an all-India support organization together with other partners also went down the drain. “We had to scrap the plan because we did not get any support from the other partners. As a result, we lost close to Rs 6 lakh.”
But these failures could not deter Kini, and he decided to move forward with his business. Today, Kinfotech is a Rs 30 crore company with big names like Microsoft, Symantec, McAfee and Fortinet in its kitty.
Business mix
Of Kinfotech’s total business, 90 percent comes from solutions, 5 percent from corporate reselling, 3 percent from services and 2 percent from retail.
It is the company’s focus on software solutions that has played a key role in its success. “We never went out of the way to grab low-margin, high-value orders from vendors such as Microsoft, Oracle and IBM, nor did we touch any hardware or networking products. We take pride in saying that we have achieved success by being a focused software solutions partner,” says Kini. Another key reason behind its success was the shift in focus from IT export companies to local industries and the government.
Last year the company implemented Ironport Mail Security and Web security applications in GMR Bengaluru and Hyderabad—a project worth Rs 60 lakh. Other major contracts that Kinfotech bagged included an EMC storage project worth Rs 40 lakh in Cibersites India, a Fortinet firewall installation at Macmillan India, and implementation of Symantec backup solutions for Infosys.
“Over the years we have developed several revenue streams, and today our business comprises security solutions, storage and backup solutions, enterprise software solutions and multimedia solutions. Enterprise security constitutes 60 percent of our total revenues followed by enterprise storage 10 percent, infrastructure software 10 percent and other software and services together at 20 percent,” he says. The company currently has more than 1,250 customers spread across various verticals.
Driven by innovation
Being at the helm of innovation, Kini pioneered the idea of collaboration among channel partners.
“The idea of partners collaborating with each other was an unknown concept when we began our operations. We joined hands with other organizations to grow in areas where we did not have any reach. We are proud to call ourselves the pioneer of collaboration,” states Kini. Some the companies Kinfotech partnered include Chabria Infotech, Veeras Infotech and IT Secure.
Kini knew that a company is nothing without its dedicated workforce. So, in addition to awarding its employees a punctuality allowance, Kinfotech allotted shares to five of its top managers. “We made them feel that they also owned the company. This helped to bring in more focus and loyalty within the organization.” Kinfotech presently has 36 employees, including 20 who are vendor-certified.
The company organizes quarterly meeting with its senior management to discuss strategies on products, customers, competitors and vendors. “This helps in better planning and the growth of business,” explains Kini.
Last year the company also implemented a solution to streamline its HR processes. It plans to implement Salesforce this financial year.
Way ahead
Kinfotech’s next ambition is to be a national player in the security solutions market. It is equally upbeat about entering the remote infrastructure management space. Besides this, Kinfotech plans to make its presence felt in tier-2 cities of Karnataka as well as metros like Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai. “We will either set up branches or merge with current players in these markets,” informs Kini.
The company also expects to increase to 10 percent the share of services in its business. “So far services constitute a very small part of our business. Our intention would be to take this to around Rs 4 crore,” Kini discloses.
Expecting to grow at 20 percent this financial year, the company will focus extensively on three verticals—healthcare, education and government. Kinfotech is also looking to set up its proof of concept this year, and is currently in talks with a company in Dubai for investment. “An IPO is also on our radar, but that will materialize only after three years,” adds Kini.
Several hobbies
In addition to leading a successful professional life, Kini also pays great attention to his hobbies. “I have nearly 3,000 Ganesha paintings, icons, key chains, greeting cards and books. I am now setting up a Ganesha museum with these items. I hope this will someday put me in the Limca Book of Records,” he smiles.
Other hobbies include collecting wrist watches, ball-point pens with different heads, antiques, curios and other items from different parts of the world. Kini also likes to collect the first issue as well as the best issues of magazines and newspapers. |