SPARK TECHNOLOGIES AND TESTING: Forward Looking, Higher Thinking

The respect that Delhi-based Spark Technologies and Testing generates as a
network integrator, is due to the foresight of its soft-spoken founder, S
Nautiyal. Always exploring newer business lines, this fiscal he wants to venture
into biometric products, which he feels will be the next big wave to hit the
Indian market.

Aheadstart in any business always helps in building the core competencies of
a company in the long run. This was the advantage that Delhi-based Spark
Technologies and Testing is currently enjoying.

One of the few companies who took on networking at an early stage and today
it boasts of having enough skill-sets to venture into data communications,
biometric devices and storage equipment along with network integration.

S Nautiyal started this company in 1993 along with his two friends, Rajesh
Budhwar and SP Singh, when they were just out of engineering colleges. "We
wanted to do something on our own and started this venture with just Rs 1 lakh.
We concentrated on small integration projects in the first year of our
operation, building good customer relations," he

reminisces.

Since networking was at a nascent stage in those days, Spark was careful to
do select business with reputed companies. It clocked a revenue of Rs 8 crore in
its first operational year, which gave them an impetus to continue with full
gusto.

SPREADING WINGS

The emerging business opportunities in other parts of the country paved way
for Spark to expand its geographical base. It opened offices in Noida, Jammu,
Srinagar and subsequently broadened its reach to Shimla, Dehradun and Jaipur.
"We have seven branches today and will be opening one branch in Gurgaon and
the other in Bhopal shortly. This will ensure our presence in the entire
northern and central regions of India," Nautiyal explains.

The company clocked revenue of Rs 22 crore, last fiscal, of which 50% came
from networking and services. The rest came from selling high-end hardware
sales. This fiscal, Spark is targeting Rs 30 crore mark and Nautiyal is banking
on large projects from the government sector to achieved this feat.

"We have invested on training and certifying our employees and today we
are well positioned to reap the fruits of our hard work," he states.
Nautiyal expects the the next two years as a high growth period for the
networking industry and wants tox cash on it.

"I won't be surprised if we cross the Rs 30 crore barrier this fiscal,
which would prove that we are one of the few network integrators who believe in
quality and after-sales support to the customers as primary focus," he
remarks.

HIGH-END PRODUCTS ARE THE MAINSTAY

When Spark started operations, it had to make a choice between selling
entry-level products or making its mark in the niche segment by selling high-end
products. Nautiyal chose the second option as he saw very few players in that
field. He knew that if the company equipped itself well technically, then
high-end products would yield much better margins than entry-level ones. Till
date, high-end products remain the primary focus of the company.

"We sell high-end Samsung TFTs and last fiscal we added HCL business
desktops and servers, which are also high-end products. We are also into the
power segment and have MRO-Tek in our portfolio, but we consciously make this
attempt to sell products which are niche and not sold by everyone in the
market," Nautiyal points out.

The company is also open to adding more vendors to its kitty, as this would
ensure that its customers would have a whole range of product portfolio to chose
from. It is also contemplating on venturing into the storage arena, which
Nautiyal accepts is one of the high-growth areas in the IT market today.

RETAINING EMPLOYEES SUCCESSFULLY

Nautiyal believes that the success of a company is reflected by its employee
retention and is proud of the fact that all of Spark's employees have been
remained with it for more than six years. "One of our keys for HR success
it to make every possible attempt for employees to contribute fruitfully to the
company's growth. We retain those who have been performing to their
potential," Nautiyal reflects.

Spark today has 35 employees across the country, of which 20 are based out of
Delhi. "Majority of our non-Delhi employees are sales and technical guys as
we feel that after-sales is the key in these places. Most of our projects are
for the defense sector and we make sure that the technical guys are well
equipped to handle any situation that can come up on the site," Nautiyal
says.

Spark has 35% employees dedicated to sales, 35% for services and remaining
are managerial and office assistants. Nautiyal feels that this ratio has really
worked for the company and he intends to expand in the same manner in the
future.

BIOMETRIC IS THE FUTURE

Spark Technologies feels that wireless is going to be the next 'in thing'
and Nautiyal is exploring areas to address for ensuring his company's positive
growth track in the future. "I want to invest in something which is going
to be growth-oriented in the long run. These is why I have zeroed on wireless
and biometric products. No business is possible without IT and we at Spark feel
that the next possible growth area will be bio-technology," Nautiyal
remarks.

His associate Rajesh also feels the same way. "We are waiting for the
right time when we can get ourselves associated with biometrics, but I can
ensure you that in this fiscal we will be doing something or the other in this
direction," quips Rajesh.

Spark Technologies is also on track to clinch a major system integration deal
with the Indian Army. But Nautiyal is not ready to disclose the details as the
deal is on its final stages. "This deal is going to ensure that we cross
the Rs 30 crore mark in this fiscal," Nautiyal says.

Presently, the company is doing projects for Indian Military Academy in
Dehradun, Army 16 Core in Jammu, 15 Core Army in Shimla and the company wants to
ensure that it retains these projects in future by offering better after-sales
support to all these customers. Other big earners of the company are para
military forces, call centers and education institutes like IIT Delhi and Jammu
University, for whom the company did an integration project worth Rs 1 crore
last fiscal.

ATANU KUMAR DAS

SECRETS OF SUCCESS

PROFILE

START-UP YEAR: 1993

ADDRESS: 308, Eros Apartments, 56, Nehru Place, New Delhi-110019

TEL: 011-51606560, 26210024

BUSINESS AREAS: Services, networking, systems integration