ASIRT hosted a high octane Techday on the 13th March 2019, marking its 7th anniversary week. Amidst insightful business presentations from sponsors like Redington, Cadyce and Ant My ERP, the evening also witnessed an exhilarating presentation by Evolve Speaker Subhash Talekar, President, Mumbai Dabbawala Association. Apart from sharing insights into the globally recognized operational expertise, Talekar enthralled the audience with a brief history of Mumbai and how the Dabbawalas evolved with the metropolis, narrating anecdotes in his unique sense of humor and exciting tone!
The evening opened with the customary National Anthem, followed by an address by Founding Chairman, Chetan Shah, who congratulated the Members and the current Board on the successful completion of 7 years of ASIRT.
Arvind Singh, immediate past President, reminisced about the journey and how they got together to starting ASIRT, which brought back memories for everyone! This was followed by a brief address by current Board Members, Chairman Jiten Mehta, President Pankaj Shah and Secretary Sujit Uchil, who congratulated the Members and also gave a brief insight into the plans and initiatives taken by the Board.
Post this short but nostalgic session, the event progressed to the first and the most exciting session by Evolve speaker and chief guest, Subhash Talekar of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association. His unique approach, opinions, and observations about the current socio-political environment and the insightful narrative of the history about the Dabbawalas, enthralled the audience and set the tone the evening.
Through his engaging and effervescent delivery, Talekar, spoke about how the 3rd generation business has grown into an army of 5,000+ Dabbawalas fulfilling the hunger of almost 200,000 Mumbaikars daily with home-cooked food across the city. Introducing the basic guiding principles of the efficient operations that gave the Dabbawalas their international fame, Talekar highlighted several path breaking innovations adopted by their association to achieve efficiency, through best practices in time management, supply chain, teamwork, and discipline. This has rightfully earned them several national and international certificates and recognition, including Six Sigma and ISO certifications; all of this without using the slightest bit of modern technology!
Apart from delivering home-made meals, Dabbawalas are also active supporters of several social and community development causes, from the government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to gathering relief for survivors of natural calamities and for the Armed Forces. The network also operates two very successful social ventures, the Roti Bank –that collects leftover food from various parts of the city and feeds it to the hungry and homeless, and the Kapda Bank – that collects old clothes and distributes it among the needy.
Speaking on the ASIRT Platform on how they have stayed in the game with changing times, Talekar said, “We understand that change is imperative and we believe in adapting to this change and evolve with it. Back in the 1890s when we started, the dabbas were delivered on foot and within the confines of Greater Mumbai and South Mumbai suburbs. Then came the horse carts, followed by the hand carts and now we cover the ever-expanding city of Mumbai on our humble bicycles and the local trains. We have tried to adopt this set up in other cities but none of them have a strong public transport infrastructure like Mumbai! As long as there is a wife, a mother and a sister who sends their love in a dabba, we will deliver it for them in the best possible manner”
Further, sharing his thoughts on ASIRT and its 7th anniversary, Talekar added, “I would like to congratulate ASIRT for completing 7 years and I am honored to be present here. From personal experience, I am well aware of the efforts, dedication, and commitment that goes into building a platform, ground up, such that it can power growth and identify and resolve issues faced by the community. From my experience here at ASIRT, I can say that this association is built on similar values of our Dabbawala’s – with a vision, good-will and strong sense to serve, evolving each year with a commitment to do better. I congratulate each Founding Member and every Member of ASIRT on their anniversary and wish them luck and prosperity in the coming years!”
The evening progressed to the second presentation of the day by Mr. Arvind Didwania, Founder and Director, Ant My ERP. Speaking about the need for an integrated software for managing the complete technology platform of business, Mr. Didwania presented his innovative offerings to the Members. Capturing, processing and consolidating vital information from across various verticals of a business through a single, integrated platform can help to not just reduce errors but to also increase productivity and thus, drive profits.
Speaking about the SaaS and product offerings, at the ASIRT platform, Didwania said, “We at Ant My ERP, focus on providing integrated SaaS solutions for CTO’s, helping them manage all the Business functions with just one software. Currently, equipment manufacturing companies for medical, fire fighting, security and computer equipment, etc., have been our major clientele. Additionally, through the strong network of channel partners, we are also expanding our network to reach out to both large and mid-level corporate houses. ASIRT, with its strong set of SI’s, offers us an excellent platform to reach out to the channel. Further, apart from Channel Partners, we also found potential clients here and, as always, our experience with ASIRT has been great and filled with promising expansion”
Next presentation for the evening was by Prabhu Jagannathan, Deputy General Manager – Cloud Sales of Redington (India) Ltd. , who embarked on an insightful and interactive session on the need for cloud-based solutions in the age of super connectivity.
Further highlighting the potential for cloud, he elaborated the public cloud services market in India has seen phenomenal growth, and is set expected to be worth $4.1 Billion by 2020 from $1.8 Billion in 2017. He spoke at length about Redington’s commitment to be a major player in this growth and assist forward-looking organizations to re-invent their strategies so as to build a scalable yet flexible cloud environment.
Among the various services offered by Redington, Prabhu also spoke about how cloud solutions can help optimize IT infrastructure, highlighting his core service areas, namely Cloud Consulting, Cloud Migration, Cloud Security, Managed services, Cloud development and integration.
Speaking about the choice to present their Cloud services at the ASIRT platform, Sanjay Saha, Head, National Sales for Redington (India) Ltd. said, “Cloud is an exponentially growing technology with great potential, especially in the SMB space. We have had a wonderful experience with ASIRT in the past, with its dynamic set of enterprising and visionary entrepreneurs. Our service offerings, particularly in the Cloud technology domain, are targeted towards the enterprise segment and require a set of SI’s that are inclined to provide integrated technology solutions instead of just products. And we found these perfect partners for our ambitious growth, among ASIRT Members! We are excited to work and grow with ASIRT and its Members and look forward to a long engagement in the coming years!”
Further, closing the presentation, Prabhu announced a special introductory offer where all ASIRT Members can avail a free cloud subscription for 1 year, which they can use or pass it on to any of their clients, as a trial opportunity. This was received enthusiastically by the Members.
Next on the agenda was a session on smart accessories and IT peripherals by Gautam Shah, CEO, Cadyce. Through the session, Shah presented a wide range of products for connectivity solutions, ranging from premium quality USB3.0 and Type-C Cables and Adaptors for Apple devices, Chargers, portable IT device accessories, Networking products, and Presentation devices. Further, Cadyce also declared a special rate for ASIRT Members willing to buy and sell the new age, efficient and reliable products and solutions.
Speaking about his participation in ASIRT, Shah elaborated, “Participating in ASIRT has been a wonderful great experience as it offered us a platform to connect directly with a vast set of experienced System Integrators. They are vital Channel Partners for us to reach out to the corporates and mid-sized companies, and thus will be instrumental in helping us expand our enterprise business. We are also exploring such partnerships with other associations in various cities and the channel strategy we are looking for to drive our strategic growth plan, aligns perfectly with set of business partners that we have found at ASIRT.”
Finally, post the sessions, the final celebrations for the anniversary began. All the past and present Board Members, along with the Founding Members, gathered around a lovely cake and celebrated the fruits of their hard work! Needless to say, the event ended on a fruitful note.