Completing 20 successful years of business Manasi Saha of Macaws Infotech feels her company has also transformed her as an individual. A start-up at the age of 26, Manasi flips the pages of the history in an exclusive chat with B Swaminathan, founder of Macaws Infotech Manasi shares her entrepreneur journey.
From where it had started and what made you name Macaws infotech
I had started my career in 1998, in a leading Bengaluru based Antivirus Company, having 26 branches across India which couldn’t survive because of a few reasons. Later I joined another company which got merged with a global leader. This was my learning period. It was my Father-in-law who suggested me on starting own organization, after closely observing my visionary and leadership skills. His encouragement still resonates within- “if you are doing a job you are earning for yourself and for your family. But if you come up with an organization you can help to feed other families and society at large”.
Speaking on the name, Macaws is a large colorful high seeing South American parrot, which is always in a group and is always a plural word. They [birds] are playful and active, and they have an exuberant personality to go along with their sizes, sociable and are extraordinarily noisy. My husband being into ornithology (Bird Watcher), found all those qualities in me. And not to forget, my name starts with ‘M’.
You had completed two decades in the industry. What are the ways your organization had changed?
It does not matter. I believe in ‘present’. Thus, I prefer giving my best ‘Today’ as I play ball-by-ball. I am taking a steady, calculative risk, and not being greedy about my top line and concentrate on the bottom line. Just facing every day as a new journey.
You are from the Eastern part of India. We all want to know how East as a market? What are the positive and not-so-positive with that market?
Yes. I am from the ‘City of Joy’. Having spent my childhood in Orissa and Assam, you can consider me as a person from the Eastern part of India. My goal is not to be better than anyone else, but to better the past version of myself. I find happiness in my employees and customers. There is no better happiness knowing my customers are away from any cyber attacks. I also do not find any negativity for being from this part of our nation. I have done a successful business over the last two decades in the Eastern region and it is a good market to work with. I believe that I am a positive person and will remain to be a one.
In your experience, how are the top management in enterprises seeing IT? Has the awareness and need for IT as a whole have increased from the day you had started your organization?
In IT infrastructure security the individual does everything (manage backups, databases, the network, new technology purchases, support contracts and more) as a part of his/her overall job responsibilities. He or she spends at most 20 hours a week on these tasks, is more likely to spend 20 hours or less per month performing them and the organization may even outsource this task to a third party contractor.
The awareness and need for IT have increased gradually from the day we have started, moreover the IT Security field was transformed with the evolution in technology, as more and more companies are emerging and the requirement and needs went parallel. I fell we are expecting a big transformation in the field of IT security when machine learning, AI , BI, IOT , Blockchain, RPA are already taking place
Your focus is security. What challenges, as a partner from the East face while selling security solutions?
We have witnessed the transformation and changing of technologies over the years. It keeps on happening and it is like getting updated and fulfillment of requirements of the customers. As new challenges come, we need to cope up with all sorts of problems to stay updated.
What are the key industries you are handling and what are the new industry verticals you are planning to enter?
We have strong presence in Media, Corporate, manufacturing units, BFSI/NBFC sectors. In coming years we will be looking for geographical expansions and creating a customer base in education as an industry vertical.
What is the key USP you have in Macaws which helped you build a strong customer base?
The key USP of Macaws is customer retention, which helped us to build a strong customer base over the last two decades. We had provided hassle-free support, and due to our good relationships with customers, we achieved a longtime retention percentage of 99%. We work as a team, and we work on a flat architecture, where everybody shares their responsibilities, duties equally.
Please explain your expansion plans and how you are planning to take your organization to the next level.
I believe ‘sky is the limit’. Predominantly Macaws is into IT Network Security and now we are focusing into something smarter and productive like Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Internet Of Things (IOT), blockchain and more. We also want geographical expansion , which will certainly take our organization to the next level.
Wishes and Testimonials:
Vishal Bindra, ACPL:
Mansi is Iron Lady of Cybersecurity space. I have known her for a very long time and she has built a great organization where people feel belonging. She is brave, talented and committed lady. I wish her all the best
Nandhini Sharma, Comnet Resources:
For me, she is a woman of substance who does not need any validation. She is always herself and doesn’t care log kya kahenge (what if someone tells anything). A born leader like, with all challenges and hurdles in her life she never plays a victim but stands and deal with it. Being an extraordinary multi-tasker, I had seen her in her workplace positive and energetic. Also, she has special attention to each and every employee from the bottom of her heart. She is an inspiration for me. .I truly admire her and wish her all the best for her journey to the next milestone.
L Ashok, Futurenet
My good friend Manasi’s Macaws infotech completes 20 years of business. I congratulate Manasi and her team many successful years to come. Manasi is a fighting entrepreneur managing family and multiple challenges within and outside the business. She had done extremely well as an individual and as a business women. Being women, managing family, and business parallelly in not a cake-walk. Macaws has long-standing satisfied customers and employees which are the basic ethos of the organization and are the building blocks of the organization.
Jiten Mehta, Magnamious
I always feel the pride I know someone who has completed 20 years in the entrepreneurship. Being a woman, it is great she has managed to both personal and professional life. I wish her and her team a great year ahead.