SPI aims to touch $100-million revenue this year

Mysuru-based firm to become first IT firm in Karnataka outside Bengaluru to reach this milestone

Mysuru-based Software Paradigms International (SPI) is set to cross the $100 million (about Rs 622 crore) mark this year, becoming the first information technology firm in Karnataka, outside Bengaluru, to reach this milestone.

Sid Mookerji, chief executive officer, Software Paradigms International (SPI), is not a native of the city — he was not even born here. He came here in 1976, when he was 10 years old, and his father, late Kamal Krishna Mookerji, was posted at the Central Food Technological Research Institute as a senior scientist.

“I studied here from Class V (at the CFTRI school),” he said, recalling his growing-up days. He was also a student at the Mahajana College before joining the engineering course at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.

Sid, now 48, said: “I have always wanted to give back to my city. The best way to do that was provide employment. That’s the reason I started my business here.”

After stints with a couple of information technology (IT) firms, such as TCS and Syntel, Sid started his own venture in 1994.

Now, SPI, an IT services and solutions provider that caters exclusively to the retail industry, has over 1,000 of its 1,500-strong team based out of Mysuru.

In 1997, when Sid started setting up a delivery centre in Mysuru (then Mysore), there were a couple of software companies in the city, but none were into software exports. IT major Infosys came to Mysuru only after 2,000. The Internet speed available in the city during those days was around 64 kbps and that too only through dial-up connections.

“But things improved fast,” said Mookerji, “as we got enough attention and support from the government. We are getting this even today.”

“A big challenge that the IT industry faces is to find good talent and to retain them. The main benefit for us in this city has been getting access to good and quality resources and we have built an organisation based on that. We could not have done that in Bangalore.”

In 2006, SPI set up its own campus, spread over 15 acres, with around 200,000 square feet built-up area. Apart from Mysuru, the company also has a centre in Kathmandu where it employs around 100 people. It also has around 350 employees in the US and a smaller presence in Singapore, Sydney, London and Brazil.

The company currently caters to over 200 clients, including well-known names in the retail space such as Macy’s, Walmart, Carrefour, Napa, Saks and Ahold. Apart from services, SPI also sells these retailers software solutions which it has created over a period of time, both organically and inorganically.

Since 2006, the company has done eight acquisitions, including two last year. In the current calendar, Mookerji said, SPI is looking at finalising two more acquisitions in the mobility and product space, which may help it expand its presence outside Mysuru and strengthen its position in Europe.

So far, SPI does not have any external investors and has zero debt in its balance sheet. During the past four years, the company has seen four times the growth primarily, on the back of the strong demand from e-commerce players. The company’s revenue in 2014 is estimated to be in the range of $80 million.

“There is a lot of growth in the retail space. The whole industry is being disrupted by mobile phones. The first 10 years, it was only a brick-and-mortar model. Now, everybody is kind of scrambling to figure out how they can participate in the whole e-commerce space and invest in technologies,” said Mookerji.

“As we are a specialist player, the kinds of conversation we are having with the customers are very strategic as compared to tactical one.”