We aim to double our revenue in the next three years: Dinesh Venugopal, CEO, Infogain

As generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) and digital transformation reshape the enterprise tech sector, Infogain, a digital platform and software engineering services firm based in Silicon Valley, is realigning its operations to stay competitive. The company is focusing on Gen AI and has restructured into four main areas: data and AI, experience design, experience platforms, and digital engineering. 

In an exclusive interview with TechCircle, Dinesh Venugopal, CEO, Infogain, delve into the impact of recent acquisitions and their role in enhancing Infogain's capabilities. Additionally, he discussed the company's talent strategy, hiring plans, and long-term goals aimed at doubling revenue in the next three years. Edited Excerpts:  
 
How is Infogain leveraging technologies like AI, Gen AI, and others, to deliver innovative solutions to your clients?  

Let me summarize the changes we've implemented at Infogain. We've reorganized our approach to the market by structuring our efforts into four studios. The first studio focuses on data and AI, where we address enterprise data needs and leverage AI to accelerate solutions. The second studio is dedicated to experience design, helping organizations create optimal end-to-end customer experiences. The third studio, experience platforms, supports these designs with platforms like Salesforce and Adobe. Lastly, we have our digital engineering studio, which remains our core competency. We've made strategic acquisitions to strengthen each studio with reputable companies in their respective fields, driving our overall restructuring at Infogain. 
Now, addressing AI and Gen AI, we have previously acquired Absolute Data, a company that has been working with AI for years, particularly in areas like market mix modeling and retail analytics. AI is not new to us, and we have a strong team with deep AI expertise. However, the adoption of Gen AI has surged in the last 12 to 18 months, and we are actively incorporating it across our offerings. Our approach is twofold: AI-first, ensuring AI is integral to every solution we build, and AI-everywhere, embedding AI in all aspects of our work. 

Internally, we've seen significant productivity improvements through Gen AI, particularly using tools like Copilot, which have boosted development productivity by up to 30%. Additionally, we're developing new offerings like large language models (LLMs) and prompt engineering to assist companies with knowledge management, innovations that didn't exist just 18 months ago. 
 
How is Infogain contributing to the digital transformation of industries, particularly those undergoing significant change? 

Our goal extends beyond digital transformation; we aim to significantly improve our clients' customer experience. We focus on all aspects of revenue generation, including e-commerce and intelligent commerce, helping clients acquire, retain, and build new customer relationships. Even technology companies that don't need help with digital transformation find value in our efforts to enhance their customer experience. Our work supports clients in their pursuit of digital dominance by optimizing revenue systems and customer acquisition strategies. 
We contribute to enterprises by providing intelligent commerce solutions that ensure customers continue to purchase. Our customer base includes large, well-known Fortune 500 companies, as well as both legacy and digital-native companies. We assist a wide range of businesses in transforming their customer experience and journey. 
 
What global tech trends are you seeing in the IT sector that you believe will shape the future? And How is Infogain positioning itself to leverage these trends for continued innovation and growth? 

First, it's crucial for our clients to distinguish themselves in the marketplace. They understand that investing in customer experience and digital transformation will remain a priority. A key trend is improving customer experience, and the most effective way to do this is by leveraging data. Companies have vast amounts of structured and unstructured data, and utilizing this data effectively can significantly enhance customer experience. 

The second trend we see is in the area of data and AI, which is rapidly gaining market traction. The third trend is the focus on productivity improvements, especially in the current economic climate where doing more with less is essential. We see significant adoption of generative AI for enhancing productivity, particularly in developer and operational productivity, and in accelerating time-to-market for products.

Finally, customers want to launch digital products faster. We support this through our "idea to launch" solution, which helps clients brainstorm, develop, and bring ideas to market quickly, from concept to a minimum viable product (MVP). These are the four key trends we are focusing on and our strategy to capitalize on them.

You have done some strategic acquisitions recently. Can you elaborate on how these acquisitions have accelerated Infogain's growth?

Let me share the most recent example: the company we acquired in Kochi is called Impactive. They are a Salesforce summit partner and have developed a Salesforce capability ecosystem in India. Few companies have achieved this scale in India from an ecosystem perspective. 

Impactive mainly serves customers in North America but has successfully leveraged its expertise to build an ecosystem in India. This acquisition enhances our ability to offer their capabilities and solutions to chief marketing and revenue officers, showing them how we can help transform their customer experience and journey. 

These customers have already invested in Salesforce and are looking to maximize its ecosystem to drive change. For instance, one company specializing in dental implants is using Impactive to build its website and implement intelligent commerce on Salesforce. 

Each of these companies is not only developing their products but also refining their go-to-market strategies. This approach has enabled us to expand our offerings. 
 
With rapid growth and acquisitions, how are you focusing on expanding and retaining talent within Infogain? 

The services and solutions we offer require top talent. To achieve this, we've adopted a three-pronged approach. First, we have a global strategy. Our talent is spread across different regions. For instance, we have a talent pool in Uruguay, which is beneficial for those who prefer working in the same time zone. We've also established a growing presence in Poland, particularly in Krakow, where we are marking our fifth anniversary with a celebration. This has helped us tap into the local talent market. 

In addition to our global approach, we have a strong presence in India and the U.S., with centers in Bangalore, Noida, Pune, Kochi, Seattle, Dallas, and Los Gatos, California, where our headquarters are located. 

It's not enough to just have talent; we also invest in training and practical experience. For example, in the Impactive team, fresh hires receive training not just from the training department but from business leaders who ensure they are prepared for customer work. This includes a combination of training, live examples, leadership programs, and customer interactions. 

Each business leader mentors new employees, helping them advance. Talent development is challenging and requires daily effort. During a recent town hall meeting, the most frequently asked questions were about learning and development programs. It's clear we need to continually improve. While what we've done so far is good, there's room for us to become a great company by enhancing our learning and talent-building efforts. This will ultimately set us apart. 
 
What are Infogain's hiring plans for the next year, especially in high-demand areas like Cloud and Data Analytics? 

Most of our Gen AI talent isn't readily available for hire. We want to provide internal opportunities for training and live project experience. We're adopting a mentor-based model to support this initiative. 

We're actively working on Gen AI projects, including a mainframe offload program. This program involves using Gen AI to read mainframe code and automatically convert it to Java through a combination of processes and technology. This requires hiring talent across different areas. 

Our hiring plan for the next two quarters is strong. We'll be recruiting from all four centers in India, with additional hiring in Poland, Uruguay, and the US. We're focusing on diversifying talent across all centers, particularly in the Gen AI field. 
 
Could you provide some insights into Infogain’s expansion module and how you plan to sustain growth in the coming years? 

Our growth is driven by four key studios. We expect our Data and AI studio to grow faster than the market. We also believe our digital engineering capabilities are top tier, positioning that studio for success. Our experience in design has been well received by customers, and with the Salesforce acquisition, we anticipate significant growth in our digital experience platform. 
These four studios are our primary growth engines. We have physical locations, like the experience design studio in Bangalore and Whitefield, where clients can visit to see our work firsthand. Similar studios in Seattle and Los Gatos also showcase our ongoing projects, which are crucial to our growth strategy. 

Our goal is to grow at double the market rate. While we are currently growing faster than the market, we have yet to reach that goal. 
 
Looking ahead, what are your long-term goals for Infogain, and how do you plan to achieve them? 

Our goal is to double our revenue in the next three years. To achieve this, we need to identify growth drivers. 

The first growth driver is our four studios. We are continually finding new solutions in data and AI every six months, integrating them into our digital experience platform. Our focus is on AI for content generation and moderation because it offers a fast path to success for Chief Marketing Officers and Chief Information Officers. We believe AI will set us apart and drive our growth. 

We are well positioned in the market. We are neither too large nor too small, allowing us to offer comprehensive digital transformation solutions from design to implementation. This end-to-end capability is rare for a company of our size and is appreciated by our customers. 

Our emphasis on AI will significantly impact how we do business and contribute to our growth.