What is the difference between a product and a project?
The biggest difference is in approach and execution. In a project, the focus is inward, finding solutions and systems, building, what to work on, etc. But in a product, the focus is entirely on the customer; what to deliver and why?
Similarly, in a project, the execution is done by following a plan, where the mantra is ‘on time, on budget, on scope.’ But in a product, the execution is done to deliver value to the consumer. The sweet spot is feasible, valuable, and desirable at the cross-section.
At Codelattice Digital Solutions Pvt Ltd, the Co-founder, Vijith Sivadasan, and his team work on products and not on projects, looping-in digital immortality to your businesses.
In an interview with Insights Success, for its latest edition of ‘Business Achievers Making a Difference – 2022’, Mr Sivadasan talks about this client-centric approach and its product-oriented execution-style. This method concentrates on building value, continuous evolution, and incremental loops of plan-do-check-act.
Following are the highlights of this interview:
Give us a brief overview of your professional journey at Codelattice.
I found a passion for technology in my school days when I would lose track of time coding. So, in my early twenties, I set out to build a technology company with two of my friends to see what astounding feats we could accomplish with technology. That’s how Codelattice came into being. This was in 2009, and I was working full-time with Infosys.
We started as an IT service company, and the culture of learning and excellence has always been central to Codelattice. However, a couple of years ago, we pivoted our trajectory to focus on homegrown intellectual properties and products that make routine business processes more organized.
I have been leading the company from the USA while working full-time with giant multinational corporations such as Infosys, AON, Northwestern Mutual, and GE Healthcare.
We started Codelattice from one office in Calicut and currently operate in eight countries, including the US, Canada, Singapore, and the Netherlands. In addition, we have off-shore development centres in India and the Republic of Macedonia.
Recently, one of our old allies Orange Interactive – a twenty-year-old technology company in UAE, has merged with our global brand umbrella and rebranded itself as Codelattice Dubai.
In 2018, I left my corporate job to pursue my entrepreneurial ambitions. It has been an adventurous, fun-filled journey so far, and we are just getting started. We are all set to step up with a newer, better version of Codelattice with our products.
Tell us more about Codelattice, its vision, and the critical aspects of its stronghold on the industry you are catering.
We are a technology company that believes in constant metamorphosis through intentional learning. Ever since the inception of Codelattice, we have always worked on the most advanced technology stack. The intent is to keep questioning the existing way of doing things and find better ways to solve problems with technology. I always make better quality, better-coded software available to customers at a lower price. Creativity and a customer-centric approach is one aspect of the business. We want to be an employee-first company, ensuring the growth and well-being of our team. The goal is to leave a positive impact – on our customers and our employees. Technology expertise has been our stronghold. A couple of years ago, we pivoted from a service-oriented company to a product company. We hope to provide products that transform routine business processes and reach businesses all around the globe.
From a business leadership perspective, what is your opinion on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on your industry?
COVID has hastened the technological advancement and automation that will change the world as we know it today. I see an inevitable change in the adoption of technical upgrades and an impetus to technology-driven businesses. In this sense, the pandemic has ushered in a technology-driven era. It would help the world get better, one business at a time.
What efforts did you take during the pandemic to sustain operations and ensure the safety of your team at the same time?
Since the inception of Codelattice in 2009, we have been a cloud-born company, with our teams working remotely across the globe. We do have offices; however, it is the choice of our employees whether to go to the office or work from home. So, when the pandemic hit and the world went on ‘work from home’ mode, it did not significantly change our operations.
We built an intranet software called ‘Collate,’ which serves as a digital office and holds all necessary contacts, files, apps, news, updates, etc. Collate was the reason our teams could collaborate so seamlessly. We have made it configurable so that other businesses can also take advantage of this product. It is available at www.collate.live.
What is your opinion on the necessity for companies to align their offerings with technologies like AI and ML?
Whether we are ready for it or not, AI is the future of business, and those that don’t jump on the bandwagon will most likely face failure. AI technologies provide a competitive advantage being rapidly adopted across industries worldwide to innovate business and operating models. Artificial intelligence and machine learning have shown the best results in increasing efficiency by taking over repetitive work that overwhelms employees and takes up most of their time. The best path to building more intelligent organizations is to “blend technology-enabled insights with a sophisticated understanding of human judgment, reasoning, and choice. Business executives must be inquisitive, forward-thinking, and action-oriented to avoid missing out on potential competitive opportunities.
As an established industry leader, what would be your advice to the budding entrepreneurs and enthusiasts aspiring to venture into the industry you are catering?
This is a great time to do business. Entrepreneurship has never been celebrated this way before. But you must choose to be an entrepreneur for the right reasons and be aware of what hardships may come along the way.
Pursue something you love. Things seem to come together when you are doing just that. As a business owner, you have to wear many hats. Never be intimidated by hiring people more intelligent than you and having skill sets you don’t possess.
There is no single template to become a successful entrepreneur. But there are specific necessary attributes, such as passion, vision, and resilience.
If you want people to join your quest and follow you, you need to believe in your vision and where you are going. While the path to get there may change, you need to have a very clear picture in your head as to what you want to build and be able to share it with others.
As with anything worthwhile in life, there will be failures along the way. However, it would help get up and get back in the game.
How do you envision further strengthening Codelattice’s stronghold in 2022 and beyond?
We seem to be on the brink of a technology boom. Codelattice will continue to work on the bleeding edge technology and develop products that may reshape businesses. The responsibility of forwarding thinking rests with the key decision-makers of the companies. We will continue to train aspiring engineers who are interested in upskilling. We are looking to develop competencies and partnerships to convert potential opportunities to actual business benefits. Our products are well-diversified and quite innovative.
What is the role of IT in improving small-scale industries and social organizations?
Technology has a real impact on most industries and all aspects of the economy. Small business owners can leverage limited capital in smarter, more effective ways with the help of technology. With the ability to instantly connect, share information and get feedback, up-to-date information is available for businesses, regardless of a person’s location. Compared with traditional business, new technologies facilitate increased interactivity, flexibility, cheap business transactions, and improve interconnection with business partners and customers.
Technology gives small business owners and their employees the option of global collaboration. I am glad to be serving in a sector that is constantly upgrading and helping our civilization massively.
Clients Testimonials
- “Codelattice’s strategic approach and subject matter expertise have helped us tackle a variety of complex technological challenges. They work well as a team and customize their approach to fit their client’s unique needs and culture, rather than trying to enforce a rigid process for their projects. They also value the customer’s relationship with their suppliers, which is reflected in their professional interactions. The bottom line is that they make social media marketing easier and help their clients get better visibility and penetration. Grand Mart has a very professional business relationship with Codelattice Team which benefits both. And I do recommend them.”
~Sreejesh Unni | Manager – Sales & Marketing
– Grand Mart Group, Doha, Qatar
- “Codelattice is surely the best in what they do, and we say this from our personal experience. When we were facing a lot of troubles with our website, we decided to put our trust in Codelattice, and they saved our day! Their development support team came to our rescue and resolved the issues rather deftly. We appreciate the effort that they put in to study all the aspects of an existing project and resolve them while keeping us updated on the progress of the same.”
~Deepesh Mambatta | Founder, Business Head, HireStaar.com
