There are dreams, ambitions and then there is destiny. What we want to achieve might not be our destiny and what destiny holds, no one can be sure. But when the two unite, a spectacle happens. When Amit Singla took the road to education, everyone around him including parents and relatives dreamt of him following in his father’s footsteps, an IITian and a role model for the clan. But two years into the college, Amit realized that life has different plans and that education is not really his cup of tea. It took courage, lots of convincing and blind trust on inner instincts for him to drop out of college and find his true calling.
The Formative Years
Amit started looking out for opportunities once he was sure about quitting college. He saw an advertisement about a Dutch Computer company namely Tulip Computers looking for dealers in Chandigarh and took it up. He then started working slowly and gradually still looking for his passion. As the retail market was getting tougher he got into the enterprise segment and made his mark but with limited success. Finally, he found his calling in the booming education sector which saw mushrooming of many Engineering and PROFESSIONAL Colleges across the length & breadth of the country. His company Next Generation Computers (NEXTGEN) founded in 1995, has evolved into one of the foremost providers of IT Infrastructure, offering a wide portfolio of solutions and services to clients in Education, Government as well as the Corporate Sectors.
About the Company
NEXTGEN has been working in the education sector since past 12-13 years and supplying everything from a SMARTCLASSES to a Computer Labs based on Zero clients to a Robotics lab to a Language lab. It has moved from being IT Company to an EDUTECH company and has its footprints in more than 1000 institutions across India.
Its portfolio of products and service includes:
- Complete Range of ICT solutions including – Interactive Flat Panels, Integrated Smart-class Solutions, Smart Boards, Projectors, Digital Podiums, Information Kiosks, Visualizer etc.
- Virtual Classrooms & Video Conferencing
- Implementation of Servers & Data Centers
- Provisioning Commercial Desktops, Laptops & Workstations
- Enterprise Networking & Wi-Fi Solutions
- Thin clients & Virtualization
- Cloud based Solutions
- Skill development and training
NEXTGEN has been affirmed as the preferred vendor by its several clients including NComputing, Specktron, Intel, Dell, Lenovo, HP, CISCO and Emerson. It has formed partnerships with the Government of India and working as a partner for its skill development programmes. It is also working with some of the biggest educational and corporate enterprises of North India.
Relishing Challenges
Amit considers entrepreneurship as his passion. But what’s an entrepreneur’s life without challenges. He says, “It’s been the challenges that always motivated to give my best. Sometimes I’m very low & feel why I’ve to face so many hardships in life, and then I think I’m the chosen of God so that I get polished and able to do much bigger things in life.” Finances have always been an issue. The unpredictable nature of cash flow makes it difficult to run a business. Another challenge is the necessity of personal presence in everything big and small which means missing out on personal time.
He finds his strength in his family. His father has been the role model, mentor guide and standing by in all the tough situations of life. His wife has always been adjusting to the dynamic nature of his work. Even his ten-year-old kid understands his pressing schedule when he is not around to play and support. He says, “It’s the sacrifice of the family which has seen me reach such heights. Also, persistence, hard work, positive outlook, and passion made me succeed in my endeavors”
Industry Dynamics
Amit acknowledges that business today has become tough due to Cloud/ E-Commerce and fierce competition plaguing the industry. With the advent of disruptive technologies, new means need to be harnessed. The hardware racks are moving to international locations, public companies are heavily subsidizing costs of hosting and other similar challenges need immediate attention. But he strives on challenges and has always come out of the tough situation as a winner and stronger than ever before.
Walking the Talk
As a seasoned entrepreneur now, he points out the irony of being a college drop-out who now works with more than 500 educational institutions and is an IIM-A Alumni, after getting an EEP Certificate from IIM-A. His life is a lesson for budding entrepreneurs. He advises them to believe in themselves, be driven by the passion to succeed and be ready to embrace failures.
The Road Ahead
Looking ahead, Amit admits that business climate is unpredictable and enterprises need to constantly reinvent themselves to keep afloat. Next Gen strives to enhance the users’ everyday experiences with innovative and insightful technology. Its incredible team of system engineers and marketing experts are working tirelessly to bring Next Gen to the forefront of the IT Services world. Looking forward to a future of new challenges and solutions he quotes the famous proverb, “Do not fear failure. Fear that you’ll be the same person this year as the one last year”.
