Satinder Juneja on data and measurement and search and discovery

Okay, be absolutely assured that the order of appearance on this show has nothing to do with it. The last will be first and the first will be last, as they say. So, Tinda, get us going with one thing, because, I mean, you're a tech veteran, right? Currently heading up global marketing for Beelisoft. The prejudice is that tech businesses, digital businesses, are very easy to expand. So, if you're Amit and you want to sell soap in Atlanta, that's a bit of a headache, right? Talk to us about how you think about expansion. Is it even geographical? So, in our business, Jasper, brand expansion, I would pivot it on three pillars, actually, right? And before I go there, ours is probably one of the rare businesses where the raw material decides

which brand to go for. So, it's that brilliant technical engineer who decides that he or she is working for Beelisoft or for some other brand. They're the raw material. So, they're the raw material because that's what, I mean, whatever we give to our clients is based on that expertise. So, there has to be a brand expansion on that side. That's pillar number one. Pillar number two, we are an IT services company. We play with technology. So, the brand expansion also has to happen with our, and you don't provide technology standalone. It's an ecosystem. So, how do you do the brand expansion in the ecosystem? Third, which is the most obvious, is the brand expansion within the client set. Now, here, you know, you could expand the brand geographically.

You could expand the brand in a different vertical or within a particular client go for the classical greater wallet share. So, for brand expansion in the technology domain where I come from, it's somewhat different than what your previous trailblazers have touched. We're getting the hang of this. You've got three pillars, right? And I like what you say about the raw material being the engineer because you ain't going nowhere unless you've got these guys on side. But Satinder, of those three, which is the hardest when it comes to expansion in your experience? Satinder, of those three, which is the hardest one. That, I think, is the bedrock for your differentiation.

You don't have that brand share, that mind share, you would lose out eventually in front of the client, which is, again, the litmus test for your brand share and brand expansion. Yeah, these are the soldiers in Alexander's army, right? You don't have them, doesn't matter what you're called. Exactly. Alexander didn't conquer the world before 30, as you said, alone. He had an army, right? A foot soldier, cavalry, and a whole bunch of stuff, right? So, very vital for you to do your expansion. I'm just going to stay on the talent, right? Because we're all on the same boat. We don't have good people. We ain't expanding nowhere. But why, and you've been in a few tech firms, right?

Why does a young, bright, dynamic, expansion-minded engineer join you and not Mr. Narayan Murthy or anyone else? Yeah, so I think there are a couple of stuff. And the good part is this changing. Post-COVID, we are changing. We are seeing a different change in the thought process, the mindset, what a young, technically brilliant mind wants before, you know, what it wanted for 10 years. I think it's the relevance and excitement. Those are the two things, right? Which motivate, which move these youngsters to pick up what they want. Well, they've sort of become rock stars, right? I mean, when I was at school, they were all, we had certain names for them, which I won't repeat. But now these guys are- Rock stars. The new rock stars, right?

Yeah, absolutely. So you're there as much to kind of engage and entertain them as anybody else? Very, very important. I'm going to kick this. Vishal, I keep picking on you here. But do you find that with your cohorts? You have a lot of young, bright people and you're in a war for talent. Why are they joining Madison? Well, I think advertising definitely attracts them. It's fun. It's a bit of a- But why Madison, not McCann? Why not Madison, not McCann? For example? I wouldn't differentiate a McCann, Madison. It's advertising, end of the day. Advertising attracts youngsters. We go to a lot of college campuses and the college kids want to really get into advertising. I mean, that's a good interesting thing, but that's the millennial outlook.

Okay, so I mean, we'd all agree that the, you know, talents, you know, different ways. So, going back to this and staying on these engineers, they're- Do you- I am interested in them as the idea of Alexander's soldiers, right? And is there something- Because they run their careers now, don't they? I mean, not just joining you for life. I mean, if they do, you're in good nick, but- Yeah, so I think that's what I said, that excitement and relevance, right? That builds the career. Now, within the excitement, there are a couple of things. The new technologies that we- that you work on, because if you are able to give the charm and the joy of working on newer technologies, right, that takes care of relevance as well, right?

Because what technology was doing or what kind of technology was prevalent 20 years back, now it's changed a whole lot, right? Also, again, coming back to your Alexander example, it was Alexander who motivated his army to travel halfway across the world, right? So, I think it's the culture that plays a huge, huge differentiated role, right? And those- that is the potent mix. To keep this youngster or to keep this technically brilliant mind continuously engaged, right? So, that's- that's the differentiator. And- and when you look at- I mean, similar questions to Vishal, but when you look at the multiple tech firms you've been with, and take Burlasoft, what is it particularly- what's this magic that they have to- that keeps people? Look-

And are you more fun? Are you more- just these things that viewers will understand? So, I think what keeps them engaged, as I said, is the excitement of the problem. So, at the heart they are the problem. We are all actually the problem solvers. The bigger and the more complicated problem, the greater the joy. The adrenaline rush to crack the cord or to come up with a fantastic application, right, which the client loves, beats nothing. Because that's- that's sort of the expansion, isn't it? It's expansion by solving problems, not by going to Tokyo or this or the other. If you solve one problem beautifully for the client, he comes back to you for the next problem, and the next problem, and the next problem.

And even before you know, you are an important partner to the client. And which is what I think we excel- I think at Burlasoft I've seen that. The client partnerships that we have are lasting many years, 10 years, 15 years. Relationships are common for most of our clients here. And again, I think it's the continuity and consistency coupled with newer technologies to work on. So, we've got the three pillars. We've got the key one being the young engineers, the motivation of them, the solving of problems. I want to talk a bit about the client world. I remember meeting once an SAP guy that said, you know, they pitch against the same old guys, SAP, Oracle, Oracle, SAP.

And in the end, the only reason the client chose you, everything else was equal except he had better cricket tickets. How do you keep these clients, you know, engaged? Because, you know, you're expanding their markets. You're right. So, I think the context frame is very, very important. So, if you know where the client is headed to, because what you're developing for the client is not for today. It is the, it is one sliver of competitive advantage for the client for tomorrow. So, if you can, if you can be in that context for the client, that what I'm doing is going to help him next six months or 12 months, and is a source of competitive advantage. Even if it is faster payroll, I'm just taking something as basic as that.

Two, creating a data lake, which gives insights quicker. All of, both of these are at the equal competitive advantage level. So, if you know that and you can align yourself with that, I think that is where it lies the key for your expansion in that client. That's a brilliant place to end. I mean, we don't have enough time for this as ever, but Satinder, that, if you ever wanted a kind of master class and primer, in how you think about this, how you execute it might be different. Thank you so much for coming on Trailblazers. Thanks for having me here, Jasper. Thank you so much for coming on.