The Silicon Review ^Asia

The pace of technological development since the last couple of decades has been nothing short of frightening. A company could be a market leader today because it developed a new piece of technology, but can go bankrupt in a year because someone somewhere developed something better. The best example of such rapid change is the iPhone, unveiled by the iconic Steve Jobs, which stimulated the smartphone industry and put many conventional phone makers out of business.

Apart from developing new technology, adapting to it and integrating it into services can also be challenging for companies. Certain providers may go out of business just because they could not include a new technology into their suite of services. However, a company named Unite IT Consulting has taken up the task of helping various corporations adapt to newer technologies and maintain and expand their foothold over their markets.

In conversation with the brains behind Unite IT Consulting, Deepak Vijayaraj

What was the motivation to launch the company?

Unite was formed for the purpose to make a difference to our customers, our people, and the environment. We believe it’s more about improving organization, people, and getting technology to work better for clients. If customers have a challenge dealing with disruptive technologies such as Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Internet of Things Sensors, Big Data or Analytics, we’re committed to help these organizations to face those challenges.

What were the challenges faced in the initial years?

• Unavailability of public LoRaWAN infrastructure to connect IoT devices
• No end-to-end solution for a particular vertical including “Water Management”, and
• No solution for integrating multiple vertical industry data to provide information at holistic level.

How do you handle the needs of a highly volatile market and still manage to stay relevant?

We are always researching and listening to our customers on their needs, and create innovative products and solutions to meet those needs. We keep abreast of latest technology by partnering with and working with Universities and research organizations like CSIRO and Western Sydney University.

Please explain some of your services?

We have a range of products and provide professional services to implement these products.

What do you think is the next big thing in technology?

IoT sensors are going to be the big thing in technology, as they provide a cheap and faster way to keep track of our environment, take meaningful decisions based on this data collected by these sensors and ensure we have a live able and sustainable community.

What is your company’s approach towards innovation?

Innovation is in our DNA. We always look at how we can improve on a solution or a product and deliver value to our customers. We involve in seminars, tech talks and partner with research organizations like CSIRO to deliver high quality and innovative products.

If you had to list five factors for your company’s success, what would they be?

• Customer focus
• Strategic Focus (Leadership, Management, Planning)
• Employees (Personnel, Staff, Learning, Development)
• Operations (Processes, Work)
• Marketing & Sales

 At a time when most of the technology companies invest most of their profits into R&D, what is your approach to keep Unite IT standing?

We believe in a Lean company and what this means is we look at 10x return for every dollar invested in R&D and we invest only when we are sure it will deliver value to our customers. We follow Agile and DevOps methodology to deliver Minimum Viable Products in the shortest time.

How do you maintain your customers’ trust and loyalty?

Our priority has always been on exceeding customer expectation via our customer service. We ensure our teams prioritize our customers’ issues over anything else, and take ownership of issues until it’s resolved. We have well defined SLA’s and our teams meet these SLA’s consistently.

What do you feel are the reasons behind your company’s reputation?

The main reasons are our great products, solutions and services, our unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction and our brand values to be honest, fair and transparent in our dealings.

Do you have any new products ready to be/getting ready to be launched?

We are currently working on IoT sensors addressing the issues with Marine pollution. These sensors are designed to effectively monitor and alert whenever certain chemicals or metallic traces are found polluting the oceans.

What are the clients that you are currently working with?

Unite has been involved in providing consultation on Cloud and DevOps for one of the Big 4 banks in Australia. With regards to the Smart City, we have started with setting up the LoRaWAN infrastructure around Western Sydney. We are also in initial stages of implementing Smart Water Management and Smart Asset management solutions.

About the Founder and CEO, Deepak Vijayaraj

The visionary and founder of the company, Deepak has over 15 years of experience in IT industry. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Information Science and Engineering, he has donned many hats in various roles including Cloud/DevOps Architect, Service Delivery Manager at top Fortune 500 companies including as a Program Manager at Mercedes Benz R&D India, and other senior roles at Cognizant. He has worked with many clients including British Airways, BT, CBA, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Unisys, Walmart to name a few at different locations like Canada, USA, UK and Australia. He is a keen enthusiast in emerging technologies including Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and is representing the Industry in the Technical user group of Australian Smart Communities Association.

“If you have a challenge dealing with disruptive technologies such as Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Internet of Things Sensors, Big Data or Analytics, we’re here to help your organization to face those challenges.”