The Silicon Review ^Asia

Hosting services from the cloud is touted to be the next big thing in internet services. Most of the data stored on premises by corporations is being moved to the cloud in order to facilitate better operations and consolidated management. But when the same benefits of cloud-hosting could be applied to something as tangible as manufacturing, it can really spell the difference between profit and loss. Nextsky Technologies is a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) ERP solutions provider for the manufacturing sector.

With an aim to bring greater flexibility and adaptability to Micro and small scale manufacturers, Nextsky Technologies has structured its offerings to allow ease of implementation and a shield against market fluctuations. The company firmly believes that bolstering small scale manufacturing can go a long way in generating employment and improving the national economy.

In conversation with the founder and CEO of Nextsky, Prathamesh Adep

Q. Can you tell us about your company’s operations and the industry it caters to?

Nextsky is a cloud-based SaaS ERP solutions provider for the manufacturing sector. Nextsky automates the plant floor and informs the top floor. Our manufacturing cloud ERP software is designed from the ground up connecting suppliers, machines, materials, people, systems, and customers. Focusing on the unique requirements of discrete and process manufacturing, the Nextsky Manufacturing Cloud delivers production control, inventory management, supply chain management, and more so you can be more competitive, efficient, and responsive to your customer needs.

Q. What do you think are the shortcomings in the Micro and Small Scale subsets of the manufacturing industry?

• The inability of unskilled employees to take quick and smart actions.
• Lack of flexibility in the production process with regard to customer demand.
• Long delivery times resulting in unsatisfied customers
• Individual software tools for monitoring and managing different departments like HR, finance, and production, etc.
• Cost constraints to hiring expert consultants & IT managers for maintaining the software and infrastructure and upgrading it as per business demand.

Q. Can you elaborate on your company’s mission statement?

Mission – To Empower & Revolutionize Indian Micro & Small Manufacturing Industry

The Indian economy today has become the world’s fastest growing one. The manufacturing sector will undoubtedly play a crucial role in this journey of rapid growth. India is touted to become the world’s 3rd largest manufacturing hub by 2022 with micro and small scale manufacturers accounting for more than 80% of the whole manufacturing sector. So, this segment specifically needs advanced technological support in order to facilitate sustainable business expansion and an improvement in overall efficiency to compete with global players. Hence in that vision, we want to be the first choice.

Q. Vision – To become the world’s leading Enterprise solutions company for the manufacturing sector.

The Indian IT ecosystem is very well situated for B2B SaaS companies. We believe that after winning a major market share in the Indian competitive market, our business model will be accepted and also be implemented all across the world. Hence, our vision is to expand our business in Asia, Europe & the US and to be the leader in the segment.

Q. Can you brief us about the benefits of Nextsky’s solutions?

• Efficient utilization of employee time by stopping repetitive work and maintaining several files.
• Reduction in Inventory cost by 30%
• Reduction in Machine downtime by 15% through preventive actions
• Customer Delivery lead time up by 40%
• Improvement in decision making time by 50% as every person could access past and present information in a deep analytical way without any manipulation in the data.
• Boosting human efficiency

Q. What would you say are the major requirements to succeed in business?

1. Dream Big – While building a company, the first thing entrepreneurs need to do is to think big. I believe thinking big keeps you going while keeping you grounded.
2. Perseverance – Every professional journey has its share of ups and downs. It would demand many sacrifices by you and your family. Many times the situation just gets unbearable. However, just going on is only the way to success.
3. Passion – I believe passion is capable of teaching you everything. No matter how many times you fail, in the end, passion is the only thing that helps to stay on your path.

Q. What were the initial hurdles that you faced after launching Nextsky?

When we were starting out, our greatest challenge was to find an ideal team. A team which is ready for big challenges can also be ready to fail and learn fast.

The second challenge, as with every startup, is learning to navigate all the numerous trials and mistakes that happen while making a product fit for the market. Sometimes those mistakes turn out to be very costly, resulting in a cash crunch. So finding investors was a big challenge. There were very few investors interested in our idea.

Q. What is your greatest fear and how do you manage it?

The biggest challenge that we currently face is to understand the rapidly evolving customer demands and to deliver on them within stipulated deadlines. For that, we’ve assembled a dedicated and hardworking team. We have allocated separate domain expertise in every department to understand all the demands and fulfill them. We also take advice from individuals who have considerable experience in this sector and have worked in some of the world’s leading technology companies.

Meet the intrepid entrepreneur behind Nextsky’s continued growth, Prathamesh Adep

Mr. Adep is a passionate businessman who serves as the CEO of Nextsky Technologies. He is a broadly skilled business leader with extensive proficiency in cloud computing, ERP, data analytics, IoT, AI, software business strategy, and scale-marketing, particularly through digital and indirect channels. With over seven years of domain experience in the manufacturing sector, he looks after the sales, marketing, and product development.

“Our technology provides world-class functionality without the cost, upkeep or headaches of traditional system implementations.”