In the times when startup was not exactly the buzzword in Eastern India and Opensource was a "what is that - free software ?", a person who had worked for donkey's years in hightech companies like Wipro, HCL decided to quit his job and start a small company in Kolkata, India which was focussed in Opensource based solutions. Supported by funds from Mr. Naresh Kumar Bothra, the owner and CEO of Computer Exchange India Limited, who had a penchant for spotting motivated people, Kaushik Goswami, CEO of TIS Labs started his journey into the unknown world of trying to sell OpenSource solutions.
TIS Labs is today 5 years young and has been the only company to focus solely on OpenSource solutions - starting from migrating from expensive proprietary mail services to OpenSource mail solutions to creating complete backend server and network infrastructure solutions.
I was then an Assitant Professor at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata when I met Kaushik. I was myself a die-hard Opensource evangelist and spent a lot of time on working on all possible solutions using OpenSource. Kaushik wasn't exactly a person who could sell you the best brand of toothpaste if he wanted to - but his passion even today is childlike. We almost instantly felt like we could bond well - I too was quite realizing that I was getting anywhere near the Nobel Prize. We used to discuss for long periods of time and though I realized from the first day that he was no Marketing Whiz, I knew that deep down he had passion and conviction - so despite a number of people discouraging me from leaving a cushy Government job and despite the fact that it was a startup, I joined TIS Labs (I liked the word Labs in it - it still felt a lot like R & D - and it still is). More about Kaushik later - he's one nut I could write a lot about.
So what is this TIS Labs ? Well, for the techie guy we are System Integrators, Solutions guys - we look at a clients existing or future infrastructure and can propose a solution based on their needs, which would be future proof, which would not only be cost effective but also help in adding to their revenue. We consult, build and support IT services - cutting the flab and yet not compromising on the security or the services aspect. So what - you could ask ? There are so many people doing that. Well yes, we are one of them - except, our solutions are tested in our "Lab" before they are delivered to the customer. Our team is a bunch of dedicated fellows, who need to be kicked out of office everyday, because they are too stuck up with trying out some solution they think works better than the one the market now offers.
We have now worked with more than 60 customers, mostly in the Eastern part of India and we now have a number of clients, who believe the fact that you don't need to pay through your nose to build the setup that works for you. It has been a tough fight over the past 5 years - we still do not have a Marketing Whiz - but we have commitment and we have the belief in ourselves. Our clients believe in us. And that counts for more than the few extra dollars/pounds/rupees we might have earned.
In my next blog, I will talk about OpenSource solutions and how companies can really benefit from them.
For more on TIS Labs, please visit http://www.tislabs.in
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