We are in strange economic times. Stubbornly high inflation and an unexpectedly resilient job market continue to defy expectations and pose new challenges. This is a time for execution, and technology can continue to help business leaders navigate this uncertainty. According to Gartner, “four out of five CEOs are increasing digital technology investments to counter current economic pressures, including inflation, scarce talent and supply constraints” [1]. At the same time, Gartner found that more than half of these initiatives are taking too long to complete or aren’t delivering the expected benefits. As the economy tightens, businesses need to realize the benefits of their technology investments sooner.
One thing I love about technology is how it generates endless opportunities for human creativity. In just the last few years we’ve seen a rush of groundbreaking trends, including cloud, virtual reality, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. But a great idea can only go so far on its own. Businesses seeking transformation must partner with a company that has the unique ability to turn ideas into reality. As companies everywhere struggle to navigate the challenges ahead, we are focused on helping companies achieve real value from their investments, guided by our philosophy that we call Engineering First.
The word “engineering” conjures many traits, such as problem solving, creativity, resourcefulness, and attention to detail. But Engineering First is more than a list of skills. Engineering First is a mindset, a way of thinking, an approach to everything we do. Engineering First is about solving problems from the inside out. It’s thinking about the end product right from ideation and executing precisely. Execution determines the success or failure of a digital transformation idea, no matter what industry. Take financial services, for example. Digital Banking Report found that 38% of organizations that believed they had deployed digital banking transformation solutions at scale were not receiving the level of results expected. The earlier you think about execution, the earlier an idea can have an impact by getting the right product to the right people at the right time.
Engineering transformation starts from within
At the end of the day, we want to help our customers build robust platforms that drive real business transformation, whether that’s an AI-powered customer-service chatbot, a mobile banking app, or enterprise-grade cloud modernization. To do that, we don’t impose a solution from the outside; we go inside to engineer it. In today’s complex and rapidly changing landscape, businesses are shifting from buying one-size-fits-all technology to building, composing and assembling solutions to enable specific business drivers. Doing that requires a partner who will speak the honest truth about the journey up ahead.
That also means having the right tools for the job, which is why we’ve developed more than 50 proprietary tools and platforms as well as over 150,000 reusable test assets and APIs to handle just about any kind of transformation. Take cloud migration for example, companies want to move fast while minimizing disruption to the business. Our “cloud factory” can deliver up to 50% faster time-to-market, a 30% boost to development and productivity, and 50% speedier app delivery. And our suite of AI and machine-learning solutions have saved clients as much as 30% across business functions. It’s that kind of expertise that gives us the confidence to execute right the first time and move clients to the forefront of their industries by creatively building solutions to their most pressing business challenges.
Engineering for tomorrow
Engineering First also drives us to think big and design unique solutions based on emerging technologies. Whether building strategy, translating that to a business plan, or bringing end products to market, we apply the Engineering First mindset to the entire lifecycle. It’s why one global cloud company turned to us to help engineer more than 40 products over 14 years.
In fact, we believe that everything we build is not just for our customers, but for our customers’ customers. Our Engineering First approach ensures that you meet your own commitments to all stakeholders, because you have a transparent and realistic partner that is constantly advising on delivery and ensuring that the work is done right on time, the first time. It’s no wonder our customer satisfaction scores fall in the top 10% of our industry.
Fostering the engineering mindset
Ultimately, Engineering First comes to life through our people. At Virtusa, engineering is in our DNA. We attract, train and empower the best talent in the world. No matter their role, our 35,000 Virtusans are curious, passionate, and entrepreneurial. They embody a can-do, make-it-happen, get-it-done culture. At the same time, there’s a thoughtfulness that underpins everything we do because builders must be certain that what they’re committing to can actually be built.
That also informs our commitments to our employees in terms of their growth and career paths. In today’s global talent market, empowering and investing in employees is more important than ever. It’s why we offer a best-in-class training academy with skills, domain, behavioral and leadership programs to help our employees grow. It’s why we created Engineering IQ, a unique talent framework to accelerate career progression and ensure that we assemble an A-team for every customer. It’s a point of pride that our workplace culture was recognized last year by Great Places to Work in seven countries, including India and the U.S.
Transforming together
Engineering First is more than just a way of problem solving, it's a mindset that drives everything we do, with a relentless focus on execution. Great ideas are not sufficient on their own to drive meaningful change. Dropping the ball on execution can lead to years of setbacks and massive risk to a business. We believe in engineering solutions from within and looking to the future, using the best tools and platforms to bring ideas to life. As we continue to grow and evolve, we invite you to join us in fostering an Engineering First mindset and transforming the world through technology. Let's build the future, together.
[1]Gartner, 4 Actions to Ensure Your Tech Investments Pay Digital Dividends
Santosh Thomas
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director
As a business leader and technologist, Santosh has a proven track record for building and managing multi-billion dollar businesses and leading expansion into new markets.
Before joining Virtusa, Santosh was part of Cognizant’s Executive Committee team responsible for managing a business with over $4 billion in revenue and driving growth in Europe, Asia Pacific, India, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. A visionary leader, he envisioned, built and managed businesses in Banking, CommTech, and Products & Resources.
Santosh obtained his degree in marketing and finance from XLRI Jamshedpur, India.
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