Mr. LC Singh, Founder & CEO, Nihilent	A+  A-

A pioneer of the IT industry, he has rich and varied experience of over three decades in consulting, marketing and general management.

He performed key roles at TCS where he was Senior VP in charge of operations for UK, South Africa and Middle East. He briefly worked with Zensar Technologies as President and CEO.

He founded Nihilent in 2000. Nihilent has emerged as one of the most creative consulting and IT companies from India. One of his major contributions is the conceptualization and creation of Nihilent’s patented change management framework MC³.

Mr. Singh is a distinguished alumnus of the Institute of Technology and the Harvard Business School.

Q1) What are the unique drivers that differentiate Nihilent’s business proposition vis-à-vis other players who operate in similar space?

Technology creates change and that creates problems. As a result, 80% of all solutions get lost in execution. At Nihilent, we bring a holistic approach to managing change. While crafting a solution, we do a holistic prognosis of all the required changes across people, process, technology and knowledge, for the solution to work and deliver performance. Our proprietary MC3 framework and tools help manage change in a manner that maximizes benefits. The success of a delivered solution is measured on the basis of business results.

Another key aspect is that our consulting experience comprises a blend of management consulting and business technology experience, which is still fairly unique. Most clients find that a Nihilent Consultant effortlessly bridges many worlds and is able to work as a part of the executive team seamlessly.

Nihilent was therefore created to be a consulting-led company that could directly move on to the next level and spearhead the Indian IT industry’s logical ascendance from delivering technology to delivering business value. The range of our engagements exemplify Nihilent’s differentiation as a problem solving company:

• Creating an objective measurement culture for performance in a leading revenue services company through the establishment of a metrics office, definition of strategic objectives and measures and implementation of a tool for Management Dashboard
• Implementation of Lamat - strategy execution and performance management tool at a German manufacturer's Indian subsidiary 
• Competency assessment and skills development for 10,000 employees of a global bank's retail division across 10 regions covering 740 branches
• Knowledge Management for a leading electronic share deposit and settlement company
• Streamlining the business processes of a global process outsourcing services provider
• Application Portfolio Review and technology roadmap for a large revenue services company
• Architect and build Services Operating System Platform for a global networking service major
• Development of electronic medical records system and web based personal health records for a global provider of  e-health solutions
• CMMI® Maturity Level 5 appraisal for a global IT services company

Q2) Please elaborate on the company’s service offerings and industry verticals of operation

Nihilent’s Enterprise Transformation Practice collaborates with clients to translate business strategies into definitive results. The practice is based on our patented change management framework, MC3 TM and is supported by proprietary tools and technologies. Key offerings include Strategy Execution using Balanced Scorecard and Dashboards, Capability Assessment and Development, Performance Management, Knowledge Management, Innovation Management and Customer Experience Management.

As SEI Partner, Nihilent has a complete practice based on Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute's CMMI® model that helps clients assess their systems and software engineering processes, plan improvements, implement changes and measure results effectively. The product suite includes CMMI for Acquisition, CMMI for Development, CMMI for Practitioners, CMMI for Services, Introduction to CMMI and SCAMPI Appraisal Services.

Our IT and software services are positioned to support a customer's requirements across the Software Development Life Cycle - from IT strategy and requirements engineering to application development, re-engineering, integration and support. Services include software development, maintenance, conversion, migration and enhancement of applications in various technologies, mobile computing, networking and telecom services. Nihilent’s Offshore Dedicated Centre (ODC) in Pune, India services several application development, support and maintenance, and remote management activities for clients.

Nihilent’s services span a wide range of business verticals like Banking, Finance, Securities and Insurance, Supply Chain and Logistics, Mobile Computing and Telecommunications, Media and Entertainment, Enterprises (Retail, Airlines, Manufacturing, Construction, others), Government and State-run Enterprises, Technology and related services, Healthcare, and Small and Medium Enterprises.

Q3) What is Nihilent’s global footprint? How much does South Africa contribute to the overall revenue of the company?

Nihilent's operations span North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia. We have a strong focus on the African market, which accounts for 70% of our revenue pie. Nihilent has emerged as the largest and most respected Indian consulting/technology company in the region. Dimension Data Holdings plc, a global networking major and Paracon Holdings Limited, South Africa’s leading provider of IT services have made strategic investments in Nihilent to leverage the company’s consulting and software development capability potential.

Nihilent has been working with leading companies in South Africa providing them with customized solutions for their business problems.

Q4) How do you foster an environment of innovation and growth within the organization?

Nihilent invests 8% of its revenues on training, innovation and learning. The Company encourages exponential individual growth in an exciting atmosphere of learning, experimentation and performance. Nihilent has defined and documented procedures and processes that are well knit with organizational goals supported by the Balanced Scorecard for continuous applicability. The Balanced Scorecard is linked to the individual evaluation through target setting and measuring performance in Key Performance Areas. We also have a Competency Assessment System (CAS) that ascertains competency levels of associates to leverage their potential and channelize it in the right direction. This facilitates creation of competent and motivated individuals/ teams, leading to enhanced business performance.

Q5) How do you see the future unfold for Nihilent?

I foresee a bright and exciting future for Nihilent. Our value proposition of a consulting led organization with a holistic and systems approach to problem solving resonates particularly well with our clients. The breadth of offerings will allow us to not only cross-sell services within our existing customer base, but also find unique touch points with potential new clients.

Nihilent is looking to leverage its Africa presence to expand in several countries in Africa and create a leadership position in those markets. India remains an attractive market and Nihilent is positioned as one of the premier consulting companies to bring about systemic change in their approach to people, process and technology to achieve desired changes in a holistic manner. We will continue to expand in the UK and US using the partnership approach. Nihilent will also be looking for inorganic growth in strategic markets.

Q6) What are the current trends/challenges in the global/Indian industry?

1. The industry is getting out of slumber. Hiring is again on. Demand has increased.
2. Cloud Computing is becoming the new flavour along with social computing, etc.
3. Offshore Outsourcing will get even more attractive with all the visa restrictions and the need to cut costs.

Updated on: 06 Apr, 2010