In a Discussion with Ramesh Sivasubramanian, the head of innovation and development at Ramco Frameworks

In spite of the pandemic, being deft in embracing and conveying imaginative advancements, and zeroing in on unambiguous areas such as flight and finance the executives have assisted Ramco Frameworks with residual money positive and obligation free.

Despite the pandemic, being nimble in adopting and delivering innovative technologies, and focusing on specific sectors such as aviation and payroll management has helped Ramco Systems remain cash-positive and debt free While it may seem like the ITeS industry wasn’t majorly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the reality is that several pockets of the IT sector were deeply impacted. With major markets like the US., UK, and Europe experiencing a slowdown, Indian IT companies, which earn a majority of revenues from these markets, experienced a 5 to 10�cline in growth in FY21.

The story of Ramco Systems, the global enterprise software provider, was no different. This was achievable because of several reasons; the company remained nimble in adopting innovative technologies and riding the digital wave, and it focused on sectors like aviation, aerospace, and defense, and global payroll to continue to grow despite the slowdown.

Today, Ramco Systems’ suite of offerings includes payroll & HR, ERP, aviation and logistics software on the product side, and payroll managed services and digital transformation on the service side. With 2000+ employees on board, and offices in India, Asia-Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, the company generated USD 84.92 million in revenues (FY20-21) of which India accounts for USD 20.18 million. In this interview with Jaleel Rawther[JR], Ramesh Sivasubramanian, the head of technology and innovation at Ramco, takes us through the various steps the company adopted to ride the pandemic and its adoption of AI in driving digital transformation internally and externally. IT/ ITeS is one of the few sectors which has witnessed increased hiring activity even during the pandemic.

Companies in this sector are finding it difficult to retain their existing employees and hire new employees (because they have multiple other offers in hand). Owing to the pandemic, traumatic stress has hijacked the corporate strategy of companies in this sector. Keeping these in mind, as a part of our hiring strategy, one of the things we are doing is working with the Government in certain regions to identify, cross-train and upskill the right talent to help us as well as the economies.

Anomalies were identified and reported along with insights based on the usual pattern, for cases like payroll processing and supplier invoice processing. Automation of mundane activities based on historical workflow data rather than writing customized business rules (RPA), which are time-consuming and costly. Conversational platforms such as chatbots for the cross-generation workforce to work simultaneously based on their preferences. A voice AI that empowers users to be able to leverage and adopt enterprise software solutions better than earlier through means like voice BOTs and voice UI

What steps has Ramco Systems taken towards digital transformation, and how is it impacting your business and customers?

We try all our technologies internally before taking them to our customers. We follow certain laws of intelligent digital enterprise when we help our customers adopt digital transformation in their business. For example, the law of intelligent systems ensures that all events and transactions are captured digitally at the source without human intervention.

What steps are you taking to upskill your employees (hard skills & soft skills) in an increasingly digital environment?

We work in an environment where technology is constantly changing for the better. And, getting people skilled in those technologies may not always be possible by following proper training schedules. Their solutions are evaluated both from a tech and business standpoint, following which we consider taking them to the customer. Offering learning initiatives and programs through Ramco Academy. Describe the work environment that will help you contribute most effectively.

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