PUNE, Jan 28: To do exciting things and have a high-end software niche boutique is Persistent Systems Pvt Ltd (PSPL) managing director Anand Deshpande's motto. His company was the first to have exported software from the Software Technology Park (STP), Pune, in 1991.PSPL was established in March 1990 with an equity of Rs 3.6 lakh and had a turnover of Rs 2.53 crore for 1996-97. It expects to achieve a turnover of Rs 3.75 crore in 1997-98. PSPL has no plans to go public in the near future. "We try to work in a focused area instead of growing horizontally," Deshpande said.
Being a member of the STP, Pune, PSPL has access to efficient data communication facilities and is subjected to minimal export/import procedures. Six of PSPL's employees hold doctorates. Deshpande said, "PhDs kind of give credibility to the high end software work that we are into." This also projects an image for the company in the international scenario.
PSPL's areas of expertise include database management systems, distributedsystems and workflow, operating systems and compilers and graphical user interfaces. Its speciality is object databases, high performance databases, client server applications, microsoft environment and cross-platform development and porting.
After completing his B Tech in computer science from IIT Kharagpur in 1984, Deshpande went on to do his masters and PhD from Indiana University in the US. His specialisation is in design, development and implementation of database systems, in particular, object-oriented databases and databases for engineering and design environments. Deshpande is averse to the idea of a tie-up with any foreign firm despite having been approached by many. "Profit is important to us. It enables us to achieve our mission and to contribute to the society. However, profit is not the only reason we are in business."
PSPL's clients include some of the software giants of the world like Microsoft Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, O2 Technology, Autodesk Incand so on. PSPL has worked on the development of a strategy for managing CAD documents for Autodesk Inc; developed a test suite and implemented standard benchmarks for O2, an object-oriented database system developed by O2 Technology, Versailles (France). Over the years, it has tapped markets in the US, the UK and Fra-nce.
According to PSPL director Shreedhar Shukla, "We do not face stiff competition in our area of expertise, since our kind of work requires high technology and we are known for our work. We deal with the software original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), server vendors and tools, which requires cutting edge technology." Shukla added.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
