In 2021, we saw global integrators come to India. AVI-SPL and Diversified both set up shop in the country, established teams, and got to work. The move was in line with what market data suggested: the Indian market was poised for growth at an accelerated pace.
At the time of these past developments, Inavate covered the story by reaching out to AVI-SPL and talking about the rationale behind the decision to set up operations in India. Tim Riek, executive vice president, technology and services at AVI-SPL, explained at the time: “For the past four years, AVI-SPL has hosted a customer advisory board that comprises a number of our multinational and global enterprise customers. Through our engagement with this customer advisory board, we’re constantly soliciting information and feedback about what else we could be doing and where we could be doing it? Consistently, the feedback we have received from them was to get more engaged in APAC. And as we have increased engagement in APAC [AVI-SPL has offices in Singapore and Hong Kong], the response from them has been to specifically get more engaged in India.”
But from the Indian perspective, the important part of the narrative was not specifically the entry of these global integrators into the market. It was the fact that growth could spur ambition and expansion for Indian AV businesses. After all, a rising tide lifts all boats.
Once again, Inavate was at the forefront of the conversation posing a simple question that encapsulated the sentiment in the market approximately five years ago: ‘when will we see the first Indian billion-dollar integrator?’.
The question sparked debate and Mradul Sharma, managing director at 3CDN Workplace Tech, said: “I am cynically optimistic about having a billion-dollar integration company coming from India. India offers probably the highest potential in the region. It has the size and it has AV professionals that have the skillsets required in volume and those are essential in completing the equation towards becoming a billion-dollar integrator.”
Optimism was cautious because the insiders knew the size and scale of the task at hand. Rhythm Arora from Qubix said at the time: “To be a billion-dollar integrator you need someone to value your company at a billion dollars. And if you look at integration from a business perspective, we work on a project basis and that means that it is hard to have predictable revenue. Compare that to businesses that have recurring payments for services. It is easier to get a higher valuation if you can demonstrate steady revenue streams. So, to build that recurring, predictable revenue stream to get to that billion-dollar valuation you have to start looking towards offering services.”
Any Indian integrator looking to become the next big powerhouse knew what the task entailed. India as a market was poised for growth, but a host of challenges needed to be surmounted. And many Indian integrators went to work and continue to progress as they grow and expand. Today, we loop back to the narrative because Online Instruments is looking to step out ahead of the pack and make a serious play for stepping onto the global stage.
Manoj Kumar Choudhury begins the discussion and says: “Online Instruments is a 31 year old company and we have always wanted to go beyond our limitations. We’ve always aimed to grow year-on-year.” On the surface, this objective to grow year-on-year seems like one that is common to many companies and businesses. What sets Online Instruments apart is the ambition of the company and the imagination of the people behind it. Manoj details: “We have been planning to IPO for a long time and our intention is to do it this year. Together with the public offering, we have an extensive plan to expand our operations over Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and yes even the US. We are looking for growth organically by growing our teams and hiring talent as well as through acquisition. For Online Instruments, it really is about taking that next step to the next level.”
There is a lot to unpack there and it makes sense to start with the most pertinent piece of the statement. Why is Online Instruments pursuing an IPO at this juncture? Manoj responds: “Our initial plan was to do an IPO in 2020 but the turbulence and disruption of the proceeding years made us shelve that plan. We bounced back much stronger and the market has actually evolved in a very beneficial way since then. Bigger and better doors are opening up and we realised that the opportunity to successfully go public is still there. We’ve done phenomenally well in terms of numbers and we meet the requirements for an IPO. Internally, we are looking at 2025 as our year to go public.”
For Online Instruments, an IPO represented the best route to accomplish its goals. Manoj details: “There are two routes to funding growth. One is through venture capitalists and the funding means that you expand but you are accountable to the VCs with regards to how you are expanding. The other route is through a public offering. Normally, a venture capitalist can provide great input and insight in an advisory role and help businesses scale up. But for us, that is not required. We are a very efficient and well run business and help on the business side is not really needed. We also have a clear vision on how we want to scale and expand, so one of the main advantages of going down the VC route was not applicable to us.”
Manoj continues: “Financially, we are in a very strong place. But with an IPO, we can start aiming for objectives that we have and the ones that are beyond our imagination. We are looking to realise our potential in ways that we don’t even know and that work all starts now.” Seeing that the desire to IPO is real and progressing, Online Instruments has a gameplan in place to use the funds to spur growth.
Suhas Mahashetti, senior manager for global strategies at Online Instruments, says: “We are a very strong enterprise with strong roots in India. We work across all verticals. The next option for us now is to grow horizontally both in a literal and figurative sense. We have to go East and West, reach out to places where we can find new clients to serve. We’re looking at US, Europe, and Southeast Asia.”
Suhas elaborates: “The IPO will significantly enhance our ability to acquire companies in multiple countries, where our clients can leverage our services across different regions. Our strategic acquisitions are aimed at companies within regions where decision-making for the multinational corporations we work with is centralised, both APAC decisions and global decisions. This approach will enable us to continue serving our existing clients in additional locations. Additionally, the acquisition of an enterprise networking company will allow us to expand our services for the same set of clients, facilitating a wider range of services and in multiple locations across the world. The IPO will be instrumental in driving this growth vertically and horizontally.”
Delving further into the relevance of the US market, Suhas says: “A lot of our clients are based out of the US. Having presence in the US would allow us to be closer to our clients and closer to new opportunities. A core driver for us was our conversations with our US clients. They’ve been impressed with our services, and we have had requests for delivering for them in the US and around the globe. For us that is heartening feedback because it means that we are on the right track.” The expansion outside of India is being done with consideration as Manoj adds: “We are no strangers to operating outside of India. We currently cover Singapore, Manila, Taiwan, and Malaysia and have worked in these territories and we have four offices in Southeast Asia. The expansion plans for the future are geared toward increasing our capabilities for handling and delivering projects across Asia Pacific.”
Acquisitions are not the only route to growth and Online Instruments has a strategy to evolve organically. Suhas says: “We’ve grown not only by turnover, but our profitability has also drastically increased because we’ve focused on services and services are the next big thing. This is an area that we are going to invest in more and the work has already started. Our teams and talent are getting certified and we are focused on building the platforms, and the tools that we need to really deliver services like they should be.”
He continues: “AV-as-a-service is the eventuality we are chasing and while we are very far away from that goal, our involvement with PSNI Global Alliance and the work being done by other integrators to move us towards AV-as-a-service act as inspiration for us to continue on our journey. Box moving alone cannot sustain the AV industry in the long run, and if we do not pivot towards services, your bottom line will never be secure.”
Manoj adds: “We’re looking to have a 60:40 split in our business between service and product in the future. We still have a long way to go to reach that goal and there are a lot of challenges, acceptance levels among clients are low and a lot of education must be done around the managed services piece. But we feel we are up to the task and we are looking to move forward in this domain.”
Online Instruments’ path forward has its fair share of challenges and Suhas says: “Things are moving fast. We set out to execute a part of our plan and if it was going to take 12 months it is happening in five to six months, sometimes even fewer. We have to keep pace with how things are moving and we need to grow our capabilities to do so. But at the same time, we have to be cautious. We are exploring new territory, and we have to take the time to evaluate our next steps to make sure we stay on the right track. Balancing these two conflicting imperatives is our primary challenge.”
But the desire to do better drives the company and the people forward. Suhas notes: “Our goal has always been clear. We are a regional powerhouse and now we want to be a global company. Our internal aim is to become a billion-dollar revenue company in the next five years.”
Manoj concludes: “Our ambition just doesn’t stop here. We have a term that we use internally to encapsulate our dream and it is ‘beyond billions’ and that dream is something that all of Online Instruments is set on achieving.