Perfect timing propels duo to success

Hyderabad: People attribute the success to many factors — especially hardwork and luck. In the process, they fail to underscore the importance of timing, which could make or mar our plans.

Hyderabad-based entrepreneur Nitin Devireddy can vouch for the vital role that perfect timing plays in one’s success.

In 2011, when Mr Devireddy decided to plunge into business, he had three options: distribution channels of either milk, newspaper or cable TV. That was the time when the government was contemplating of switching the cable TV distribution system from analog to digital and Mr Devireddy has zeroed in on the opportunity presented to him by this mammoth nationwide exercise.

Fast forward to the present: Mr Devireddy’s ITP Software India Pvt Ltd is an unchallenged leader in the country in the subscriber management system software space.

“Almost all cable TV providers use our software to manage their subscribers,” said 42-year-old Devireddy.

He had set up the company in partnership with three of friends. Two of them have exited the project, while Sandip Reddy V. is still with the company.

According to Mr Devireddy, the idea to foray into the subscriber management software had originated to him due to his earlier association with television industry.

Mr Devireddy, who used to work with ESPN, said: “While I was working with ESPN as a ground distribution network, I realised the gaps in the cable distribution. When I had decided to foray into the business, I thought there is an opportunity in fixing the gaps in the cable distribution network.”

His software allows cable operators to bill customers, who select their preferred channels using conditional access system.

Despite their knowledge of the system, the success was not easy.  “From my previous experience, I understood that the industry was quite unorganised. So when we approached the cable operators, they were sceptical about our cloud-based platform that helped them tally the money collected by the agents. But we soon managed to gain their trust,” said Mr Devireddy, adding that operators were also not having experienced manpower to operate cloud technology.
To overcome this hindrance, he said they had to be flexible in approach to win over customers.

Apart from the non-existence of an affordable alte-rnative to ITP Software in the subscriber management space helped Mr Devireddy in a big way. The alternatives to ITP are IBM and Oracle, whose services he argues are unaffordable to cable service providers.

After the success in India, he aims to expand in Latin America, South East Asia and Africa, which have similar economic profiles like India’s. The team is set for a big leap forward.