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In 1994, education represented a unique opportunity in India due to slow qualitative advancement. Our education ecosystem was among the largest in the world, but it remained highly underserved. Its limited resources were divided among 220 million school-going children. Moreover, large sections of students did not even make it to schools. Therefore, there was this need for qualitative and quantitative advancement in education.

In India, education is regarded highly by large sections of the population, especially the middle class. So I decided to invest my energies in this under-developed sector. That is how Educomp got started.

This was a time when computers had barely made inroads into the education sector. But it was our firm belief that IT-based education was the way forward and that it represented not just a big business opportunity, but more importantly, a perfect tool to transform the teaching-learning process in schools across India. We envisioned that technology would allow us to combine best practices and make them accessible to a large number of students. In India, particularly, the challenge was about size versus resources.

We started out setting up computer-aided learning labs in schools. Our belief paid off – technology became the crucial equalising element that can bridge disparities and other inequalities.

We soon became the company with the largest portfolio of products – technology-aided teaching, learning systems, digital content, real time assessment technology, online learning, live internet-based tutoring, V-SAT-enabled coaching for vocational and professional courses, online education communities and more.

That has not stopped us from constantly trying to create innovative products, which enhance the teaching-learning process through use of technology. Over the years, Educomp has closely studied the crucial gap areas, current needs and future challenges in the education sector. We were pioneers in the field of e-education in India - initiating computer education in the early nineties, computer-aided learning in the late nineties and Internet-based education in the new millennium. In the future, our attention will be on next- generation one-on-one computing.

We will also focus on the international market and take our competency in digital content solutions across the world. Almost all our products and services are globally scalable, since most students across the globe learn similar things in the first 16 years of their lives, especially in math and science. The fact that we enjoy significant labour and product development cost advantages also works in our favour.

Our R&D team has created several innovative products that address some of the key problems in the education space. Therefore, we are focused on leveraging our intellectual properties in the overseas markets as well.

We understand that building a brand in a sophisticated market with established players is always a challenge, no matter how innovative the product or service is. Therefore, we have followed an acquisition-led growth strategy. A strong local partner is a big asset. For instance, we made strategic acquisitions to ease our entry into the US and Singapore. Through AsknLearn, Singapore's leading e-learning company, we ensured there was a distribution platform and that 50% of the schools in Singapore were using Educomp products. With Learning.com, a leading e-learning provider in the US, we got a ready distribution platform in the US, comprising more than two million subscribers in the country.

Competing at a global level has inspired us to raise the bar internally since we compete with the best in the world. Being outside our home market, we work closely with our local team/partners to ensure we meet all expectations regarding product/service quality in these markets.