CIPL: A Journey from Rs 5 Cr to a Rs 327 Cr business

Vinod Kumar
Managing Director & CEO - CIPL

As truly said, CIPL is a "one stop technology destination" as it meets all the technological requirements of any company with its array of offerings from technology experts. It not only offers end to end solutions but also possesses a team of experts to provide assistance to maintain state-of-the-art technologies. On time execution of projects and delivery of services makes the company stand apart from its competitors. 

“CIPL is an IT Integrator. We are doing business in compute system, server, storage, security, cloud, datacenter management. We are a one stop technology destination as we provide end to end solutions to the customers, whether it’s computing, printer, UPS, server, storage, datacenter or security and also a team to manage the whole system or equipment. We have complete solution and have everything under one roof. If a customer wants to build its own infrastructure and also wants the maintenance, we have a complete team who can manage the entire infrastructure. We have the best solutions as we have tie ups with OEMs like NetApp, Microsoft, IBM, Lenovo, Fujitsu, Trend Micro, McAfee etc. That is why we say that we are the “One stop technology destination,” explains Vinod Kumar, Managing Director & CEO - CIPL.   

PRESTIGIOUS PROJECTS

Today, CIPL is a front runner in quality as well as quantity. Few of its prestigious projects are -
•    Airport Authority of India - Anti-hijacking command control centre at Rashtrapati Bhawan, ATC tower (T-3 Delhi airport) & 14 airports across India.
•    Network Interface Card- Immigration visa foreigner registration and tracking mission mode project - Supply & implementation of unlimited license grant of oracle technology.
•    Directorate of Information Technology Air Force Head Quarters - Supply, installation & implementation of storage in 5 datacentres across India.

He adds, “We provide end to end solutions and we have a complete team to manage end to end solutions. Our target verticals are government and PSUs. The biggest differentiator is our commitment of on time execution of the projects and delivery and services. These are the unique features of CIPL. We have a set of pre-sales and project management team to monitor the progress of the project.”

The journey…
CIPL started its journey with a strong ideology of fair, honest and ethical business practices and with manpower of only 12 people.The turnover of the first year was Rs 5crore. But in these 10 years, it has not only added on to the manpower, which now counts to 712 but also witnesses an escalating turnover of Rs 327crore.   

“The journey is quite impressive, we started this company with only 12 people and we achieved the revenue turnover of Rs 5crore. Last year, we have achieved the mark of Rs 327 crores and now the total number of employees is 712 as on today. The main priority was to make our infrastructure strong so that it becomes easier to take on the big projects. We wanted to grow step by step,” says Vinod. 

CIPL has recorded 100% growth every year and took its revenue from Rs 160 crores in 2015 to Rs 327 crores in 2016. Besides revenue accomplishments, it has done some challenging projects like Anti-hijacking command control center for Airport Authority of India which was remarkable milestone for the company. Moreover, the timely execution and completion of the project marks the efficiency of CIPL team. 

“Revenue wise we have achieved 100% year on year growth. In 2015, we have made Rs 160 crores and in 2016 we have closed to Rs 327 crores. Apart from the revenue achievements, in past we have done various critical projects. Last year we have done a project of Airport Authority of India for Anti-hijacking command control center and it is a very prestigious project done by CIPL. We had to connect 14 airports across India and the main command control is at Rashtrapati Bhawan. So in case of any hijacking of aircraft then the Prime Minister and President can monitor the situation from the command centre. The project was really challenging. Our team was very good and completed the project on time. The time duration of the project was six months and we have completed it by that time. It was project of around Rs 20crore. CIPL is also responsible to manage the infrastructure for five years,” mentions Vinod. 

Challenges & Opportunities…
CIPL has strengthened its position in the market and due to its niche clients and area of work, the company does not face any challenges.  
“As such there are no challenges as we have a set of customers. We always have a strategy to add 50-60 new customers every year. This year we have are looking forward to add corporate customers,” says Vinod. 

Discussing about GST he adds, “GST will help CIPL. We are planning to become a GSP (Goods and Service Provider) which is under GST. We have already filed an application to become a GSP. It is because of GST implementation we are getting a lot of datacenter projects from government, PSUs and corporate, people are looking for high end technologies and that is like an opportunity for us.”

Growth Verticals …
For CIPL, defence and DRDO labs are the major growth areas as these departments of the government are adopting latest, cutting edge technologies that are adopted by the enterprises.

“Last year the growth came from defence and DRDO labs (Defence Research and Development Organization). These are the departments which are looking for enterprise kind of solutions that is why we are planning to tap on these clients this year also. Other government departments still look for simple compute but the PSUs and the DRDO labs are buying enterprise level solutions,” states Vinod.

In its journey of 10 years the company has always focused on government verticals and has an expertise in this segment. Vinod also mentions that CIPL enjoys working in the government vertical and now looking forward to tap on enterprises which will help it expanding its expertise.   

“For the last 10 years we have always focused on government business and never on SMEs. We know how government business works and enjoy working with them. This year we are focused to add few corporate,” he reveals.  

Sharing the revenue breakup, he also unveils the target CIPL is focusing to achieve. “In 2016, the total revenue was Rs 327 crores and out of this 90% is from government and PSUs and only 10% is from enterprise. This year we have planned to make this 10% to 25%. This year the revenue that we are planning to achieve is Rs 500 crores,” says Vinod.

Roadmap ahead…

CIPL is eyeing the cloud business this year and also aiming to become a CSP (Cloud Service Provider) and GSP. These will help the company to take it to the next level.

“We are focusing on cloud business and also looking forward to CSP and GSP. Both the areas will help CIPL as now days government is adopting cloud solutions and there are many tenders that coming up in this area. The Government is always more challenging business than Enterprises and SMEs. We have set our goals to tap on Enterprise segment but if we see the 10 years of journey, government is more challenging,” concludes Vinod. 

CIPL’s Contribution to the Society

CIPL has opened a CIPL Foundation, a trust to contribute to the society. 
•    During the time of demonetization CIPL felt that people are standing in the long queues without food and water so they came up with an idea to help people and started sending teams to different areas to distribute tea, snacks etc. It also arranged chairs for the elderly people. The campaign continued for 15 days. 
•    CIPL also celebrated Banker’s Day to motivate the bankers during demonetization. The company covered over 100 branches and thanked the bankers by offering a Rose and chocolate. 
•    In April it distributed books, uniforms, school bags etc to 500 children of Oriental Public School in Noida. These children belong to the nearby slums.
•    The trust was founded keeping in view of those who come from rural areas, good at studies and they wanted to pursue civil services but they do not have money to carry on the studies. So CIPL we will select 10 such students and will fund them this year. 
•    In the interior parts of India where there are no medical facilities, CIPL wants to facilitate them with free medicines and doctors for their basic health issues.