Piyush Somani, Founder, CMD and CEO, ESDS Software Solutions Private Limited
Piyush Somani’s first job was as a purchase head with meter manufacturing company in Mumbai. After completing a year at the company, he realised that he was more inclined to run a business. His father, too, encouraged him and he started a web-hosting support business in 2004, along with seven partners. However, being a “glocal” visionary, Somani decided to establish his own business and founded ESDS Software Solutions Private Limited in 2005. “I went through numerous challenges in my entrepreneurial journey and emerged as a digital transformation catalyst,” Somani recalls.
As the founder, chairman and managing director (CMD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of ESDS, Somani believes that handling each role as an expert becomes very important. ESDS foresees great opportunity in India’s newly scripted digital transformation story. Almost 60 per cent of the population is now connected to ESDS’s cloud platform, he claims. “We aim to touch the lives of 1 billion people, connect 1 billion devices to our cloud platform, plant 1 billion trees, and become a billion-dollar enterprise by 2024,” says Somani. However, he feels that people reinventing software and not using existing ones is a challenge that can push back India’s digital transformation process.
Somani believes that next-gen technologies will transform India in the coming years, riding on the telecom sector. He suggests that investors looking to invest in the sector should identify future aspects and invest in technologies such as autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing, blockchain, video and data analytics.
Among various assignments, the ones that remain the most memorable for Somani are the Stand Up India initiative and MUDRA Yojana. “This assignment became memorable due to the numerous challenges it presented. It was a great opportunity for us to contribute our expertise to fulfil the prime minister’s dream of extending loans to 1 billion people through the banking system,” he says.
Somani believes in balancing his aspirations, ambitions and responsibilities. This balance helps him survive, grow and lead effectively in the roles he performs. He also believes in running a horizontal organisation. “As a leader, I believe in helping my people achieve the maximum that they can,” he says.
Somani is an engineer by profession. He likes to spend his spare time with his family. He also enjoys listening to old Hindi music and is passionate about meditation and yoga.
