Though he wishes he could learn hypnotism to expand sales, Prashant Gupta, head of solutions at Verizon Business, is not doing too badly without it. In fact, with his never-take-no-for-an-answer attitude, he has accomplished several notable feats including being part of the team that transformed Verizon from being an essential network provider to the end-to-end IT solutions and information security provider that it is today.
?On the whole, I feel that I have good knowledge of the IT and telecom, and security industries with specific significant vertical knowledge of banks, financial services and insurance, as well as the government, IT and IT-enabled service segments,? he explains. ?This has enabled me to architect the correct solutions for our customers.?
Coming from a family that has a defence services background, he initially wanted to join the Indian Navy. ?I used to watch my father get dressed in his naval white uniform every morning and would be inspired.? However, as he grew up, he discovered that his interest in engineering was greater and so he chose it as a career.
Prior to joining Verizon Business, he was heading the IT division of a KPO focusing on mortgage. There, he managed to construct a state-of-the-art data centre in India and the US, apart from developing a new business model that offered managed IT services to the firm?s existing customers. This benefited the firm immensely since it transformed IT operations from a cost centre to a profit centre.
He attributes much of his success to the teams that he has worked with. ?I spend a lot of time with my staff with the objective of nurturing them to do the job better than what I can do,? he says. He follows management guru James C. Collins and attempts to emulate the seven characteristics of great leaders described in the latter?s book, Good to Great.
Meanwhile, he expects a busy time ahead for his company. ?My challenge right now is to come out with innovative solutions that will improve our ability to anticipate and serve our customers? needs more effectively and efficiently,? he says. He expects the government and enterprise vertical to be a lucrative prospect. Moreover, with 360 security solutions slated to be one of the top ten technology trends, he will definitely have his hands full. Other upcoming trends include increased uptake of green technologies, cloud computing and remote surveillance of the workforce.
Gupta tries to spend as much time as possible to be with his family, his wife and two children. He also likes to read and cook. Experimenting with different cuisines is something he looks forward to.
