Start-ups have changed the way companies think and operate. And now, even large enterprises rely on them to come up with unique solutions. One such example is Indian IT giant, HCL Technologies. The company, founded by Shiv Nadar, has evolved with the emergence of the start-up ecosystem, says Achyut Chandra, Manager and Lead at HCL’s Open Innovation vertical.
Speaking to Business Today at T-Hub’s ‘Corporate Innovation Conclave’ on Wednesday, Chandra explained that now when the company encounters a problem they turn to their “start-up partners” for solutions because they help them “solve the problems quickly”.
“As an organisation grows, the power to make changes slows down,” he highlighted, adding that the processes are too lengthy to execute any change quickly sometimes. This is where start-ups step in.
“Eight years ago we realised that innovation can be brought out by external forces as well,” he highlighted. This epiphany, he said, later led to the launch of HCL’s open-innovation program called eSTIP. eSTIP has so far partnered with over 1,000 start-ups, eight venture capitalists, among other things.
Chandra noted that when Indian corporates started realising the value coming from this segment, they started “decentralising innovation” and that is in turn slowly opening the way for innovation to come from all corners of the country including the hinterlands.
Chandra also pointed out that exciting times are coming up for the Indian business ecosystem especially with the launch of 5G or fifth generation.
This will, especially, bolster the internet economy, according to him. “Stable and high-speed connectivity will give a push to the creator economy and the start-up ecosystem. While the former will create more content, the latter will be able to produce more solutions.”
Chandra said that start-ups are significant to the growth of the country, he also shared some larger plans that are there on the cards. He said that the IT giant wants to place its bets on deeptech technologies such as quantum computing and quantum communications in the coming times along with a special emphasis on sustainability. The company is hiring individuals which are digitally savvy and can add to the organisation’s plans.
In May this year, HCL partnered with World Economic Forum to commit $15 million to support “acquapreneurs” and innovation happening in the fresh resource management segment.
Chandra concluded by saying that India’s open innovation ecosystem has come a long way and collaborations between corporates and start-ups are going to increase and become only stronger in the times to come.
