NewsX was recently joined by the co-founder and CEO of JIFFY.ai, Babu Sivadasan, for an exclusive interview for the special segment, A-list. Talking about the new world of automation, Sivadasan briefed on automation as a concept and explained the mission of his startup, saying that the organisation hopes to power a lot of the middle and back office that brings a tremendous amount of resilience.
“What happened this year with Covid is that the fundamental assumption that enterprise applications were built in the past around people that are going to sit in the middle and back office, designed to be operated by them, is going away. You need more nimble, more resilient, infrastructure in the middle and back office now, whether people are there or not, they need to run. We are powering a whole new set of middle and back office applications and using that capability. We have done that for a number of Fortune companies already. We are very excited about the possibilities of continuing to drive on that path with large enterprises,” said Sivadasan.
Babu Sivadasan also quoted an example to explain the working of JIFFY.ai, which simplifies working within the companies that they work with. He explained that their technology enables processing in a very secure way, with technology and machines and algorithms doing that work and automating that process.
Speaking about how they create awareness about AI, he spoke of having a structured disciplined program internally. “There is a lot of advancement in AI but the programs that are available don’t really relate to what the organisations need. So, within our organisation, we have a disciplined program where we take them through a fully developed curriculum and bring the program to the outside world. We have some that are scheduled to come out next year, where we wanted to get students that are graduating and put them through a course and prepare them for the enterprise, keeping in mind the needs. Though there are a lot of programs out there which enable you with the skills that are necessary, you also need a disciplined program,” he explained.
Sivadasan also elaborated on the serious issue of data security, saying, “Some of the advancements happening in automation make it a much more secure environment now. In the past, you were relying on people you didn’t know with sensitive pieces of information for validation and verification. You’re eliminating that [now] with technologies like automation and AI, where machines are doing it. I’ve built a fabulous enterprise, the largest wealth management technology out there, and when you process four trillion dollars worth of assets, it calls for a different security infrastructure. This is the kind of background we all come from. So, putting in place processes and procedures that enable you to operate a highly secure environment, governed by compliance requirements, making sure each and every step you follow, you document them very clearly, follow them rigorously – so, even for a small startup, when it comes to data security and privacy, we operate like a very established firm, thereby taking responsibility very seriously.”
He then shared his views on tech startups in India. “If we look at the last ten years, the number of opportunities we have, for a young country like ours, is tremendous. We have the ability to look at consumers, a young workforce, and are not constrained in any way by legacy. We are adapting to new startups and the Indian environment. We have limitless opportunities in the consumer sector, e-commerce, and even in the enterprise space.”
After speaking on his role as an entrepreneur, Babu Sivadasan also touched upon his role as a venture capitalist. He said that while investing in a company, he is really investing in people. So what he considers the most is whether they are trustworthy, their resilience, moral character and ability to overcome.