Mr Bhaskar Ganguli is the Director, Marketing and Sales at Mass Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a leading IT solutions company which helps emerging organizations in their transformation journey. In his current role, he explores contracting opportunities and connects with other emerging IT solutions providers in India and across the globe.
Ever since his early days, Ganguly has always been connected with diverse technical and technological backgrounds. An alumnus of Calcutta University and Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), he soon moved from being a web designer to being the head of marketing for mobile applications and web development.
In this exclusive interview with The Daily Plunge, Ganguly talks about his early days, the changes in the web development sector and the emerging startup scene in his hometown, Kolkata.
Tell me about your early days. How did the idea of setting up your company come to you?
I still remember the initial days at a restaurant where we had decided to create a partnership company to service global IT development requirements. We have come along a long way, and that hunger to be the best at what we do still drives us forward every single day.
At first, I was in design and that was something I always had a talent for. Then after we started MSSPL, I switched to Marketing and Sales. Kaushik and I have focused entirely on marketing and my other founders, Suman Ghosh and Suman Mukherjee, have been the backbone of our development arm. We started in a small one-room apartment.
We always trusted in our abilities and the fact we are a strong 4-man team, each of one us specialising in different areas gave us the confidence to succeed and ride any challenges.
How has the web development sector changed over the years since you have been in the industry? Where do you think the industry is going?
There has been a major change in web development from when we started. Keeping aside the technological advancements, I feel there has been a huge upgradation to the user’s experience and data security. Mobile also has played a key role in redefining the web development landscape. It totally changed users’ expectations.
PWA, SPA, server-less architecture and Motion UI will be major web trends in 2022 and beyond. General technology, such as artificial intelligence, voice search, blockchain, and IoT, will continue to be a major trend over the next decade. Web 3.0 is going to have a major impact in the immediate future along with a huge emphasis on privacy and data security. It is going to provide a far more personalized browsing experience for the users.
What are some things you keep in mind when you design a mobile app? How is the field changing?
The target audience is the first and foremost aspect to remember when developing a mobile app. Design is the aspect that sells the applications and is very important to factor in when developing mobile applications. We design mobile user experiences with the targeted audience in mind.
When developing apps, you should always keep in mind the specific aspect of the platform to ensure that they work correctly on the device you are aiming for. Speed plays a prominent role in whether users adopt or reject the mobile app immediately. Ease of use and speed are two crucial factors in user adoption of any mobile application.
Safety is paramount, and since mobile applications run on personal mobile phones, we attach great importance to building a fully secure mobile application.
Where do you plan to take your company in the future?
We work with MSMEs across all sectors in India and the globe. In terms of service expansion, we plan to grow Mass Software Solutions into a leading global enterprise solutions company. With off-shore and on-shore delivery centres, we aim to build solutions for enterprise clients and make a global impact.
We will focus on one product along with our learning management system and target corporates and large organizations. Companies can use the LMS for their benefit in terms of employee retention, employee knowledge enhancement, management, and employee talent and knowledge monitoring. We aim to target IT companies and IT consultants in the US, UK, and the rest of the world. And we here in Kolkata have dedicated teams to serve them and their customers. So it is one of the significant goals apart from the usual services and products.
How is the startup scene in Kolkata? How is it different from Delhi or Mumbai?
The start-up scene in Kolkata has picked up speed these days. I think Delhi and Mumbai have a head start because of many factors, including local industry, better manpower, resources, and funds availability. But Kolkata is also starting to see many successful startups join the bandwagon.
