1. PK4 PK4 Corporate Profile Dec. 2010
Corporate Profile
PK4 develops and sells Impel (www.impelcrm.in), a functionally-rich, mobile-accessible, multi-tenanted
OnDemand CRM solution that helps companies put their clients at the centre of their business. Customers
buy Impel because it gives them high functionality and in-field access without the hassles of capital outlay,
hardware and infrastructure issues, in-house IT expense or troublesome upgrades.
The Market
The global SaaS market is expected to be about Rs. 70,000 Cr in 2011, growing at about 32%. CRM is the
biggest segment by far. SaaS CRM in Asia-Pac is doing extremely well, growing at 77% from about 2,000 Cr
this year. In India specifically, 8 MN SMBs (not including the 12 MN shops) employ about 35 MN people
across the country, a large number of whom need good software solutions. In non-rural India, an estimated
20 MN people need daily access to software like Impel. Further, Services and Sales & Distribution companies
find ERP too complex (since they don’t need functions like manufacturing and production) and plain-vanilla
CRM inadequate. And access for field personnel is expensive. So there’s a strong, growing need for solutions
that Impel fills well.
Business Model
Impel is sold on a per-user-per-month model, priced in various editions ranging from Rs. 400 to Rs. 1,200.
We target SMEs across verticals, typically selling 15 to 150 user-seats per customer. Prospects find us
online, sign up, evaluate Impel CRM and then buy subscriptions to it. Larger deals are strongly relationship-
oriented and happen via Partners and personal cont act. Revenue accrues from monthly user subscriptions,
use of our Client Portal by large numbers of people, SMS interactions and some customization.
Product Offering
Impel includes the standard CRM modules of sales automation, marketing management and customer
support. But we are far ahead in at least three critical areas:
• Impel CRM is particularly applicable to the Indian business environment. Our SMS Command system, for
example, gives field personnel the full power of CRM, using inexpensive handsets.
• The product has a huge breadth and depth of functionality. Our “Quote-to-Cash” model, for example,
covers inventory, quotes, orders, invoicing and collection.
• Customization is critical for companies that want to leverage a CRM solution well. Impel’s engine-based
architecture is ideal for deep, scalable customization, unlike most older SaaS solutions.
Impel is built on a high-availability engine that is natively mega- and multi-tenanted, giving customers high
data security and round-the-clock access.
Customers
Impel customers range from small, five-person companies to stock-market-listed entities with 1000-Cr sales.
Some of the recognizable names that use Impel for their CRM needs are:
- Bausch & Lomb India - Laxmi Hydraulic Pumps
- EduSports - Lifecell International
- ESAB India - Modi Tyres
- Hindustan Sanitaryware - Uniglobe Travel.
Company
PK4 Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd. was founded in Bangalore by Thomas Alexander (Harvard MBA with
nearly 30 years in IBM and US start-ups), Narasimhan (Kishore) Mandyam (over 22 years in software,
beginning with Infosys) and Surekha Shetty (over 22 years in software, beginning with Infosys). With a
team of 20 people, we rolled out Impel OnDemand in May 2008. Over 2,000 companies have signed up for
evaluation since then and we have had CRM-related contact with another 3,000 companies over the last 24
months.
People
Thomas (Tom) Alexander is Chairman of PK4. Mr. Alexander is a serial entrepreneur, having founded and
successfully built a number of start-ups in Northern California. Mr. Alexander’s recent companies include
Intransa (as CEO) and LuxN (as President and Co-founder, led its acquisition by Sorrento Networks). Prior to
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2. PK4 PK4 Corporate Profile Dec. 2010
founding LuxN, Mr. Alexander headed the telecom/datacom investment portfolio in a Silicon Valley-based
venture capital firm and previously Infotron Systems and IBM. Mr. Alexander is a Harvard Business School
alumnus and also holds a Master of Science (MS) from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Engineering
(BE) from Guindy Engineering College, Madras, India.
Narasimhan (Kishore) Mandyam is CEO of PK4, delivering SaaS CRM for non-Western geographies. Starting
as a developer in Infosys, Kishore has built and run software companies in India and the US. As Managing
Director of Ampersand Software Applications Ltd., he helped take a Services company from start-up to
one that operated in India, the US, Japan and Europe. As a co-founder, he helped build and grow
American technology companies like Aprisa Inc. and zeroCode Inc. He co-founded PK4 with the objective
of changing the way traditional software is built and sold. Impel CRM is the first large software system
from that effort. Impel's technology and business model combine to deliver the most effective and
efficient solution for Sales, Support and general business operations for SME customers.
Surekha Shetty is PK4’s Director (Sales and Marketing). She has over 23 years of experience marketing and
selling software products and services. She has built the strategic and marketing plans for establishing
Impel as a world-class, India-focused On-Demand solution in a start-up mode. Previously, she spun out,
established and grew a strong network and storage software group for an American VC-funded company.
She co-founded and scaled US-India-based Professional Services from scratch to over 250 consultants and
revenues of $ 8 MN. An Electronics Engineer from Karnataka Regional Engineering College, Surekha started
her career with Infosys as a Software Engineer.
Parthasarathi Dharmarajan heads Engineering at PK4. With over 12 years of experience, Partha leads all
development efforts and also has very close interactions with customers on the overall direction of Impel.
He consults with customers on advanced CRM issues. He is responsible for planning out strategic releases,
upgrades and enhancements to Impel CRM. His experience is across the life sciences, after-sales service,
manufacturing, financial services and educational service sectors.
With over 9 years of experience, Radha is heads Business Development in PK4. She is the face of Impel to
our customers and has a very good knowledge of the ways in which our customers use Impel for delivering
exceptional marketing, sales and delivery excellence. Prior to working with PK4, Radha was a Lecturer and
has a tremendous combination of academic and business skills.
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