COVID19: Compusoft Contemplates New Business Models, New Geographies

Incorporated in 1997, Compusoft Advisors is a software solutions provider offering ERP & CRM, cloud & mobility solutions and services around implementation & maintenance of ERP, CRM, Cloud, Mobility, software licensing and system integration. While the cloud model has ensured no business disruption for its clients in the current scenario, Devesh Aggarwal, CEO, Compusoft is concerned about the short term and long term impact of the COVID19 crisis.

During this COVID19 crisis what are the measures Compusoft has undertaken to continue its own business without disruption? 

In the current scenario WFH (Work from Home) has become inevitable. Luckily most of our customer projects are currently in the cloud environment and so once the security protocols were defined it was easy to move to work from home. With tools like Microsoft Teams it was easy to move to work from home without compromising on productivity.

What are the initiatives for the employees and financially what is the impact on Compusoft?

We will continue with work from home as long as it is not safe for the employees to travel. The safety of employees is the primary priority for any business to continue. Financially this has a huge impact in short term for sure as new orders are stuck, receivable collections are as good as gone or become non-existent.

What are the measures and initiatives taken for the uninterrupted service for customers? 

As I mentioned earlier our cloud-based business model has helped. As most of our customers have adopted cloud, most of our deliverables are on schedule. Subsequently, no customer has suffered any service disruption due to the pandemic and the lockdown.

What are Compusoft’s operating models? In light of the COVID19 crisis how has this model got impacted? 

The current business and operation models will definitely change as working capital becomes even more important to ensure business continuity. Earlier our model was focused around large enterprise projects where the payments became due only on completion of specified milestones. Even the collection was distributed across the project life cycle which could be few months to years depending on the nature and complexity of the project. Going forward we may need to add new models which would ensure steady cash inflows to ensure steady working capital to counter any such scenarios in future.

Which are the sectors you witness maximum traction? How has COVID19 impacted business with the existing customers? 

Quite a few of our marquee customers are from manufacturing, ITeS and services domain. All of them have been impacted by COVID19 for sure. Luckily our engagements with all our customers continue as earlier without any disruption. The major difference is as a partner we need to become compassionate and work closely with them. We must help them in such situation by ensuring our services are not disrupted and also by extending credit wherever possible to support our clients.

What are the contingency plans Compusoft has put in place if this crisis persists or gets escalated? 

We are envisaging lots of plans in discussion in various scenarios. We are hopeful we may not need to execute some of these extreme plans in near future.

What sort of business and financial impact you expect for Compusoft’s business as a result of COVID19? 

As a financial impact, COVID 19 would definitely affect our books for the fiscal year 2019-20. However we cannot help it in the current situation. We expect the situation not to be favourable for at least two more quarters depending on how long the COVID19 effects stay in India. We may definitely need to explore new geographies and new businesses to counter this catastrophe.