Jahnavi- What major factors are focused by Blackbox prior to delivering cutting-edge technology solutions and world-class consulting services to businesses around the globe?
Vishal- The factors are interwoven with our design thinking approach. We ensure that our solutions are delivered to the customers as Simple, Effective, Affordable, Dependable, and Scalable. They are not cluttered with unnecessary features. There is the least gap between customers expectations and our delivery; they offer high value and return on investment; they are consistent in performance and cope with the customers growth.
Jahnavi- Considering Blackbox strive for continuous innovation that anticipates the ever- changing needs of the customers and accelerates their success, how do you do so?
Vishal- We attempt to do it in three different ways. Firstly, we question the traditional approach to solving the problem and find out if there is a scope for improvement in terms of ease or affordability. Many of our innovations, like happy hours, autocratic centralization etc., are the outcome of our way of challenging the traditions and developing a disruptive way to solve the problem more effectively. Secondly, we always keep in touch with the customers on the ground.
We keep interacting with them and spot the issues they cannot solve. We try to understand the impact of such problems on productivity, opportunity losses, competitive exploitation, and business continuity. If the impact is high, we invest in developing the solutions. Thirdly, we keep track of governments and MNCs empanelment and compliance requirements for their vendors, who are essentially MSMEs. Such conditions create a compelling demand for solutions in the MSME sector. We follow such requirements and invest in developing the solutions.
Jahnavi- Are there any sustainability goals which Blackbox has planned for the future?
Vishal- We have been following and achieving sustainability goals since we started. The BLACKbox range of products has continuously reduced its carbon footprint. The original design thinking is carried on. It is about developing solutions that require minimum hardware resources. Commendably, BLACKbox replaces a file server, firewall, endpoint controls, domain server, mail server, storage device, backup systems, and terminal servers from a standard IT infrastructure. It removes eight hardware devices containing the processor, RAM, storage, and
electronic circuits. It runs all the above services as single hardware – single software. It saves on electricity and bandwidth and generates less thermal output requiring less cooling. Our industry- first buyback policy enables the customer to realize the reasonable value of the old device when they upgrade to a new device. Also, we refurbish bought-back devices and sell them to price- conscious customers. It prolongs the disposal of electronic hardware and contributes to our sustainability goals. We are in a continuous process of chasing our sustainability goals. We are focusing on minimizing bandwidth usage as part of our sustainability drive.
Jahnavi- What all proactive services are prepared by Blackbox to ensure their customers safety?
Vishal- We are super-conscious about the safety of our customers data. We follow a zero-trust policy to ensure the customers data safety. We bundle and ship a UPS along with every BLACKbox device. This unit is installed between the BLACKbox device and the main power supply. It is specially programmed to send specific signals to BLACKbox to save data and shut down in case of variance or failure in power conditions. It is our industry-first initiative to ensure customer data safety. Also, our devices are certified by FCC, CE, BSMI, EAC, CCC, KC, VCCI, and RCM. At the software level, our zero-trust policy mandates using a VPN for remote access to the data and inbound connections.
Jahnavi- What are the long term goals of the company along with the focused vision of the company?
Vishal- We are working on an ambitious project of BLACKbox OneCloud that is designed as a single agent – single service offering. It is intended to simplify cloud adoption for MSMEs and make IT more cost-effective. We are also investing in product development to transition to an OPEX offering from our current CAPEX offering. Our long-term goal is to penetrate the MSME sector for its data protection, information security, and IT compliance requirements to claim the highest market share.
Jahnavi- Do you think Digitization and Automation are going to be the only way forward for corporates to ensure better control altogether?
Vishal- Digitization and automation have already started being an integral part of the operational strategies of the corporates. They immensely contribute to profitability and efficiency. They also ensure zero-defect quality management and efficiency in material management. It is the stepping stone to Industry 4.0, Smart Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and IoT (Internet of the Things). It is impossible to benefit from these advanced technologies until digitization and automation are fully embraced. They are no longer the choice to make; they are the way to go.
