IT’s all about usability and security!
The product offers a completely proprietary environment, developed from the ground up. The platform uses a few open source software applications at the back-end. The service offers a standard SLA (service level agreement) to its customers related to aspects like usability and uptime.
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But how does the platform ensure 100 per cent uptime? Kundu explains: “A2zapps.com has one of the top Level-3+ compliant data centres in India, and owing to its high availability environments, allows the platform the flexibility to commit uptime to customers. We have subscribed to an unusually high bandwidth for higher data flow speed between the Internet and data centres. To date, we have not faced any challenges or outages regarding uptime and availability and our users are usually happy.” The platform has a dedicated team for customer success management (CSM) to monitor customer issues closely and resolve them in the best possible timeframe. The service also provides a basic level of support to each and every user in order to ensure higher satisfaction levels.
Since security is the biggest customer concern when it comes to sharing data over the SaaS platform, Kundu affirms that security is dealt with at various levels. Security need not be a technology challenge alone; it is also a people and process challenge, he feels.
The physical security and security processes are implemented at the host’s side. The company also shares best practices with its clients for customer-controlled security mechanisms. Kundu reveals other security features of the application: “Our data centre servers cannot be used or accessed by anyone and are protected through usage of smart gadgets like any Level-3+ compliant secured data centre. We also use 128-bit encryption technologies to encrypt the data that flows between the server and user’s Web browser. Besides, our employees do not have access to customer data, unless authorised by a customer during the process of issue resolution. So when A2zapps.com personnel log in as the super user, they can only see the configuration and customisation related data (meta data) and can create test data to test out customisation.”
How it all began
What was it that led to the development of this platform? Kundu recalls, “When I was consulting for PeopleSoft for its online CRM (customer relationship management) back in 2000, and later working for Salesforce.com in the US, I wanted to take this online model to the next level by introducing a common business platform instead of providing SMEs with a specific online application. Being an Indian, I knew that SMEs in India could not afford different applications from different vendors. I was looking for a name that would be easy to remember and reflect the business model itself. I wanted to add a dot (.) to the name of the company to reflect the delivery model.”
Kundu and his colleagues undertook an analysis that showed that while there was a huge need for business applications in the SME segment, these requirements differed across organisations and there was no single product that could suit all of them. So the company was formed with the intention of creating a product that could fit every business need for enterprises of every size. The team was aware that this was not an easy job, considering the huge SME base in India, but what drove team members was a belief that a product like A2zapps.com could take it to the next level, and help it create one of the next generation of Indian enterprises.
The A2zapps.com team today comprises, Kantanu Kundu (CEO, chairman and founder), Ranjeet Bhatia (director-Operations & Foundation, and co-founder), Surajit Sinha (chief customer and product strategy officer) and Pranab Bhuyan (COO and EVP-Corporate Policy, Law and Strategy). And they have every reason to be proud of their creation.
