Mehul Panchal, Founder and CEO, Appuno IT Solutions
Could you introduce yourself to our audience?
I am Mehul Panchal, an entrepreneur with experience of over 30 years in
software development and management. I started my career with Truetzschler,
India, in 1992 as a planning engineer and left it in 2013 as CTO (IT) to start
Appuno. I believe in deep understanding customer requirements through
interactive ways and provide sustainable solutions that meet present as well as
possible future requirements of customers.
Could you tell us about your venture and its services?
Appuno started small with me as systems analyst, programmer, owner, and
everything. Slowly, with increasing customer faith in our solutions, business
grew, and I started building my team with specific skill sets to meet customer
requirements. Gradually, from database system solutions, we grew to provide web
development, mobile solutions both for Android and iOS, and solutions with APIs
and cloud solutions. Appuno has a team of more than 20 people to provide
development as well as after-sales service support to its customers worldwide,
24 X7.
What inspired you to start the company Appuno IT Solutions?
I was feeling constrained in a manufacturing environment with ERP and
collaborator-directed policies. I wanted to explore wider areas, learn new
environments, and use my knowledge to multiply my experience and provide
solutions to a wider range of customers. With my family support and adequate
finances to sustain family for a reasonable period, I could take a risk and
venture in this.
How has your leadership style contributed to the success of Appuno IT
Solutions?
I maintain a humble profile and am very patient with my customers and
developers. In this process, I get first-hand knowledge of customer
requirements and pass it on to development teams as per their expertise. My
leadership role is in meeting targets, understanding progress, and making
appropriate course corrections in implementation. I have good support from a
small coordinating team that keeps tabs on progress to meet deadlines and
provide the right solutions.
Could you share with us your professional journey, highlighting key
achievements?
My first system was a PCB tracking system to track its people involved
in production, dates of activities inhouse, its history of failures to its use
in products, and customers using a clipper. It was maintained and linked with
the German system so that they could also track what happened to it and where.
Later, I was instrumental in ERP implementation, maintenance, and
customization, as well as developing companywide intranet applications like
customer complaint management systems, document management systems, etc. I was
in Germany to help a parent company develop drivers using C for their testing
and control systems.
In Appuno, I developed various solutions for customers like Rotomag
Motors and Controls, Crime Tech Solutions, Premier, and companies abroad.
Developed application for Investigation Case Management System for Law
Enforcement, Government Agencies, Multi-Jurisdictional Task Forces, and Other
Specialized Investigative Units. Solar Pump Analytic Dashboard and many more.
We are humbled by the faith that the Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy of the Government of India (MNRE), in collaboration with the Solar PV
Manufacturing Association, has placed on us to develop an online portal aimed
at enhancing the traceability and verification of domestically manufactured
solar panels. This initiative seeks to ensure compliance with the Domestic
Content Requirement (DCR) in solar PV modules deployed across the country. The
portal is now accessible through the National Institute of Solar Energy's
(NISE) website.
The portal provides a mechanism for DCR verification via the entry of
unique serial numbers affixed to each solar PV module. This tool will be
utilized by MNRE for verifying DCR compliance in projects that fall under its
schemes mandating DCR. This ensures that the solar PV modules used in these
projects meet the required standards of domestic content.
To facilitate this process, all manufacturers listed under the Approved
List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) are urged to register their solar PV
manufacturing facilities on the portal. Once registered, they need to start
entering the necessary data. Moving forward, this portal will serve as the
exclusive means for DCR verification. Manufacturers must comply with this
process to avoid potential consequences.
Could you tell us about your areas of expertise and how they have
contributed to your success?
I am a good listener with technical as well as software knowledge. I try
to look at system solutions with the possibility of future growth and
flexibility. Having worked closely with managers who know what they want, I use
my knowledge of their language to understand their requirements. Later, I do
system design and communicate the same to programmers in their jargon to create
solutions to work for the present as well as the future. My working as an
active, intelligent bridge between technocrats and programmers helps a lot in
providing solutions faster.
What advice would you offer to young entrepreneurs aspiring to start a
business in the IT industry?
Be in the field with your future customers, learn their language, and
then jump in as an entrepreneur with a lot of patience and readiness to work on
frugal budgets for at least three years. If you are sincere, have good
listening skills, and understand customer requirements in detail, your success
is guaranteed.
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