The 10 Most Trustworthy Consulting Companies.

1. January 2021 I N D I A CONSULTING CHALLENGES Challenges in the Indian Consulting Space Post Covid-19 THE MOST Y H T R O W T S U R T CONSULTING COMPANIES Dr. Rajesh Joshi Chairman & MD SKYNET EXPERTS

4. EDITOR’S NOTE Consulting Firms are Transforming Businesses Effectively C onsulting firms play a vital role in assisting companies across various fields such as business strategy, manufacturing and supply chain, sales and marketing, human resources, and so on. Since a consulting company caters to diverse fields, it must weather various changes. A consultancy firm offers a wide variety of services to its clients. It assists the clients to formulate business models, reduce costs, predict risks, and innovate products. It further strengthens their processes for managing talent, staying compliant, and recruiting staff. These firms further help their clients to stay ahead in the competition while adopting digital technologies, or to adapt to rapidly transforming geopolitical situations. Hence, no matter how difficult the situations are, a consulting firm provides its clients with the best solutions. However, despite their massive growth, there are many challenges that the consulting companies are facing. Nowadays, the clients demand more, push back

5. 1 MOST THE TRUSTWORTHY TRUSTWORTHY CONSULTING COMPANIES against billable hours and required fees, and demand greater transparency on costs. consultancy firms have to complete the project faster, on tighter budgets, while fulfilling the customers’ requirements. In this innovative and agile business environment, clients now call for more value, better quality of service, and faster delivery of solutions. They further ask for more transparency and accountability in the delivered services. Consultancy firms must handle numerous confidential client information. These may include strategic information and commercial and personal data. These data are very crucial and can be damaging if they fall into wrong hands. As a result, consultancy firms are also major targets for hackers and data breaches. Moreover, consultancy firms now no longer enjoy monopoly on specialized knowledge. Information is readily available online for those who want to research. Today, there are many firms in the market, who offer quality services at reasonable prices. Another challenge for consultancy firms is profitability. Clients now have a variety of choice for services. Hence, they can demand for greater value and flexibility at lower prices. Moreover, new consulting firms entering the market create further competition. The leading consulting companies of India deliver unmatched services, while paying utmost attention towards client security and convenience. They leave no stone unturned to ensure that their clients receive the best services without delays and hassles. Hence, in this issue of CIO Look India, ‘The 10 Most Trustworthy Consulting Companies,’ we showcase the best and most innovative consulting firms, that deliver flexible and agile client solutions. These firms offer cutting-edge services to ensure seamless workflow of the clients. Also, check out articles written by our in-house editorial team for your reading pleasure. The rapid rise of independent consultants accelerated by freelance portals are creating further competition, in turn, reducing the scope of profitability. Another factor that consultancy firms lay emphasis on is the growing complexity of project environments. They need to provide their best advice to survive in this complex macro ecosystem. Since the industry is global in nature, firms must deliver more projects overseas. This calls for working with subcontractors, partner companies, and/ or independent service providers. Moreover, the DarsHP Darshan Parmar

6. C O N T E N T S A RT I C L E 20 Consulting Challenges Challenges in the Indian Consulting Space Post Covid-19 08 Cover story SKYNET EXPERTS Facilitating Digital Transformation Across Various Verticals

7. 16 Renascence Talent Driving Dynamic Talent Acquisition Strategies the Consulting Business24 CGR Minds Inc Making a Difference in Quatrro Business Support Services Outsourcing Tech-enabled 28 Solutions Solutions to the Businesses Worldwide32 Grandiose Digital Media Delivering World-class Marketing 36 DesignTree Specialists in Providing Practical Solutions to Discerning Projects..

8. I N D I A Sumita Sarkar Editor-in-Chief CONTENT FOLLOW US ON www.twitter.com/ciolookindia www.facebook.com/ciolookindia/ Managing Editor Darshan Parmar Assisting Editors Ananda Kamal Das Contributing Writer Vrushali Rakhunde WE ARE ALSO AVAILABLE ON DESIGN CONTACT US ON VisualizerAsha Bange Email sales@ciolookindia.com For Subscription www.ciolookindia.com Art & Design Director Priyanka Rajage Associate Designer Deepanjali Jena SALES Copyright © 2021 CIOLOOK India, All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from CIOLOOK India. Reprint rights remain solely with CIOLOOK India. Operations Head Megha Mishra Sales Manager Ashwini Pahurkar Sales Executive Neha Bhilare TECHNICAL Technical Head Aditya K. Technical Consultant Tanaji SME-SMO Research Analyst Amol Wadekar SEO Executive Sujay Bhavsar sales@ciolookindia.com January, 2021

9. 1 MOST THE TRUSTWORTHY TRUSTWORTHY CONSULTING COMPANIES Company Name Featuring Brief Ramneek Kumar Managing Partner CGR Minds is having its presence in Canada, Mexico, Thailand and India for providing services to clients. CGR Minds CiELO Technologies is a Value-Added Distributor (VAD) of Information Technology products, headquartered in India and covers India and EMEA region. Sanket Deshpande Sales Director CiELO Technologies DesignTree is evolved to provide one stop service/ solution with a more focus on client requirements with responsive, agile,hands on and innovative approach to all prospective clients. Designtree Service Consultants Pvt. Ltd. Srinivas Reddy Managing Director Grandiose Digital Media offers a wide range of services that are assisting in driving the clients’ business towards success. Mohammed Huzaifa CEO Grandiose Digital Media Adithya Ganapathi Managing Director Plenier consulting provides all types of immigration consultancy and visa services in Bangalore. Plenier Consulting Quatrro Business Support Services is a tech-enabled outsourcing firm that is changing the way companies think about technology strategy and finance and accounting. Quatrro Business Support Services C M Sharma Chairman and CEO Renascence Talent has been awarded the Best Recruitment Firm – Senior Management roles by World HRD Congress in 2019. Renascence Talent Solution Prasad Tataverty Founder and Director Alok Kumar Managing Partner Srkay Consulting Group LLP SRKay Consulting Group invests in innovative, high-potential and early-stage opportunities and businesses. Skynet Experts encompass a highly professional team having decades of experience in technology, management, and skill development and evaluation field. Rajesh Joshi Chairman and Director Skynet Experts Pvt. Ltd. Wiz Aviation is a specialized aviation technical consulting company that provides integrated aftermarket aviation support services to the airlines, aircraft leasing companies, owners and aviation investors worldwide. Wiz Aviation Consultants Satish Modi Technical Director

10. SKYNET EXPERTS Facilitating Digital Transformation Across Various Verticals E knowledgebase, areas of improvement and the job market as well. On the contrary, it gives educators a clear picture of the aspirant’s progress, helping them devise the most suitable approaches to increase efficiency. The conventional procedure of assessments focuses on the aspirants' interests, aptitudes, values, and skills to determine what their real interests are and where exactly they fit in the job market. However, this framework often shows equivocal conclusions, and it becomes a back-breaking task for companies, to churn out the perfect candidate, with the right skill set. ducational assessment plays an integral role in an aspirant’s life. A good career assessment makes candidates mindful of their performance, Technology has been an incremental component, for the growth of the education industry. Tech-upgrades namely Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have helped the arena see new heights, in a short time. The digital platform has also played a crucial role in education assessment. During recruitment, companies tend to find candidates with, the perfect blend of skills and education. However, the prevalent framework makes it a huge challenge to identify the right candidate in the crowd. This calls for a specialist such as Skynet Experts. Headquartered in Pune, the company has conceived a state-of-the-art online platform that assesses an aspirant’s career interest and helps them find the perfect job. Skynet Experts is the leading, globally operating technology management consulting company

11. Cover story Dr. Rajesh Joshi Chairman & Managing Director

12. “ We are constantly investing to improve our state-of-the-art knowledge not only in the domains of core expertise but also in advanced technological areas that would potentially create new business activities, enhancing our service offering “

13. The 10 Most Trustworthy Consulting Companies with headquarters in Maharashtra, India which has been combining classic management consulting with high technological competence for over 4 years. The focus of its activities is on digital transformation. encourage Indian farmers to adopt this digital era and become part of it. As population grows, we need to find a way to supply food or agro products much faster to customers. Gramin Vikreta platform helps all agro production chain to achieve their common goal. The platform helps farmers, transporters, and customers to fulfil their needs and support efficiently. It includes education sector, supports companies from all areas of business to adapt their business models and operational processes to the competitive conditions and customer requirements of the digitalized, globalized economy with state-of-the-art communication and information technology. Skynet Experts expertise bundles the knowledge from the successful conclusion of management and technology consulting projects in over 04 countries. As the challenges in the agriculture space grows, the requirement of new tools to even maintain, improving the way of food production, improving connectivity, supply-demand ratio, and enabling digital platform will be the key to address these issues. This digital platform is set up to help shape the future tools from Skynet Experts. “We explore how to transfer our unique knowledge and help farmers increase yield and reduce emissions based on new ways of collaborating and new technologies,” adds Skynet Experts’ team. As one of the leading Technology and Consulting company, Skynet Expertsis providing the most innovative and hi-tech solution to assess today's youngsters for tomorrow's jobs. Specialized for evaluations of employability across all domains, we conduct entry level and lateral evaluations for corporate clients and have access to more than one million applicants through its online assessment platform. Additionally, the company also works as a Consultant for the criteria for skills training and business evaluation for various Governments and private entities too. Skynet’s team is expert in the fund-raising field. It has worked for private entities in the field of fund-raising, marketing, public relations, sales, and over the years, the company has discovered how to raise money. As of now, the team of Skynet has turned a decade of successes into a lucrative consulting business. Dynamics of Skynet Skynet Experts encompass a highly professional team having decades of experience in technology, management, and skill development and evaluation field. Its team works with leading universities of skill, states, and competency councils in the sector. Using latest technological tools and AI based assessment the team at Skynet assess the talent and help its clients in selecting perfect workforce which will act as a business growth catalyst for them. Having excellent expertise, which is expected from a consultant,the company derives its functionality well in industry which allows it to continually experience success and face the challenges of new era. “We are highly confident about new challenges, new client needs and demands require more, however, as management “ As a technology company, Skynet also provides skills/vocational career guidance and assessment certification solutions. Till date it has issued more than 3.5 million evaluations in 200 + districts in 20 states of India. Its three-dimensional work style helps the company’s corporate partners to reduce the frequency of interviews using a central evaluation platform. This platform also helps its institutional partners in measuring and improving employability and help candidates to move ahead on their career path. “We provide guaranteed placement to our certified candidates,” says the team of Skynet Experts. We utilize superior expertise in every facet of our business, which allows us to positively respond to the challenges of our times and provide expert, optimal and high- quality solutions that lead straight to the point of our customer needs “ Now, Skynet is entering in the E-commerce sector with our in house developed brand under project ‘Mission Agro Aisle’ named Gramin Vikreta,a digital platform to

14. building customer base, reinventing core operations and partners experience as well. It has been more alleviated by the trend focusing smart, connected and AI-powered products. Today’s digital turbulence is driving a major pivot to as-a-service and other new business models. “Reinventing core business and simultaneously mounting new business models is gist of Skynet Experts’ business model,” states Dr. Joshi. “ We strive to be a resourceful continuous development partner. Our intent is to enable a digitally transformed platform for our clients “ In addition to Dr. Joshi, the company is blessed with rational core management team, in which Dr. Firoz Syed is Head of International Business and Mr. Devdatta Sathe is heading IT Department, along with Dr. Rupali Joshi,Head of Operations. What lies Ahead…. The nationwide panic due to the COVID-19 outbreak has afflicted the livelihood of the entire country. Businesses are witnessing severe hardships and need to adapt to the transformative way for a new normal. Digital Technology has revealed an avenue of transformative opportunities to learn and adapting this period of self-isolation. Fathoming to the scenario, Skynet is diversifying its assessment services to online learning solutions and other tech-based projects as well. Since the conclusion of the current situation remains inconclusive, Skynet is focusing on aspects it can control. Specifically, the company is prioritizing on customer retention, including the quality of services, value orientation, and ensure spending only on crucial aspects. “Since they are shifting from the conventional path, we are keeping a clear communication channel, short and crisp meetings to value each other’s time, sending pre- reads and use meetings to drive decisions,” informs Dr. Joshi. consultants, our values lie in paving our own path with brisk strategy for the future,” says Dr. Rajesh Joshi, Chairman and Managing Director of Skynet Experts. A True Expert Dr. Joshi is a great visionary as well as is IIT, IIM and PHD holder in IT and operations. Dr. Joshi also Princes 2 Certified, PMP Certified, and has worked for HCL, Microsoft on development of native tools and designed and deployed lots of large-scale projects. For the last ten years, he is into policy designing for the central and state of India, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. He is an expert in Projects Management in the fields of entrepreneurial assistance, information technology, training, and regional development in the Private and Public sector. Dr. Joshi is working for a social cause; initiating the youth for changing the system, utilizing opportunities, and spreading awareness among the community to make society a better place. He has been striving to achieve ‘the development of – Me,’ which according to him is developing and helping oneself in becoming the best for the society. The pandemic has created a huge turmoil for several businesses and consumers all over world. However, Skynet believes that it has emerged as an opportunity to innovate new possibilities. “We are emphasizing on capital preservation for sustaining our business and investing in deploying remote communications, artificial intelligence, and contactless services in the aftermath of the pandemic,” concludes Dr. Joshi and the team of Skynet Experts. As technology and consultancy company Dr. Joshi strives for enabling digitalized transformation for Skynet’s client’s businesses. The automated processes and tech-based solutions helps in the growth and revenue generation of the company. Implementing digital platforms, AI technology, E-commerce solutions helps to serve end customer and client. When it comes to innovative solutions and offerings, certain unprecedented disruptions require transformations i.e.,

15. “ Our mission is to be the most successful consulting company, abiding by our principles - the Knowledge, the Effectiveness, the Reliability, and the Integrity “

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18. Ramneek Kumar Talwar President 16 January 2021

19. The 10 Most Trustworthy Consulting Companies CGR MINDS INC Making a Difference in the Consulting Business T he current pandemic has impacted the large economies globally. However, some organizations have a strong belief that it is always easy and good to write on a clean slate rather than trying to fill the spaces left on a filled slate. There is always a possibility to grow from zero with more clarity and focused vision. Obstacles are always there when one is doing good or not doing good. The company was started as a consulting company with a clear vision to support organizations, to convert their aspirations into reality by multiplying their bottom-line. Its major clients are from SMEs, MSMEs having a vision to attain exponential growth and expand their business across the border. CGR MINDS’ consistent growth is a result of continued support and confidence of its clients, over a period of time. Its team shares, “We serve industries such as Manufactur- ing, Infrastructure, Real Estate, Energy, Business services, Education, Consumer products, Information Technology, start-ups etc.” But the major obstacle is the changing paradigm and now this is the time when one must bring the paradigm shift to start doing the business the way they want. One pandemic is passing by and others may come, but life must go on and one must be open to explore the opportunities either in front of them or one can search it in the area one desires. Dynamics of CGR MINDS Ensuring the hygiene levels has always remained an area of importance in our working and life, the only thing is that this pandemic has taught all of us about hygiene and safety procedures to be maintained at all levels. Since ancient times and ages, there have been advices all the times, about various safety procedures should be adopted, now same has been reinforced scientifically. The company is having its presence in Canada, Mexico, Thailand and India for providing services to clients. It has accomplished different types of projects in quite diverse industries such as Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Infrastruc- ture and Construction, FMCG, and Mining just to name a few. One company with a similar belief in starting afresh is CGR MINDS. It is not just a business consulting company; it is on a mission to transform businesses. As consultants, CGR MINDS support business leaders to achieve their ambitious targets across the globe resulting into consistent growth for their companies. “Our association with our clients always writes and inspires success story for the institution and energises their teams for a sustainable growth,” says Mr. Rajesh Shukla – Vice President of CGR MINDS. CGR MIND and its team has conviction in their own capabilities and belief that victory is just beyond the obstacles. “We are pro-active with a culture of advance planning, planning to enable productivity and results, reviewing current reality and taking expeditious actions,” states Mr. Gerard Char . The company believes in transparent communication, acknowledging accomplishments and breakdowns, standing for its potential and improvement scope. It respects 17 January 2021

20. “ financial structuring for cross-border deals, led significant engagements of joint venture and collaborations across the globe. We help companies to multiply their bottom line & expand their business to convert their aspirations to reality, through a team of highly experienced and result-oriented consultants “ Ramneek has expertise in providing breakthrough leader- ship to achieve corporate strategies, build coalition to support business growth, implement and manage change to drive organizational performance. celebrating diversity in skills, perspectives, and back- grounds, respecting every member in the company and at client place, respecting roles and accountability, listening deeply, differing perspectives, respecting itself. Expert Services CGR MINDS is helping SME and MSME companies in FMCG, Food and Beverages, Nutraceuticals and Pharma- ceutical, Infrastructure, IOT, Research and Development in Health Sciences etc. to convert their aspirations to reality, primarily launching their ‘products and services.’ It is assisting the clientele in creating and managing effective distribution network, sales and marketing activities, client’s operations with planned strategic implementation across border i.e. India, Thailand, Canada, Mexico etc. “We work with clients only when we are confident that we can multiply their profits and bring sustainable changes in their organization, we remain engaged and a stakeholder through the course of the implementation period, along with our clients and partners,” shares Ramneek Kumar Talwar, President of CGR MINDS. CGR MINDS’ team designs the payment structure to benefit client in such a way, that client finds a complete win-win for all stake holders. The company always take the prior approval with the client about the complete solution, before starting the engagement and shares the knowledge base while transferring competent resources to ensure the self-sustaining growth. The team of CGR MINDS is also providing Project Management services to Government, IT, Infrastructure, Major Maintenance and R&D organizations to complete projects within time, budget, and scope along with advisory and solutions related to Cyber Crime and Investigations. The team assists in complete launching of innovative Startups in different verticals. A Distinguished Personality Guiding young entrepreneurs, Ramneek conveys, “One should possess listening skills and be a good and effective, communicator with proper articulation. One must focus on relationships with trust, throughput & transparency, rather than revenue.” According to Ramneek, one should sell results, rather than the service. All consulting delivery structure should be flexible to accommodate the client’s success. One must use various proven management tools and always close all type of communications, rather than keeping them open. Ramneek is having expertise in providing breakthrough leadership to achieve corporate strategies, build coalition to support business growth, implement and manage change to drive organizational performance. Extensive experience with C-Level decision makers of large companies through- out globe. Ramneek as President of CGR MINDS help companies to create their own Decisive Competitive Edge and brings the whole organization on path of ‘Process of On-Going Improvement’ In long run, CGR MINDS aspire to be the leader with proven footprints, helping most of the small and medium organizations across the globe and grow them by multiply- ing bottom-line. “We believe that by doing so we can create and provide unlimited job and business opportunities and bring happiness among all,” concludes Ramneek. He is an accomplished Senior Executive with the vision and leadership insights to strategic plan, direct and control company operations to capitalize on emerging business opportunities, by way of creating a Decisive Competitive Edge. Ramneek has proved his consulting capabilities in Projects and Sales and Marketing. He resulted in major 18 January 2021

22. Challenges in Consulting Space Post Covid-19 the Indian 20 January 2021

23. Consulting Challenges T he Indian economy even without the Covid-19 driven pandemic was not in its pinkest of state. What the latter did was to push it over the brink. What we now see these days is the case of a free fall with no end to the precipice. It was predicted that with the pandemic’s effects tapering off towards the end of the year (due to the likely though not-so-well- documented case of heard immunity) 2020 and the emergence of the vaccines by mid-2021, things could finally see the end of the free fall. An economy of the size of India due to its sheer complexity brought about by the societal differences and divergence is not an easy place to set right given that it takes time which not many have, and the complete opacity in knowing where it shall finally end. That said, a few trends and indications have started to emerge which while showing the direction we are headed to, also indicate the challenges Indian Industry faces in the coming years. tsunami wave that all but washed off everything in its path. What it did leave behind are challenges and more challenges given the sheer quantum of changes it wrought on humanity and the way we exist in almost every walk of life. Challenge # 1: Getting accustomed to technology in the field of consulting Consulting was all about meeting people, finding information, looking for trends and prescribing remedial measures. With social distancing being the norm, this could be the first casualty. Thankfully, technology is stepped in, and done things wonderfully with online meeting, work-related applications, and the cloud having taken away the need to meet in person. But if you think it’s nice and cosy, ask someone who isn’t tech-savvy what it feels like to be there in front of a computer not knowing what to do when the broadband is down or slow. And slow things have gone ever since folks shifted home to stay and work permanently. Even the best of consultants in the field may find technology tough to decipher and use daily, more so if it isn’t directly related to their area of work. Consultancy always had a special place in India for various reasons, including the recent availability of good-quality consultants in myriad fields and sectors. Another thing in India that supports consultancy is competition that has made time to market shorter and more incisive. Industry, industrialists, and entrepreneurs have to be there, and be there FAST. The only way to do so is to be consulted by those with the right knowledge and experiences. With so much at stake, the pandemic did come about like a proverbial Challenge # 2: Getting accustomed to newer fields where one can consult Let’s take an example to make the point. There was a time when HR consultancy was one of the biggest in India. They were also myriad forms 21 January 2021

24. Challenge # 4: Indian entrepreneurial scene of into training be it technical or non-technical. You want folks to be trained, you went to the HR consultants who would arrange for the right training. This cosy arrangement continued for decades. Until Covid-19. With everyone running for cover, it was time for systems to take over where humans left. Today the field of training is entirely in the hands of ready-made L & D platforms where one can upload their needs and the system suggests formats of training that are standardized, certain, cost-effective and very comprehensive without the ills of human-led interventions. Where does the consultant go from here? Not far really. The single biggest change that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought is in the entrepreneurial scene. Organizations, even bigger ones have wilted in their size, scope and outlook and now look for plausible opportunities that can be easily achieved to sustain. That being the case, consultancies are under pressure to perform and bring solutions that perform from the word ‘go’. Be it HR or Digital Marketing or even production, people who take assistance from consultants has cut short the lead time very drastically and want measurable results almost immediately. Challenge # 3: Leaner organization structures- at both ends Challenge # 5: What is there to offer A couple of years back consultancies and clients were organizations everyone could recognize. Staffed, groomed and outfitted with the right budgets, they had as their clients organizations equally well staffed, groomed and with the right budgets. With the economy looking south, both have changed, and in most cases drastically. Leaner organizations, sometimes single-man operations are the consultants of the day who provide services in most cases to small organizations and start-ups who remain tight nosed and tighter on the budgets. With reputed consultants and specialists, themselves either without work or with drastically reduced work, the scope of what they have to offer too has undergone a change. The concept of a single specialization has taken a hit. Consultants in the post Covid-19 days may have to have several specializations to survive. Take the case of Digital Marketing. Gone are the days of digital marketer + graphic designer + content writer + social media expert and so on. What entrepreneurs now look for is one or a few persons who can give services for all. 22 January 2021

26. “ DesignTree is a place where it nurtures talent to cater to progressive needs of its clients “ -Mr. K. Srinivasa Reddy Co-founder and Managing Director 24 January 2021

27. The 10 Most Trustworthy Consulting Companies DesignTree Specialists in Providing Practical Solutions to Discerning Projects T one has to demonstrate a high degree of competence through worthy and sustainable contribution. Consulting services companies should bridge the gap between evolving needs of industry to current practices in the industry. DesignTree Service Consultants Pvt. Ltd. is a Multi-Disciplinary Engineering Consultancy company founded in March 2008 by dynamic and innovative professionals to bridge the gap between ever changing needs of construction industry and current consultancy services available. DesignTree Engineering Consultancy plays a major role in the undeniable and indelible contribution in terms of their services and would strive hard for attaining a higher customer satisfaction. Mr. B.E. Pruthviraj is the Co-founder and Director of DesignTree. He graduated in civil Engineering in 1993 from Mysore University and obtained Master of Technology from Karnataka Regional Engineering College, Suratkal in 1997. He has 25 years of experience in handling projects such as multi-storied structures for residential, commercial, hospital, hotels, industrial structures, and corporate offices, etc. he world is filled with many enterprises or consulting organizations, but truly trustworthy consulting companies are rare. To be trustworthy organization, Mr. B. Manjunath is the Co-founder and Director of DesignTree. He graduated in civil Engineering from Bangalore University in 1994. He leverages 27 years of experience in carrying out design services for water supply system, sewerage network, water and wastewater treatment plants, fire protection and life safety system, industrial piping including steam boilers, and LPG bullets Broad Vision To give innovative, cost effective and sustainable building solutions. To become one-stop solution for all Engineering Consultancy services. To be among the foremost top Engineering consultants. To fulfill the social obligation towards the deprived. DesignTree therefore evolved to provide a more client focused, responsive, agile, hands on and innovative approach in its services. Mr. K. Srinivasa Reddy is a Co-founder and Managing Director of DesignTree Service Consultants Pvt. Ltd. He is a Civil Engineering graduate from Bangalore University in 1990. He has over 31 years of experience and expertise in providing engineering design consultancy services for sophisticated structures for the various projects not limiting to Multi-storied, Residential, Commercial, IT, Hotels, Malls, Hospital, Industrial, Data Centre and Institutions etc. Balanced Mission To provide outstanding design services to the satisfaction of clients in synchronization with Quality, Time and Cost parameters. To fulfill good careers and professional satisfaction for the team at DesignTree. Another contributing name in DesignTree’s operations is Mr. B.O. Prasanna Kumar. He is a Co-founder and Jt. Managing Director of the company. He graduated in Civil Engineering in 1987 from Mysore University, obtained Master of Engineering (Environmental Engineering) from Gulbarga University, in 1989. He has extensive experience of more than 33 years in designing services like water treatment plants, water supply systems, sewerage network, sewage treatment plant, solid waste management, storm water management, industrial piping covering design of compressed air, vacuum, fire protection and life safety and many others. Experienced Team DesignTree is a group of engineers, from the structural and MEP building services engineering industry, with a cumulative professional experience exceeding 100 man- years, served at senior positions in various organizations in India. The practice at DesignTree is founded on the basis of providing creative, innovative and a high-quality service to its clients. Upgradation of the practice will be implemented based on client recommendations and experience. Specialised in "Fast Track" projects, it has a flexible approach to the 25 January 2021

28. requirements of each project and can tailor the services offered accordingly. With its design management experience gained over years, it provides a specialist, practical solutions to the discerning projects. DesignTree brings immense realisation of collective hundred-man years of work experience to suit every client as unique. predominantly the southern markets patronizing their services. Currently with 340+ dynamic and innovative professionals, DesignTree is making progress in leaps and bounds. The company also has branches in other metropolitan cities of Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. Instrumental Leadership Most recently the Consultants Review Magazine ranked DesignTree as one of the Top 25 Most Promising Consulting companies in India. Mr. K. Srinivasa Reddy & his partners have been instrumental in achieving this success and stature that DesignTree Service Consultants Pvt Ltd has rightfully been accorded. Commercial Design magazine in its 6 anniversary special, September 2019, wrote one of the pathfinders minds behind the best workspaces in India as Mr. B.O. Prasanna Kumar for his contribution in MEP services. Over the years under their able leadership, the company has grown from strength to strength from providing design solutions to over 500 million Sq.ft of Residential and Commercial projects, to becoming a 340 plus work force company is a feat that has no parallel in the industry. Wide Range of Services DesignTree provides the professional and technical skills, to plan, design and supervises the construction of a wide range of services from conception to delivery. Below are the areas in which DesignTree offers its services: Civil & Structural Engineering Public Health Engineering Fire & Life Safety System Electrical Engineering HVAC & IBMS Engineering Green Building Certification Quality Management Servicers (QMS) th Commitment to Deliverables DesignTree is committed for on-time and every-time performance and commitment towards deliverables so as to maintain synergy with the design development & construction. At DesignTree, process of deliveries is crucially designed to increase productive thinking; DesignTree recruits people who have a passion to innovate and implement. It has ample office space which has accommodated 340+ Work Stations with sophisticated equipment, powerful broadband, LAN & Wi-fi Systems for good connectivity and option for progressive changes. DesignTree is equipped with the technically capable staff with hands on experience to tackle projects in a fast-track mode with standard operative procedures. One Stop Design Services Consultancy DesignTree is a place where it nurtures talent to cater to progressive needs of its clients. A one stop design services consultancy for construction industry, where its client’s needs are prime focus for the company. Change is an imperative need of the today’s world, to bring in a fresh breath of innovation; implementation of complex client needs is the driving factor for DesignTree. DesignTree is working closely with clients to provide evolving solutions for them. Promoting to Think Beyond Limits DesignTree trains its team to have technical expertise as well as to think beyond the limits. It is highly client centric and are driven by passion towards work, a young vibrant team is what it presents to its clients to decipher their needs. It is a specialized unit fulfilling client demands, in today’s construction industry it is not how big you are but how fast you can be, focus of qualitative procedures gives company the edge by which it helps its clients. DesignTree seeks continuous progress to evolve designs and to care for its clients as it believes, “clients are the prime reason for it being in business.” Culture of Continual Improvement With Mr. K. Srinivasa’s and his Partners unbridled attention towards the last detail and focus in making sure the assignments are being delivered to the client's satisfaction, They imbibes a culture of continual improvement among the work force through critical design solutions, feasibility study, construction friendly technologies, latest management techniques, project planning, costing, QA/QC to deliver to client's delight than just to satisfy. Front Runners in Consulting Groups Headquartered in Bangalore, DesignTree Service Consultants Pvt Ltd-DTSC has emerged as one of the front- runners in the consulting groups across all construction domains. The company has carved a niche for itself in the industry with all the major developers across the country and 26 January 2021

30. The 10 Most Trustworthy Consulting Companies GRANDIOSE DIGITAL MEDIA Delivering World-class Marketing Solutions to the Businesses Worldwide C ombining expertise in technology and digital marketing, specific domain experience, and passion for excellence to deliver enterprise-grade solutions to all its clients, a company named Grandiose Digital Media was incepted in the year 2019. GDM is a PR platform that assists people and businesses to grow their reach and build contacts. The company mainly focuses on storytelling which then helps the customers to engage on whichever platform suits best for their needs. This means that the company breaks through the traditional service lines to integrate with the social, digital, content, publishing, advertising, PR, corporate reputation, and public affairs into the required solutions. of services which are assisting in driving the clients’ business towards success. The elite firm leverages high- class tools to provide innovation and creativity. Likewise, it also offers world-class marketing services and deploys such mechanisms to enhance the productivity of its customers’ business. These wide-ranging bouquets of services include PR for the influencers, Branded Content, Communications Planning, Content Creation, Content Marketing, Corporate Communications, Digital Marketing, and Marketing Services. Along with this, it also excels in providing Organic Social Media, Public Affairs, Public Relations, Strategy and Consulting, and Mobile App Development. Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your organization to enhance operations and ensuring safety of your employees at the same time? A curious mind behind the inception of the company is its Founder and CEO, Mohammed Huzaifa. He focuses on complying with the clients’ needs to help them achieve their goals and objectives. Alongside this, he makes sure that the employees give priority to the clients and their needs. Utilizing his experiences and expertise, he understands that customers are always keen on looking for various options and only settle for the best. Acknowledging the fact, he says, “The customer will have already visited many advertising and PR firms before coming to Grandiose Digital Media and hence the employees are trained to make sure that they are persuasive to the client.” Mohammed: Being in the persuasion business, Grandiose Digital Media has faced several challenging situations and it has overcome them to be placed as one of the leading marketing firms. Since the pandemic, the global market witnessed a slowdown in several businesses, the adverse effect was also seen in the PR and media industry. COVID- 19 has shifted the marketing business from an offline mode to an online mode along with the communication. Due to the pandemic, the product launches and other promotional or media events where PR teams play an important role are also impacted. The people working in GDM ensures that the clients are convinced accordingly. Also, the services agreed to the clients should satisfy all their needs. According to him, the most important challenge to the company and other digital marketing firms is the development of this business worldwide. Let us find out how he is doing things differently through the below given rapid fire round: Consequently, as the clients have put their PR relations on hold, the company was facing a stagnant situation and the experts were uncertain whether the situation will get back to normal. However, Grandiose Digital Media has overcome all these obstacles by shifting its services to a virtual platform. As the number of influencers is rising GDM helps these influencers in achieving what they desire by proving the presence of these influencers online. The company’s approach towards the business before the What are the prominent services that your company offers, that make you stand out from the competition? Mohammed: Grandiose Digital Media offers a wide range 28 January 2021

31. Mohammed Huzaifa Founder and CEO 29 January 2021

32. pandemic and after the pandemic has altered. One such change was in its hiring approach, where it gave preference to freelancers who can work from home at the ease of their comfort. What would be your advice to the emerging entrepreneurs aspiring to enter the consulting services sector? Mohammed: Predicting these difficult times can be a little tricky. However, observing the current development happening globally, the world is surely adapting to these changes rapidly. The reaction and action of audiences have changed. So, the strategy for the future has been altered according to the market needs and audiences’ tastes. So, for the emerging entrepreneurs, I would just like to say that it’s a difficult task and you need to be very thoroughly prepared to face the risks before entering into this field. Where do you envision your organization to be in the long run and what are your future goals? Mohammed: Well, Grandiose Digital Media is expected to bring a lot more services and we hope that we will be able to connect with more people. Our future goal is to make people understand the value of PR and technologies and how they can use them to bring a change in their business and their daily lives. “ WE BELIEVE EVERYONE CAN SUCCEED IN DOING THEIR BUSINESS ONLINE, AND WE’RE BUILDING THE TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN What are your views on the current landscape of the consulting services market? Mohammed: Consulting services market is said to gain much more importance in the coming days because of the increasing dependency on effective communication amongst the customers. Keeping all these changes in mind, Grandiose Digital Media is working on a SaaS platform which will eventually become easier for the PR clients as it makes it easier to work online and handle the PR tasks. “ 30 January 2021

34. The 10 Most Trustworthy Consulting Companies Quatrro Business Support Services Outsourcing Tech-enabled Solutions I n the current Covid-19 pandemic, when nothing is normal and organizations are facing extreme uncertainties that they have never seen in the past several decades, there have been some companies, up and running and continue to provide all services to its clients since day 1 of this pandemic and have not missed a beat. One such company is Quatrro Business Support Services under the leadership of CM Sharma, the Chairman and CEO of the company. Let’s read what he has to say about the dynamics of his company amidst this ongoing pandemic: Finance and Accounting Services: Ÿ 3,250+ Financials Delivered Each Month Ÿ 1.8 million+ Bank Transactions Reconciled Each Month Ÿ 1.5 million+ A/P Invoices Processed Each Year Tech Support Services: Ÿ Microsoft Gold certified partner Ÿ 15,000+ global customers Ÿ 800,000 Devices managed Ÿ 200+ Products OEM supported Ÿ 6 million Microsoft Cloud subscriptions supported globally Ÿ Over 100,000 tech issues resolved annually Ÿ Tech Operations delivered with ITIL & PMI based best practices CIO Team: Please brief our audience about your company, its values, vision, and mission. CM: Quatrro Business Support Services is a tech-enabled outsourcing firm that is changing the way companies think about technology strategy and finance and accounting. They provide world-class teams combined with highly personal service, and a portal that lets you see and manage everything online. Vision Statement To be a leading provider of tech enabled back office services. Mission Statement To become a global center of excellence for our clients and provide them “More to Go On” to run and grow their business. The trouble with most back-office outsourcing solutions is that they leave you with too many missing pieces – in the client experience, in the work delivered, in the reporting you receive, and more. With smarter systems and over 850 specialists in fields ranging from finance to IT support, Quatrro helps you see further, scale smarter and stand stronger. And that is why we consistently achieve over 90% customer, and employee, satisfaction ratings. Company Values These are our company values, which we have adopted and live by to give our clients and employees More to Go On: Ÿ Act with Transparency and Integrity - Always Ÿ Embrace Change Ÿ Think Big Ÿ Own the Resolution Ÿ Value and Respect Differences By the Numbers • 25 years in business Ÿ Spun out of RSM in 2008 Ÿ 850+ Experienced Accountants and IT Professionals Ÿ 5 Global Delivery Centers Ÿ 30% Employee Base with 10+Years with the Company Ÿ 95% of Employees Rate Quatrro as a Great Place to Work CIO Team: List the prominent services that your company offers that make you stand out from the competition? CM: Our clients seek higher operational effectiveness, greater flexibility, and lower operating costs. Our services include: 32 January 2021

35. Finance & Accounting Solutions (F&A) Ÿ Record to Report Ÿ Procure to Pay Ÿ Order to Cash Ÿ Managed Payroll Ÿ CFO consulting and advisory Ÿ Tech Support Services Ÿ Professional Services – Cloud, Infrastructure, Collaborations, BDR and Security Ÿ Managed Services - managed cloud services, desktop management, server management, network management and application management Ÿ Mobility Services – Device management, user access and identity management, enterprise mobility Ÿ Business Enablement Services – Pre-sales support, centralized helpdesk, IT infrastructure support, sales training and knowledge base, billing/revenue management services Ÿ CM Sharma Chairman & CEO CIO Team: Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your organization to enhance operations and ensuring safety of your employees at the same time? CM Sharma is visionary CEO, also a Chartered Accountant and BPO veteran with over 30 years of extensive experience in scaling up businesses around the world. Prior to being Quatrro’s path leader, CM was running a boutique financial and business advisory firms and advising private equity firms on the business improvement and growth of their portfolio companies around the globe. Previously, CM was the Global CFO of Aegis for 11 plus years responsible for strategy, mergers and acquisitions, finance and account, tax, legal, secretarial, and compliances. CM: Across the organization, our employees are working remotely from their homes and have risen to the challenges that were put in front of us and we have continued to operate in a successful manner. We have worked as a cohesive team and continue to provide world-class customer service to our clients. Our quality, internal control and the robustness of our processes have been validated and certified by external certifications, such as ISO27001, SSAE18/Soc1 Type 2, and HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of the United States of America). We are also certified as a Microsoft Gold partner for our technical support business. It is worth mentioning that the current pandemic has helped our business by accelerating its growth. CM spearheaded the company’s spectacular growth story interwoven with organic and inorganic wins. From less than $70 million revenues in 2005, Aegis became a successful US$ 1 billion company with about 55,000 people across 13 countries in about six years. CM was also instrumental in completing more than 15 successful acquisitions in a short span of 5 years. With solid experience in scaling up businesses, turning around companies, increasing margins and re-engineering costs, he has been the recipient of several prestigious awards. Some of them include - CFO of the Year for excellence in Merger and Acquisition by IMA India, CFO of the Year and CA Global Business Achiever by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. As a strong leader and thoughtful mentor, he believes in self-motivation and articulate perspectives. As 100% of our employees are working from home seamlessly for over 9 months now, we find them more efficient and productive. Since there is no need to travel to and from the office every day, they have more time at their disposal to spend with their family which is making them happier. We are seriously considering letting most of our employees continue to work from home even when the current pandemic is over. CIO Team: What would be your advice to the emerging entrepreneurs aspiring to enter the consulting services sector? 33 January 2021

36. “ With our ‘value driven’ strategy, Quatrro is recognized as one of the leading suppliers of cloud-based business services to large enterprises and the middle market “ provides financial statement drill-down functionality to transaction level detail, including image of invoices. CM: Gain speed, efficiency and intelligence with innovative tools and outperform with the tech advantage. Today technology is embedded into every aspect of our lives. However, in the face of so much change, the right choice can be overwhelming to many businesses. Offer clients easy, adaptable, and agile technology tools to give them more to go on to maximize the one vital need in every business - more time for them to focus on more strategic work. Our BI tool provides complete real-time, actionable insight into the financial performance of the business through CFO dashboard, analytics, charts, and graphs at the click of a button. We are making our technology mobile friendly and platform agnostic so that it can work with any ERP and accounting platform, be it Microsoft Dynamics, Great Plains, SAP, NetSuite, or Sage. As we have been working with more private equity firms over the last year by providing outsourced accounting service for their portfolio companies, we have heard repeatedly about a pain point for these groups where they are spending an extraordinary amount of time on building financial models in Excel – and even those still are not completely meeting all of their needs. So, we have created a very comprehensive, dynamic financial modeling tool that these firms can use for evaluating potential investments/acquisitions. Have solid processes supported by the right technology in place - this is imperative to expedite goals, workflows, and efficiencies. We understand that and have been working continuously to find new ways to bring our customers added value in this digital world. CIO Team: Where do you envision your organization to be in the long run and what are your future goals? CM: Our vision is to grow this company many folds in a short period of time. We will also be actively pursuing an inorganic growth strategy for embarking on our growth journey. Earlier this year, we successfully completed an acquisition of a Chicago, IL based financial services company for our non-profit vertical and are always looking for more acquisition opportunities to achieve our objective of making Quatrro a leading provider of tech-enabled back office services. They can run various sensitivities and do scenario planning through our proprietary financial modeling tool. We are also building out our capabilities to prepare financial statements for public companies including preparing 10-Q and 10-K. On the Technical Support side of our business, we have invested heavily in upgrading our IT infrastructure and purchasing the latest technology tools, such as Zendesk omni channel ticketing platform and Cisco UCCX omni channel platform to strength our capabilities in technical support help desk. In our endeavor to continuously add value to our clients, we keep investing in upgrading our technology and tools. We have our own proprietary tool, QPort and cutting-edge Business Intelligence (BI) tool that provide our clients with greater insights and information to pair with our world-class service. We are also coming out with a new multi-talented cloud- based platform that provides a single pane of glass dashboard access to teams/individuals sitting at different levels and locations within an organization to monitor and manage multiple cloud services such as networking, security, security cameras, collaboration tools, EMR systems, etc. from a single dashboard. It also provides single sign-on access for the users to connect with multiple cloud services dashboards using the same access credentials. This tool enables our clients to have as much, or as little, control and involvement as they choose to have in the processes, they have outsourced to us. Our QPort is a CRM and automated accounts payable (AP) workflow tool that not only automates the AP approval process but also 34 January 2021

38. The 10 Most Trustworthy Consulting Companies Renascence Talent Driving Dynamic Talent Acquisition Strategies A lot of companies are moving most of its activities from offline to online (physical to digital), this will be a huge opportunity for consultants, as organisations will be ready to spend more on digital projects. Consultants who can help organisations in digitization and cost cutting will always be in demand. With physical presence being out of question, this will also give organisations an opportunity to work partners globally resulting in some cost saving. The future landscape is unpredictable, but it is time we take some space to think through and put our energies to expand to new markets, look at improving business models and look at value driven pricing models. The Covid-19 pandemic had hit consulting industry hard in the first quarter of 2019 financial year, but employers are back with their hiring plans and started hiring for key roles. Some organisations are looking to cut costs whereas others expanding/creating new roles. The situation had led to cautious hiring and created an opportunity for new roles in the organisations. The new model could be ‘Synergy for Success’ between two organisations in similar business to create a more effective business model with wider reach. The emphasis on diversity and inclusion remains focus for most organisations globally. “We see a surge in focused diversity hiring for few roles,” says Prasad Tataverty, Founder and Director of Renascence Talent Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The industry is very bullish on rebound and expecting the Search (Headhunting) market to growth at 12% annually at least from 2022 onwards. With the new hiring strategy in place, all recruitment and onboarding activities are virtual, this means you will not meet any candidate personally and no human connect while onboarding. This is presenting organisations with new challenges, but as the acceptance is from both sides it has become quite easier to handle. Leveraging Market Insights The first thing you will notice about Prasad is his confident demeanour and market knowledge. For someone who is in the business of placing people, he is completely tuned to the market and understands client requirements and exigencies minutely. He understands the value of on-time delivery and managing client expectations. Prasad is a thorough professional and is extremely good at what he does. He has helped me a lot in all HR activities. He can read people like a book which can be considered as an asset to the company. As we may not be able to meet anyone personally and will have to assess a candidate virtually, Psychometric assessment will be even more essential in hiring process. Managing stress, collaborative workstyle, and social engagement (virtually) will be key attributes to look for during hiring process. Digital Technology and Artificial Intelligence will drive most activities in consulting industry as well. This may result in automation, increase in quality of service, quick turnaround, transparency, wider market reach and surely will reduce biases. Prasad Tataverty and his team has helped a senior sales leader in North America for an IT MNC to establish a sales team for the personnel. Prasad and his team were instrumental in providing excellent hiring experience and 36 January 2021

39. Prasad Tataverty Founder & Director 37 January 2021

40. Adding to this, the company’s research showed most organizations are facing huge transformation in sales and marketing functions. This was the resultant of 70% of companies’ hiring process which was based on their gut feeling (basically experience and prevalent behaviour of the sales professionals). This is leading to professionals failing to perform. “ Covid-19 is the new CTO and it has transformed the operating model of most businesses “ Human Resources Redefined Renascence Talent quickly found its niche in global leadership and sales hiring with its reputation as an astute, hard-working, knowledgeable, and very well-networked agency globally. The company currently caters to clients in APAC, North America, Europe, UK, UAE, and South America. “Within a short span we had served more than 55 clients globally and have positioned candidates who are generating incremental revenue of $3mn to $1bn for their organisations every year,” says the team of Renascence Talent. ensured smooth on boarding of the team. Prasad is very good at his craft and is result oriented. “I’m grateful for Prasad’s efforts as we continue to grow our business,” shares the sales leader. The Coronavirus pandemic had hit the consulting industry hard, however like any other crises, it has also created opportunities for organisations who are proactive. Fortunately, Renascence Talent had been futuristic in its approach and strategy. Since the beginning, the company had allowed 90% of its staff to work remotely, thus saving their time travelling to office. The company did observe a higher productivity by giving this flexibility and it had reduced the undue stress of driving/commuting in peak traffic hours. The team has got good recognition. It was nominated for Business Leaders award by TV5 News Channel in Telangana. In 2018, the team was covered by Yourstory for being a single segment focused organisation in hiring for leadership and sales roles. Due to the pandemic most of the organisations had to go back to the drawing board to create new strategy for hiring. Now that every hiring activity is virtual, it had created huge opportunity for Renascence’s career portal - The Sales Talent. “We were working from last few years and are planning to launch it in early 2021,” shares Prasad. The company has also been rated as the 20 most promising recruitment firms in 2018 by Silicon India Magazine. In 2019 and 2020, the company had won APAC Insider Business Award for contribution in Global Leadership and Sales Hiring. Prasad’s entrepreneurial journey was not easy, nor is it easy for anyone who wishes to walk this path. “When you have faced the problems that you dream to solve, the transference gets more convincing and your decisions become firm as you go,” informs Prasad. He started Renascence Talent in 2016, a boutique search firm identifying Thought Leaders for Fortune 500 companies globally. Renascence Talent has been awarded the Best Recruitment Firm – Senior Management roles by World HRD Congress in 2019. “We are on the way to become a leading search firm from India and the first to launch an exclusive career portal for sales professionals in India,” states Prasad and his team at Renascence Talent. With Covid19 in picture most companies are relying on virtual hiring and The Sales Talent career portal will help them hire astute sales professionals using the company’s AI technology. This will save huge cost for clients and will open a new revenue stream for Renascence Talent. The company had a good start and did substantial business with no employees on board. Though soon enough, the appetite to hire a team emerged and it started exploring new markets. At that point, Prasad realized that most organizations globally were engaging multiple partners to hire in multiple countries. 38 January 2021