Technology is advancing at a breakneck speed. The skills you acquired yesterday are relevant- well yesterday. It is no wonder that companies are providing the employees continuous training in order to stay ahead. This is especially true of manpower skill intensive fields. This has led to a high demand for outsourcing services of the entire training management and e-learning services. “The electronic learning market is estimated to touch $21 billion by 2008. According to our own market research and analysis, the e-learning market in India is over $200 million, most of which is carried out in-house. As the market matures, outsourcing of e-learning will also gain a strong hold,” says Karthik K.S, founder and CEO of the Bangalore-based privately held 24x7 Learning Solutions, a leader in learning management services in India.

24x7 is Karthik’s maiden business venture. Now into its 6th year, it was started jointly by Karthik and Anil, both of whom quit their plum jobs in the software sector to take the plunge. Karthik comes with 19 years of experience in the industry, prior to setting up 24x7: he has worked with PCL, HCL-HP, TOYOTA, Middle East, and Microland. Anil also comes with 19 years of experience in the Industry and has previously worked with: HCL-HP, Wipro, Parametric, Patni, Cimatron. The two sensed the growing training needs of India Inc and the dearth of solution providers to satisfy this need.

Their initiative is a success story today. It has been recognized with the Red Herring Asia 100 award, and listed as top 100 startups to watch up for by “Business Today”. 24x7 is India’s largest e-learning implementations company. “There were no solution providers, and till now there is no complete solutions provider in the space who directly competes with us,” says Karthik.

The name 24x7 stems from the fact that they enable organizations to learn anywhere, anytime through customized solutions. Today 24x7 learners are spread across 25 countries and around 500,000 learners are skilled using 24x7 solutions. Their client list includes the top corporates of India - Infosys, Accenture, Wipro, Ing Vysa, Mahindra and Dell among others. The cream de lace of the academic institutions including Birla Institute of Technology and Institute of Management technology have used their services.

24x7 offers customized end-to-end learning solutions partnership through the e-learning mode to Academicians and Corporate. They have positioned themselves as a continuous learning facilitator. Their products include 24x7 LearnTrak - an Enterprise Intellectual Capital Management Platform; 24x7 InterAct - a communication and collaboration software designed to enable innovative ways for individuals to communicate via the internet; CAN-8 VirtuaLab - a 100% digital language laboratory and Articulate - a desktop solution enables faster dissemination of knowledge via eLearning.

The Learning management solution provided by 24x7 covers various aspects of training including establishment of a virtual campus, expansion of learning initiatives organization wide and alignment of learning initiative with corporate goals. Once this is achieved, 24X7 goes that extra mile to deliver the customer’s requirement through technology/ consulting and through content. Karthik wants to make these tools reachable to the 230 mn youth of the country. The company program for this population will be to provide employable skills to university products.

24x7 believes that a successful partnership is the key to their success. Karthik says “This meticulous need-analysis, accurate technology implementation, quality content development and sturdy ongoing relationship with our customers proves to be the key differentiator for us, and sets us leagues ahead in the market.” 24x7 has been funded by KITVEN (Karnataka IT Venture Capitalist) and they are looking for a second round of investment. Karthik believes that good brand building and positive results oriented business helped in catching and maintaining the interest of the Venture capitalists.

Karthik believes that their comprehensive solutions, services, and belief in long-term partnerships have propelled them towards success. He says, ‘We continuously strive to adopt the leading benchmark practices in all area, and encourage all employees to inculcate and imbibe these practices into their nature of work.’ The company is growing from strength to strength with ample support from their talented work force. And they are a company, which practices what they offer. The company has an internal training policy and ensures that all of its employees undergo training every month.

We wish them every success in their collaborations to produce a strategically trained and equipped Indian corporate work force.