In part one of this story I narrated how we started off with the product model and managed to get our first customer for our software product called “Informer”, and how we had to dump the whole thing. In part two I’ll tell you how we managed to convert our proposition into a web service. Honestly speaking, during those days I sometimes used to feel like Robinson Crusoe :D
Well, it didn’t take much time for the Gyan to dawn upon us that its got to be a web based service. After all if the clients need 24x7 access to the software and they can’t maintain the server at their end, SaaS is the obvious way out. It was Dec 2006 and our to-do list was pretty clear – get a server, a good broadband connection, a ups, register a website name.. and we are done! But unfortunately that needed money (how unfair).
Call it serendipity or the benefit of marketing ‘Informer’, we received a call from the office of the then vice-chancellor of technical univ of MP, Prof. P.B.Sharma, to work upon his pet project called ‘KU’ (Knowledge Universe) – a knowledge sharing portal. Although the only trace of KU which remains today is this copy of press release, it gave us the exact amount of money to buy a server, necessary software and a cheap UPS! Bulls Eye!
Our first server was Dell SC440 and somebody told me that it was Wikipedia’s first too! I could never confirm the fact but blissfully believed him as it used to lift my spirits :) It reached us in march’07 and within few days with a child-like excitement I configured it, did the test run for our web-app etc. etc. so that the day my broadband connection comes I could make the service online! That day came after F-O-U-R months! I had actually applied for a 4mbps reliance b’band connection for which there were no competing plans from other ISPs and at the time when I applied, reliance didn’t even have the infrastructure laid-out (which was obviously not told to me while taking the application). To avoid letting this webpage catch fire I wont vent out my real frustration.
Finally the broadband incarnated in our office in Aug’07 and we got transformed into a services company :) Our first “subscriber” was the client college which had paid for Informer. Initially the service was called inteeg.com which was an ad-hoc brand and then after a lot of brainstorming it was finally rebranded as iBranch.in
Story of iBranch - Part 1 of 3 (The 'Informer' days!)
Story of iBranch – Part 3 of 3 (Stand up... stay... walk... RUN!)