- Born into a middle-class family with a father who worked as an accounts officer, Arun Jain always had a keen interest in technology. After earning his degree in electronics engineering from Delhi College of Engineering, he interned in software programming at the American tech giant Wang Labs. Despite witnessing cutting-edge technology, his thoughts were elsewhere. 🤔
- While the US had over 1,000 software programs, India had barely reached 100. Arun aspired to start his own company to develop software for India. In 1983, with three friends and a modest capital of just Rs 20,000, he founded International Information Systems. ✅
- His concept was straightforward ⏩ An IT consulting firm focused on delivering software solutions to businesses. Initially starting as a partnership, Arun soon recognized the need to establish a software hub and change the company name. In 1986, he rebranded it as Nucleus Software Workshop Pvt Ltd, but then, something unexpected occurred. 👇
- One of Nucleus’s co-founders departed, leaving Arun in need of a new direction. He identified the demand for specialized software solutions in the banking and financial services sector. With just Rs 10,000, he decided to pivot again. On 24th July 1993, Polaris Software Lab was born in Chennai, starting with a 120-person office in Anna Salai, Chennai. 🙌
- Polaris began by offering core banking solutions, transaction processing, and risk management. Its first client was the US-based Data General for file systems, followed by Saudi American Bank for their client-server banking application. Then, the big break came. 💪
- Arun successfully secured Citibank as a client for their consumer banking and credit card operations, outcompeting industry giants like TCS, Infosys, and Mastek. Polaris scaled rapidly, reaching a revenue of Rs 264 crore with eight offices across the USA, Japan, Germany, and Singapore. It went public in 1999, achieving a market worth of Rs 900 crore. 💰
- Within just seven years, Polaris experienced a 105% growth rate and was recognized among the “Top 200 Fastest Growing Companies in the World”. On 22nd May 2002, it acquired Citibank’s Indian software business, Orbitech, marking the largest transaction in India that year, valued at Rs 2,700 crore. 📉
- By 2014, Polaris had reached revenues of Rs 2,424 crore, but Arun sought to differentiate between the product and service businesses. He demerged the service business to focus entirely on the product side, giving it a new identity. Thus, Intellect Designs Arena was established in 2014. 🚀
- With cloud-native products for complex banking, Intellect achieved a revenue of Rs 453.1 crore in its first year. By 2018, it was serving 240 customers across 91 countries, growing at an annual rate of 36.4% and reaching a revenue of Rs 1,458.7 crore. 💸
- Today, Intellect Designs Arena generates a revenue of Rs 2,506.4 crore with a profit of Rs 548.5 crore. It partners with 60% of the world’s top banks and is valued at Rs 13,619 crore. 💪
➡️ But perhaps the most remarkable achievement is that Arun’s Ullas Trust has supported over 2 million economically disadvantaged students from 1,500 schools across 114 districts over the last 26 years. 🙏