50 Best Companies to Watch 2022
The Silicon Review
“Always one step ahead of what businesses need, we turn the latest technology trends into advantages for our customers.”
Xebia is a global Full Stack Software Engineering, IT Strategy and Digital consulting company, enabling digital transformation of enterprises using the latest technology and methodologies.
Anand Sahay, Global CEO of Xebia, spoke exclusively to The Silicon Review on how his company is creating digital leaders through its high-quality consulting solutions.
Interview Highlights
Q. What was the motivation behind starting Xebia?
The motivation behind starting Xebia, was to provide Full-Stack Software Engineering and IT Strategy and Digital consulting, besides enabling digital transformation of enterprises using the latest technologies. We follow one mission, four values and four business principles.
Xebia experts specialize in Data & AI, Cloud, DevOps, Business Agility, Security, Training and Learning, Software Development, Product Management and Quality Improvement. They promote digital transformation and bring IT solutions to businesses. With more than two decades of experience, our global network experts deliver cutting-edge technology and game-changing consulting to companies on the verge of digital transformation.
The teams are organized in complementary chapters with each having an enormous amount of knowledge and experience within their specific fields, such as Agile, DevOps, Data and AI, Cloud, Software Technology, Low Code, and Microsoft.
Currently headquartered in Atlanta, USA, Xebia originated in the Netherlands and also has a strong presence in Canada, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Nordics, Poland, UK, Middle-East, South Africa, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, India, Singapore, Vietnam and Australia.
Q. What makes Xebia relevant in today’s times? Could you give us some context?
Xebia was the first organization to embrace the Agile way of working, with such gurus as Jeff Sutherland. The company has since grown from a Java-based company into a full-service digital consulting company with over 4,500 professionals working worldwide. We always stay ahead with the latest technologies and facilitate clients across the world to map and navigate their digital transformation.
With over two decades of experience in delivering change to top enterprises, we help our clients move forward in their digital journey and adopt newer technologies. We do it by making enterprises ready for digital transformation. For instance, making organizations adopt AI that will help them execute change easily. We also power businesses with agile technology to deliver extraordinary levels of performance and customer satisfaction. A continuous learning atmosphere helps drive improvement through building and transferring digital expertise.
Helping clients become digital also means helping them weave the new and innovative digital tools into their existing fabric of cultures and processes. So, each customer story involves various steps of digital journeys towards improved solutions.
The company has also brought out its own labels, like GoDataDriven, Binx, Xpirit, Qxperts, Stackstate, Instruqt, Xccelerated, and Xebia Academy.
Q. Could you tell us about the various services that you offer?
We provide innovative solutions and services to help client organizations transform digitally faster and with ease according to their capacity and strategy. We provide a wide range of services, such as Digital Strategy, Full Stack Development, Robotic Process Automation, DevOps, Big Data and Data Science, Agile Product Management, Agile Consulting & Transformations, Quality and Test Automation, User Experience Design, Cloud Infrastructures, Blockchain and AI Strategy.
Our expertise lies in Offshore Services, Deployment Automation, Cloud Infrastructures, Agile Software Development, Blockchain, Quality & Test Automation, Classroom Training, In-Company Training, AI, ML and Low Code, among others.
Q. Which industries do you cater to?
The objective of Xebia is to provide our expertise to various other industries across the world. We serve such industries as retail and consumer goods, travel and hospitality, transport, banking, finance, fintech, trade, industry and logistics, public utilities, media, telecom and entertainment, healthcare, IT and business and technology.
Q. How is Xebia challenging the status quo?
At Xebia, we do challenge the status quo only after thoroughly after understanding the needs of the society at large.
Q. What does innovation mean to Xebia?
For Xebia, innovation does not just mean bringing in new products to the market. We try to understand the trends, needs of industries, organizations, and clients. We take a look at our own resources and ask relevant questions to understand the needs before creating or developing new technologies. We try to create such a culture across the company and let our employees understand and imbibe that too.
Q. What differentiates you from others in the space?
Although organizations realize that the correct data and insights allow them to stay ahead of competition, it is the ‘how’ where Xebia’s expertise provides them a leg up. To answer critical points, such as how to turn data into insights, or how to dig out meaningful information from millions of touch-points, is vital for the success of an organization’s data strategy. Becoming a data-driven organization requires unlocking the data, storing it and giving everyone access to it and even involves evaluating the data maturity level on a regular basis.
We have the expertise to enable global businesses to create a roadmap that offers them direction on where exactly to invest and the ways to design and build a suitable contemporary data platform.
Q. Could you tell us about the work culture at Xebia?
The work culture at Xebia, is an open one. Employees—from the lowest rung or freshers to senior staff members—everyone can talk to senior management at any time. We also communicate with our teams at regular intervals. The benefits we offer are the best in the industry. We have strict policies against gender and personal assaults.
Moreover, to help our workforce stay updated on the latest technologies and industry best practices, as well as to enhance their careers, we offer various on-the-job training programmes.
Q. What does the road ahead look like for Xebia? Do you have anything new coming up?
As a data analytics solutions provider, we are here to help client organizations build reliable data pipelines that allow self-service reporting and visualization; help them build data science applications for predictive analytics and insights; identify data and AI maturity levels and organize businesses to become truly data-driven; manage platform services and AI application performance seamlessly; deliver and implement turn-key data platforms for greater flexibility and scalability; provide hands-on consulting and quickly deliver value; help grow teams and provide support in long-term goals and provide in-company training for data professionals.
Xebia does not only build technology solutions in the data space, but also provides domain-centric solutions that will help speed up digital transformation with AI and ML implementations. Xebia plans to bring about such solution mechanisms in the coming days.
Anand Sahay | Global CEO
As a senior IT leader, Anand carries over two decades of experience in building and leading global high-performance teams for driving sustained business growth and creating shareholder value. He has worked in five different countries in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America.
Anand keeps a sharp eye open for new and upcoming technologies and weaves unique service offerings around them to create innovative service-line products and potential markets. He has been a software programmer, client engagement manager, business development professional and head of global IT operations. For Xebia India, he is responsible for its P&L and manages the technical, commercial and operational aspects of its business.
Besides, Anand is a strong and established leader who has led turnarounds for companies by handling failures head-on and implementing heavy change management to turn companies into global enterprises with strong financials. He quickly builds high-performance culture and takes bold steps to put companies on a path of recovery and growth.
Experience & education
Having held top positions with leading global companies, such as Interglobe, V-P; HCL, GM; Polaris, Asst Systems Manager; and Samsung, Project Lead, among others, Anand loves technology and its applications and also creates value for customers and stakeholders.
Anand has an Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering degree from Birla Institute of Technology, an MBA from Duke University–The Fuqua School of Business. He also has a PMP certification from PMI-OC Project Management Institute, Orange County Chapter. He completed his AISSCE–Science with Computers from Modern School.