India-based Vehant Technologies offers AI/ML-based physical security, surveillance and traffic monitoring solutions to companies in India & abroad. Post pandemic, it is overcoming the revenue gap by developing  enterprise solution-related products for Covid detection and prevention, like thermal temperature monitoring, disinfection and face mask compliance systems

Vehant Technologies’ co-founder and CEO, Kapil Bardeja, doesn’t mince words when asked about how his company has performed in the last two years, especially since the pandemic hit the country. “Like other companies, we too are still facing unprecedented challenges due to business disruptions caused by the pandemic. Most firms have registered a decline in revenues and a few have even halted operations temporarily or permanently,” he says. But, this hasn’t stopped the team from riding the pandemic wave and finding innovative ways to stay profitable. Vehant has been quick to adapt and introduce newer technologies that can help the Government and industries face the ‘new normal’. “For example, we are trying to overcome the revenue gap by developing new Covid detection and prevention products like FebriEye, the thermal temperature monitoring system, Kritiscan, the ultraviolet-based disinfection system, Covid Analytics for detection of face mask compliance and the like,” adds the CEO. Moreover, Vehant is well on its way to expand its presence in Europe, Middle-East and Asia, and continue to grow its existing and new business verticals. “We have grown 30% year-on-year over the last five years, except the pandemic year,” notes Bardeja. 

In this interview with the Smart CEO, Bardeja dives into the business and industry landscape to share his views on the growth of the IT industry, the move towards digital transformation, and his own company’s growth trajectory in the coming years. 

Give us an insight into Vehant Technologies’ market presence and current practice areas. 

Our product offerings fall under three main categories;

• Security screening solutions, which include an array of indigenously developed products ranging from Under Vehicle Scanning Systems, X-ray Baggage Scanners, Explosive Trace Detectors and Automated Number Plate Recognition Systems
• Smart & Safe City Solutions such as Traffic Enforcement Systems (red light violation, speed detection, no helmet detection & triple riding violation), and Traffic Management Systems (such as vehicle detection camera, automated number plate recognition system and the like 
• Enterprise Analytics technologies such as AI /ML-based video analytics solutions for compliance and optimization in hospitality, retail, logistics, and PPE & safety industries.

In terms of market presence, we have a strong foothold in India, and we are planning to grow internationally as well. We currently export our products to over 12 countries and we have recently established an R&D center and manufacturing facility under our European subsidiary, Vehant Technologies BV, in the Netherlands. This will help us cater to the European market more efficiently. Additionally, we are also in talks with partners in Indonesia and Dubai to have better coverage in the South Eastern Asian and Middle Eastern markets. 

IT/ ITES is one of the few sectors which has witnessed good growth and increased hiring activity despite the pandemic. What are your thoughts on this? 

The pandemic and associated challenges like work from home/anywhere have expedited the digital adoption in a big way and have renewed the collective interest in data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning. In fact, the reason why other industries are facing hiring free and mass layoffs while the IT/ ITeS  segment is continuing to to grow is because it has been undergoing rapid digitization. One can say that the pandemic has widened the scope and understanding of these new technologies. That being said, the sudden spike in demand for skilled manpower in these areas has become a costly affair and we believe that this dynamics will continue for the next 2 to 3 quarters.

What steps has Vehant taken towards digital transformation, and how is it impacting your business and customers?

The pandemic has forced us to rethink the way our entire organization functions and has also taught us to shift from traditional working models to a more digital-friendly one. As most of our employees were working from home, investing in a digital workplace model was critical to continue providing the service we are known for. 

We invested in digitizing the HR ERP system so that both remote and on-site employees’ work can be captured and compiled. Most HR events and training modules were shifted to digital platforms, and attendance was shifted to non-touch mediums. On the customer side, since in-person meetings were a challenge, we had to identify new ways to reach out to them with our offerings. For example, we did online demos instead of physical ones, we had a live, 24*7 working set up in the office for digital demos and the like.

What are your thoughts on the global adoption of AI technologies?

AI, machine learning and IoT are rapidly driving changes in many domains like Security & Surveillance, smart city, healthcare and defense. For example, in the smart city sector, we can see mass adoption of automated traffic monitoring systems which use AI/ML algorithms and automated camera systems to detect traffic violations and generate tickets. I believe that there is some indication of grassroots level AI adoption today in India, yet the pace of innovation around establishing a comprehensive AI strategy for the future isn’t comparable to the US or China. That being said, I feel India will catch up fast.

Where do you see Vehant 3 years from now? 

We intend to continue our position as a market leader in our Under Vehicle Scanning System (UVSS) range of products, and grow our market share to around 30% in X-Ray business while adding new x-ray scanning use cases for people and vehicles. We also intend to expand to Europe, Middle-East and South-East Asia for security screening and smart & safe city business, add new use cases in the smart city and private AI-based analytics space, and retain market share in the smart and safe city portfolio.