ASCENT TECHNOLOGY, CUTTING EDGE ENTERPRISE PLATFORM FOR FINANCIAL CONTROL ®ULATORY COMPLIANCE
ASCENT TECHNOLOGY, CUTTING EDGE ENTERPRISE PLATFORM FOR FINANCIAL CONTROL ®ULATORY COMPLIANCE
Headquartered in Singapore, a software product firm offering engineering solutions for Financial Control & Organization Resilience automation. Ascent Technology Consulting is orchestrating efficient solutions with a primary focus on financial institutions and other mission-critical industries.
The Company, with deep domain expertise across a range of industries, has made significant investments in its research and development centre. Under the competent leadership of Kundan Singh Shekhawat, Founder & CEO, it continuously enhances the software product portfolio and stays ahead of the competition on a global platform.
A Software Product Intellectual Property Company, Ascent has successfullyengaged with some of the largest banks &financial institutions to assist in automating transaction processing and resolving reconciliation related challenges through itsproprietary AutoRecon© software. Ascent also assists organizations with performance-based resilience strategy by automating Business Continuity Management activities through its flagship product AutoBCM©.
MORE ABOUT THE VISIONARY
Raised in a humble family and disciplined military background, Kundan Singh Shekhawat, Founder & CEO of Ascent Technology Consulting, is a down to earth visionary with deep rooted values. He has extensive experience in financial services with hands-on expertise in Product Development Engineering, Strategy and Profit &Loss management. With a career spanning over 18+ years in technology &business solutions, Kundan has spearheaded the Ascent's growth since its inception and carries a strong vision to take Ascent to the next stage of growth. Kundan is a passionate entrepreneur who is determined to build organizations with a focus on constantly enhancing competitiveness, profitability, customer satisfaction, people partnership, branding, corporate values, and governance.
THE HICCUPS & SOLUTIONS
The biggest challenge for Kundan and his team of professionals since the day of inception has been to build a strong relationship with the clients, where trust can be generated unquestionably and a partnership can be encouraged.
Kundan further added, "As I look back, we have managed to create some amazing success stories.We acknowledge a special relationship of mutual trust and professional commitment based on our successful product deployment and value that we create for our clients."
At Ascent, they are engineering solutions to meet customer needs and offer the biggest differentiator which is their deep understanding of the financial domain and a strong ability to diagnose the client's pain points in achieving excellence in their business objectives. They are one of the very few product firms in their industry segment offering a vast aspect of services covering financial control, banking reconciliation, real-time analytics, business continuity management, crisis management , ISO 22301 audit and certification, real estate, RERA, commercial and corporate real estate solutions, and SaaS (Recon and BCM as a service). From financial, banking, hospitality, healthcare, insurance, capital market and investment to Government, NGOs, oil & gas, retail, telecom, networking and IT, they have expertise in all.
THE MARKET ETHOS & PRODUCTS
"With the unique value proposition of offerings in Financial Control and Organization Resilience, our target market is the complete Banking & Financial Services Industry. The estimated size of our actual addressable market globally will be approximately USD 3 Trillion" states Kundan Shekhawat.
Their leading industrial products are based on proprietary software which has been designed and developed by industry professionals with cumulative technology and banking experience within the team and strong proven expertise in product development.
AutoRecon©: Their software platform AutoRecon©, an enterprise reconciliation product is a web-based cloud that ca be hosted as a Multi Tenant or In House deployment models capable of automating end-to-end financial and operations processes within a bank for all middle and back-office activities. AutoRecon offers a built-in reconciliation engine with powerful Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning capabilities along with Exception Management, Chargeback, Dispute Management, Investigation, Reporting and Dashboard abilities
Ascent Escrow ProMart©: The Realty sector in countries such as the UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and India, is poised for rapid growth, given the growing business needs of the global banking& financial industry, and for the continued trust and confidence shown by International investors, both institutional and individual.
Simultaneously, Real Estate Regulatory Agencies such as RERA, SAMA, AERA, Ministry of Municipality and the regulatory arm of the Land Department, have immediate concerns about Governance, Compliance, Monitoring and Operational Automation. Ascent Escrow ProMart© is a Real Estate Escrow software, designed to bridge the current gaps in the Real Estate industry, thereby safeguarding stakeholders' growth. Ascent ProMart Escrow Account Management software is a configurable out-of-the-boxapplication designed to meet Real Estate regulatory requirements and is successfully implemented with more than half a dozen banks in GCC countries enabling them to grow their real estate/escrow business.
The Real Estate Escrow Management solution meets RERA rules and guidelines 100% and can state all business requirements given by banksthat are readily available as part of the out-of-the-box configuration.
Ascent AutoBCM©: Ascent AutoBCM Enterprise Business Continuity Management is a web-basedintegrated BCM and Crisis Management software offering compliance with ISO 22301 and full-scale automation for conducting Business Impact Analysis, Business Continuity Plans, Testing, Emergency Response, Risk Assessment and Recovery Strategies. This brings value to any mission critical organization and needs resilience capabilities for any kind of disaster/ crisis.
AutoBCM© enables various BCM teams comprising of Organization Management, Risk Management and BCM Unit & Disaster Management to meet their BCM objectives. Ascent BCM Software is designed with intuitive user interface, and can be easily implemented across organizations with very limited resources. The dynamic nature of AutoBCM© product increases the ability of an organization to operate and survive in short or long terms of business disruption/s. Ascent AutoBCM© offers one of the most compelling value propositions in the world for an end-to-end BCM lifecycle, with complete functionality in one easy system delivered via in-house deployment that includes: unlimited users, support services, maintenance, notification and integration.
RELATIONSHIP WITH CLIENTS
"Our biggest measurements of success are client testimonials and the new business that we generate on clients references and word of mouth. Some of the top names in Banking Industry across the Middle East, Africa, India and South-East Asia have been our clients for many years and this is the biggest success criterion for me personally" emphasizes Kundan.
The company boasts of their association with few of the biggest brands in the market. Their client list consists of some top notch banks from India, Middle East, and Africa and South-East Asia regions. They work with both private and public sector Financial Institutions and a large chunk of their focus have been directed to the overseas market. They have built trusted partnerships with their clients and have also ensured that clients see a considerable value when they engage with Ascent to incorporate the products in their complex technology environment.
Ascent has translated their profound understanding of global financial processes into a cutting-edge FinTech solution, leveraging AI & machine learning, allowing the clients to achieve operational excellence in a cost-efficient manner. They are focused on delivering world-class applications by identifying and addressing key challenges faced by the clients in their business continuity models.
CORPORATE CULTURE AT ASCENT
Kundan proudly shares, "Our team comprises of highly intellectual technology and domain experts in governance risk & compliance areas. Ascent is an idea, a meritocracy in which we value independent &innovative thinking sourced from each valuable employee."
The team of experts at Ascent are equipped with the deepest understanding of the global economy and financial markets and they further translate the same understanding into innovative solutions. The current market scenario is very competitive and requires a higher level of operational excellence and remarkable cost savings which are the backbone of their solution offerings. The company ensures a great working culture and promotes innovative thinking for the team to make way for the best possible results.
LESSONS LEARNT AS AN ENTREPRENEUR
It is inarguable that an entrepreneur's journey is full of enlightening and challenging experiences and if comprehended well, they can add and cement the success achieved through the lessons learnt on the way. For the humble CEO, this journey has been an ever-evolvingone and no matter how much he prepared for it in the beginning, the real lessons and challenges were faced in the middle of running the show.
"For me, each day has been a learning experience, and work-life can turn highly stressful unless you enjoy the work and are passionate to do what you like doing best. The biggest lesson that I learnt over the years has been to identify right set of people &to align teams with their work and business.Having said that, it is imperative to keep your people razor focused & motivated to align them with organizational goals" recollects Kundan.
FEATHERS IN THE CAP
Juggling between innumerable responsibilities like imparting a vision, being wise and precise with the role of each team player while cutting them loose to execute their assigned objectives, generating trust and becoming a key player in the market, Ascent Technology's CEO has bagged a number of awards to their credit. He was awarded the 'Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 Asia Pacific' at Asia Pacific Entrepreneur Awards Summit held in UAE and 'Most Innovative Fin-Tech Solution Provider' at Technoviti Awards 2017 held in Mumbai, India
The company is at an exciting point in its journey this year, there is a substantial tailwind that is placed in the business due to the changes happening in the regulatory segment. With an efficient team of professionals, they are looking forward to adding more feathers to their cap, making through the disruptions happening and the movement of the industry towards cloud-based technologies.
CORE TEAM MEMBERS
Viney is the Chairman of the Board at Ascent. An ex-Citi banker, he has extensive experience in financial services having managed retail and commercial lending portfolios. In his avatar as an entrepreneur, he set up and listed a financial services business. At Ascent he drives strategy and advises the team on managing scaling up challenges.
Nandini is a dynamic and versatile individual with several years of experience in Project Management, Finance & Banking, Business Analysis, Process Management, CRM and Key Client Management. She is a project planner with expertise in planning, executing and spearheading various projects and ensuring the execution to be in compliance quality standards. She also is an effective leader with distinguished abilities in end-to-end process management, motivating team members to maintain deliverables as per SLA; resolved escalated issues communicated status & resolution options to the management.
Niraj Vedwa is an Independent Non-Executive Director on Board of Xacbank, Mongolia. He has more than 33 years of international experience in Financial Services, Digital & IoT, Organisation Change & Transformation, and has been a catalyst in turning around and growing companies to a global scale. In his past he has served on various influential positions like Global Head – Banking, Tech Mahindra / Director – AsiaPac, Temenos / COO Nucleus Software and Board Member Subsidiary Companies.
Hemant is an IT business executive and an entrepreneur with extensive expertise in data management and business intelligence solutions. He collaborates with sales, marketing, finance and IT executives to envision solutions that increase sales revenue, decrease operational cost, and comply with regulations.
Subhash Gurjar has over 14 years of management experience from different industries including Banking, Real Estate, Education and IT services. With both practical and innovative approach to problem-solving, Subhash has brought a range of skills and attributes to the Ascent team.
MESSAGE TO BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS
Kundan wraps up the conversation with an enlightening suggestion to all the young heads thinking to knock the entrepreneurial doors of this industry, "My sincere advice to all budding entrepreneurs is that they should prepare themselves as much as possible before venturing out in their start-up. Adequate preparation and meticulous planning is the key to success."
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