Express Your Business in Own Language, says Anant Computing

Reduces the time and cost of app development, cuts marketing budgets

The world of mobile applications in India caters almost exclusively to an English-centric developer and user base. The reality is that 700 + million Indians, who carry smartphones or feature phones, are unable to get the benefit of such applications in their own mother tongue/ vernacular. Anant Computing was born in 2012 with a vision of digital inclusion – an India where everyone with a mobile phone can both create and access high quality apps. The company created India's first vernacular language operating system for tablets. As the Smartphone revolution unfolded, they decided to create a robust ecosystem by complementing the existing mobile infrastructure and shifted their focus to the sphere of mobile application development. Under the aegis of Phani Bhushan, Anant unveiled a platform where a "Hindi' speaking weaver from Jaunpur of Uttar Pradesh from his Android phone, can purchase raw cotton from a Bengali speaking trader from Jalpaiguri of West Bengal on his Java phone. A Mumbai based English speaking designer on her iPhone can sell her handloom to Tamil speaking housewife from Chennai, who can buy it from her Windows phone.

"Our core product offering is India's first indigenous mobile technology platform. Our technology facilitates app developers and companies to create apps that run smoothly on every mobile, in every Indian language. We also have a vision to make coding of apps possible in all major Indian languages. By making the mobile world accessible to non-English speakers, we hope to increase adoption and usage of apps in the Indian market. What can be a better example of #MadeInIndia, than local language apps, which are also created by local language speakers, in their mother tongue? This has a potential to open up the world of apps to every Indian," asserts Phani Bhushan, CEO and founder of Anant Computing.

"Simultaneously, our technology addresses some of the key challenges of app usage in India – slow/poor mobile internet connectivity, lack of space to store apps on low-end smartphones. Anant offers companies a unique app solution called 'App wallet'. Think of App Wallet like a folder, containing multiple apps. App Wallet is light on device and data usage, yet it updates dynamically and automatically. We believe that the App Wallet is the future format for apps in the emerging Indian smartphone market," he added.

Anant Computing is a brain child of Phani Bhushan , an IIT Kharagpur Alumnus, seasoned IT professional and social entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience and Gopal Pradhan, an OUAT Alumnus and a geek with more than 16 years of experience in developing many world class product. Both were working together with SLM Soft, a Canadian MNC.

They started their entrepreneur journey with VIAEDGE Technologies, a firm engaged with IT Infrastructure product and IT Consultancy which has served all top Indian corporate such as Aditya Birla group, Relaince Industries, Tata Insurance, Spice telecom, DRDO, Indian Railways, Kotak Mahindra, IBM, and many more.

Phani Bhushan believes that a successful business not only needs to earn money, but also has to make a lasting impact on society. He operates with the conviction that technology can be used to bridge the vast gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots.' He has applied his knowledge and expertise to the immense task of bridging the digital divide in India.

What makes Phani's approach unique is that he is the first to think of a holistic and simple solution to the problem that addresses both the developer and the end consumer through creation of a cloud programming environment that empowers developers to make their applications available in multiple languages. This leads to efficiency in resource utilisation, cost saving, higher ROI while increasing reach of applications amongst the mobile user base. Anant Computing plans to work closely with NGOs and government agencies to rollout this technology to maximum end users in India for varied applications such as banking, agriculture etc.

In Conversation with Anant Computing

The CEO Magazine:   What business problem does Anant hope to solve?

Anant: Customer Acquisition and Customer retention are two major existing challenges for any business house today. Once get rid of these challenges then expanding the market size is going to be another big challenge. At Anant, we are not only solving business challenge but also the need for bringing the next billion Indian consumers online.

App discovery today happens through mass media (TV/Press/Outdoor) campaigns costing Crores of rupees. SMEs and startups that are bootstrapping cannot afford this outlay.

App Download/ app installs is a key measure of success but it's hard to get consumers to download new apps. Sometimes, the reason is very simple – people want to conserve data or space and so they do not download new apps. On the data published by a VC Firm 'Lighthouse'; insights revealed that in markets like India, ideal app size needs to be below 5 MB to get high downloads – unlike Western Markets, where it can be 10-15 MB.

TCM: How does Anant Computing solve these problems?

Anant: Anant is here to change the way mobile applications are being developed and consumed. With our Adwitya (Integrated mobile application development platform) our App Wallet and Language conversion tool, we guarantee that your app will work on all operating systems by coding just once, and in all vernacular languages. With cloud-based native apps that are light, yet rich and fast, the app size is no longer a constraint to develop your dream app.

Anant AppWallet also allows you to remotely update, add or delete apps directly onto your customer's phones. Hence you can customize your app for Segment of One, identifying your customers with smart geo-location and built-in analytics; you can facilitate a unique app experience to each of your customer. All Anant apps perform well under all network constraints like poor connectivity, offline etc.

TCM: Why should a firm choose Anant Computing?

Anant: Anant Computing reduces the time and cost of app development, cut your marketing budgets for app promotion / discovery and also, you will be increasing the app retention and drastically reducing the chance of your uninstalls because your app will stay relevant to your TG by speaking to them in their language and also working on their existing handset without burning up their memory.

TCM: What are the current and future plans of Anant Computing?

Anant: Anant Computing will go to market first with "AppWallet". Its target will be marquee companies in India with pan-Indian presence. Anant will port or build from ground, the App Wallet, and demonstrate the use case of this technology to these companies and the wider world.