Chronicles of Ideapreneurs Volume 2

www.hcltech.com
Vol.
02

To illustrate an idea, illustrate it.
Kind words from our first batch !
II
III
Evolution 1
Challenge Aspires Change 5
Limitless Possibilities 9
Ideas go Beyond the Script 13
The Pulse of an Idea 17
An Idea from Experience 21
Change is the Right Idea 25
The Missing Ingredient 29
Migration of Ideas 33
Nurturing Growth 37
An Idea Upgrade 41
Meet the Ideapreneurs 45
l

To illustrate an idea, illustrate it.
HCL, a 21 st century enterprise is powered by ideapreneurs who go beyond
the ordinary, beyond the expected, thereby delivering unforeseen customer
delight. To inspire and to motivate these engines of innovation, we decided
to go beyond conventional methods to showcase their stories of ideation.
As an organization of millennials, we needed a medium that not only
resonated strongly with our ideapreneurs but also truly captured the
spirit inherent to our culture of ideapreneurship.
We collaborated with our creative partners at ITSA and came up with the
idea of a graphic novel. It was time to present our ideapreneurs in all their
glory. Through Volume One of ‘Chronicles of Ideapreneurs’, we showcased 10
real HCL employees and their stories, giving the reader a glimpse into their
minds, HCL’s culture and their ideas. In a way, the reader was on the same
journey of discovery as our ideapreneurs.
The first volume found itself on a journey too. Fifty-four HCL clients
around the world were presented with copies of ‘Chronicles of
Ideapreneurs’. Their response was phenomenal and made it clear that this
new approach truly reflected ideapreneurship. Not only did they learn
about our ideapreneurs and our culture, they also appreciated our unique
approach to storytelling.
So here we are with Volume Two. Ten new ideapreneurs. Ten powerful
stories. Each one with a different perspective, different customer and
a different approach. But with one unifying desire – to take the
relationship beyond the contract.
We hope you enjoy reading our testament to the ideapreneurs at HCL!
II

“Thanks a lot for the wonderful surprise
and for featuring me in the first volume!
“I Feel proud looking at the first edition
of HCL’s Chronicles of Ideapreneurs. And I
was Thrilled to show this to my colleagues.
Indeed a terrific form of appreciation!!
I appreciate the effort it took to collect
the information. The end result was
tremendous and it featured me as I am, with
awesome and realistic graphics.
Once again, Thank you!!”
- Ramya
Thank you for taking on such an initiative
and keeping your promise to continue
bringing many more such glorious moments
to life.”
- Nikhil
“I was so impressed with the graphic
novel. It looked great and the storyline
was accurate.
“The Graphic Novel is simply wonderful.
It’s a great feeling getting featured in
Volume one as a “Hero”. I felt proud
showing it to my colleagues and family.
my 3 years old daughter was very happy
when she saw her mom in that novel!
I was able to show my colleagues and my
managers the novel. the client is pleased
that I got recognition from HCL for
working “Beyond the Contract” for them.
So it is a win-win.”
- Alan
I enjoyed the entire launch and feel more
motivated than ever. Thanks so much for
the entire thing.”
- Alka
III

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO...
TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK
1

AND SO, THE 21 ST CENTURY WAS BORN.
9 YEARS AGO...
ONE THAT AFFECTED MILLIONS.
BUT IT WASN’T TILL
A FEW YEARS LATER
THAT A NEW KIND OF REVOLUTION BEGAN.
PEOPLE WERE MOVING AWAY FROM
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES...
Would you like to sync this to your other devices?
YES
NO
…AND being LED BY EXPERIENCES.
2

STOOD APART FROM THE REST.
IN THIS RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD,
ONE GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS
HCL’S IDEAPRENEURS.
THEIR CULTURE OF PROACTIVE IDEATION...
WELL, THE CLIENT IS HAPPY.
Should we stop?
INFUSED THE SPIRIT OF INNOVATION IN THEIR DNA.
NO WAY !
NO WAY !
NO WAY !
NO WAY !
NO WAY !
3

THEY KNEW
THAT IN THIS CHANGING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
THEY NEEDED TO CHANGE AS WELL.
THEY HAD TO STAND UNITED.
WHAT BRINGS
YOU HERE?
I HAVE AN IDEA.
HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT
JOINING FORCES...
AS A TEAM!
MORE IDEAS, MORE ACTION AND MORE TEAMWORK! WITNESS THE 21 ST CENTURY EMPLOYEE AT PLAY!
NEXT : an IDEapreneur adds value in...
4

THE ART OF QUILLING IS VERY DELICATE.
AND ALSO VERY PRECISE.
Each PIECE OF PAPER SERVEs A VALUABLE PURPOSE.
AS A TECHNICAL ARCHITECT AT HCL,
THIS INSIGHT WAS ABOUT TO PROVE HELPFUL.
HCL OFFICE, BANGALORE
MY CLIENT, A PROMINENT CELL PHONE manufacturer,
HAD asked us to CREATe APPLICATION PROGRAM
INTERFACE (API) PROXIES FOR THEIR SOFTWARE.
5

THIS INVOLVED CREATING SIMILAR POLICY
BUNDLES WITHIN APIGEE FOR EACH API PROXY.
HI TEAM,
WE NEED TO DISCUSS
SOMETHING.
WHAT IS IT?
HEY,
I’M ON MY WAY.
A 5-HOUR PROCESS ON AVERAGE, THE APIS BEING CREATED WERE
SIMILAR, OFTEN USING THE SAME BUNDLES.
AND BECAUSE OF THE VAST QUANTITIES
OF APIs BEING CREATED, ERRORS WERE
BOUND TO CREEP IN.
SINCE CREATING APIs IS SO REPETITIVE,
ALL DEPLOYED APIs ARE USING THE SAME POLICY FILES,
JUST WITH DIFFERENT NAMES. THE CONTENT
REMAINS THE SAME.
HMMM…
THAT WOULD LEAD
TO CONFLICTS WITHIN
THE SYSTEM
AND CAUSE ERRORS.
plus, it is a loss of
time, resources and
productivity.
THAT iS WHY I SUGGEST
WE REVALUATE THE
WHOLE PROCESS.
EVEN THOUGH
IT iS GOING BEYOND
THE CONTRACT?
ESPECIALLY BECAUSE
IT iS GOING BEYOND
THE CONTRACT!
JUST LIKE QUILLING, EACH PART OF OUR PROCESS NEEDED TO SERVE A PURPOSE, WITHOUT LEAVING ANY ROOM FOR REPETITION.
6

AS IDEAPRENEURS, OUR BEST IDEAS CAME
WHEN WE PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER.
EVEN THOUGH THESE APIs ARE
ALMOST IDENTICAL, THE COMPONENTS ARE
BUILT FROM SCRATCH EACH TIME.
SO, LET’S REVIEW
THE SITUATION. WHAT iS TAKING
THE MOST TIME?
THEN COULD WE MAKE JUST
ONE SET OF COMPONENTS
AND USE THEM FOR EVERY API?
INTERESTING.
LET ME CHECK…THERE IS
AN OPTION TO IMPORT
A BUNDLE HERE.
AND WHAT KIND OF
FILE DOES IT IMPORT?
it accepts
zip files.
THEN THAT iS IT!
WE CAN CREATE THE BUNDLE
OUTSIDE APIGEE!
which means...
7

...WE DON’T NEED TO BUILD IT
FROM SCRATCH EACH TIME!
CLIENT’s OFFICE
this EFFECTIVELY
REDUCes A 5 HOUR TASK
TO A 5 MINUTE ONE.
EXACTLY! BECAUSE
ALONG WITH THE BUNDLE,
WE AUTOMATED THE API BUILD
PROCESS TOO...
...AND USED APIGEE TO
SIMPLY DEPLOY THE APIs
TO REDUCE DUPLICATE
FILE NAMES AND ERRORS.
WOW!
MY GOODNESS!
THIS IS EXCELLENT WORK AND
IT JUST FEELS LIKE…LIKE…
WHEN IDEAPRENEURS INNOVATE, I REALISED IT iS VERY MUCH LIKE QUILLING.
…THERE iS A PURPOSE
FOR EVERYTHING.
RASHMI AND HER team helped the client save USD 1.5 Mn, reduced development time by 85% and improved overall productivity.
NEXT : an IDEapreneur blurs the lines in...
8

MANY YEARS AGO…
LEARNING DOESN’T BEGIN WHEN
YOU KNOW THE ANSWERS.
IS EVERYONE
CLEAR?
BUT WHEN YOU START ASKING QUESTIONS.
NO MA’AM.
COULD YOU PLEASE
EXPLAIN IT
ONCE AGAIN?
THAT iS WHY I LOVE WORKING AT HCL.
YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE THE TIME
YOU SPEND GETTING THINGS CLEAR.
THAT’S NOT VERY COMMON.
WHAT EXACTLY
IS THE PROBLEM
YOU aRE FACING?
COMING FROM THE HEAD OF
ONE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST
MOBILE PHONE COMPANIES,
IT iS A REAL HONOUR.
CLIENT’S HEADQUARTERS, PRESENT DAY
9

after all, their problems WERE JUST
QUESTIONS WAITING TO BE ASKED.
HCL Headquarters
OUR CLIENT’S SLOVAKIA TEAM HAS
TAKEN ON SUPPORT DUTIES FOR
THE LTE DOMAIN OVER AND ABOVE
THEIR WCDMA BANDWIDTH.
SO WHAT diD
THE CLIENT SAY?
THAT iS
IMMENSE!
EXACTLY! BUT HERE iS THE PROBLEM
– THEY HAVE NO EXTRA PEOPLE.
HMMM… HIRING IN
SLOVAKIA WOULD COST
THEM A BOMB.
TEAM, I KNOW
WE aRE ONLY SUPPOSED
TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL
SUPPORT TO OUR
CLIENT’S CUSTOMERS...
...BUT THERE iS A REASON
THEY haVE COME TO US WITH
THIS PROBLEM.
THEY TRUST US TO ASK
THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.
EXACTLY! AND THAT iS
WHAT WE wiLL DO
TILL WE REACH AN ANSWER.
10

OUR QUESTIONS TOOK US ON A JOURNEY.
WELL, THE HCL SUPPORT UNIT
IN INDIA HAS BEEN WORKING
WITH CUSTOMERS IN INDIA
IN WCDMA TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT.
WHAT IF
WE COULD TRANSFER
PART OF THE JOB?
A journey which led us to new SOLUTIONS.
THAT iS WHERE
OUR EXPERIENCE WILL
COME IN HANDY.
VERY GOOD!
BUT HOW WILL THEY ADAPT
TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF
INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS AND
TIME ZONES?
and helped us discover NEW TECHNIQUES.
WE wiLL SYNCHRONISE
THE CUSTOMER’S EXPECTATIONS
WITH THEIR DELIVERY.
AND we’ll BE THE BRIDGE
BETWEEN PROJECT MANAGERS
AND OUR TEAM IN INDIA.
11

WE DUG DEEPER THAN EVER BEFORE.
Also, TO DELIVER A SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE,
WE wiLL NEED TO PUSH BEYOND OUR LIMITS.
ARE YOU READY?
yess!
AND DON’T FORGET
TO ACCOUNT FOR
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES.
AND WENT FURTHER THAN WE COULD IMAGINE.
…IN CONCLUSION,
YOUR NEW CUSTOMER
BASE IN EMEA, EUROPE AND
AFRICA CAN BE SEAMLESSLY
TRANSFERRED TO
OUR TEAM IN INDIA.
AND LET US ADD,
AT NO EXTRA COST!
I haVE LEARNED SOMETHING
IMPORTANT TODAY...
“YOU IDEAPRENEURS are always pushing the boundaries”
THROUGH THEIR IDEA, GAURAV AND DEEPAK SAVED THE client USD 451,000 in a year, which raised CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND the client’s TRUST IN HCL.
NEXT : An Ideapreneur works smart in...
12

ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS ABOUT WORKING AT HCL...
IS THAT EACH DAY BRINGS WITH IT...
FRESH IDEAS.
AND MY JOB AS AN IDEAPRENEUR AT HCL, WAS TO DELIVER THE BEST ONES.
HCL, NOIDA
WHILE WORKING WITH MY TEAM ON
THE AUTOMATION PORTFOLIO OF
A BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS AND
COLLABORATION SOFTWARE COMPANY...
13

WE NOTICED A PROBLEM IN THEIR WEB
BASED MESSENGER APPlication.
THE APPLICATION
LOOKS DIFFERENT IN
BOTH BROWSERS.
TEAM, WHAT DO YOU
THINK ABOUT THIS?
AND EXCEPT FOR ENGLISH,
IT DOES not LOOK LIKE
THE APPLICATION HAS BEEN
TESTED AGAINST ANY
OTHER LANGUAGE.
WE REALIZED THAT THE PROBLEM
WAS SIMPLE.
WELL, TESTING BUDGETS
AND timelines are quite
STRINGENT...
AND TO TEST
THE APPLICATION FOR BUGS OR
AGAINST OTHER LANGUAGES,
TEST SCRIPTS NEED TO BE WRITTEN.
THE MORE THE TEST SCENARIOS,
THE MORE THE SCRIPTS.
BUT THE SOLUTION WAS NoT.
BUT, YOU SEE, THE SCRIPTS
are not COMPATIBLE ACROSS
BROWSERS. THAT MEANS
SPENDING MORE TIME on
OTHER BROWSERS.
AND TIME IS MONEY.
WITH ABOUT 500 TEST CASES
PER BROWSER, IT is HARD
TO GUARANTEE A GREAT APPLICATION
EXPERIENCE WITHOUT EXTENDING
RELEASE DATES AND BUDGETS.
THAT iS UNFORTUNATE.
IT iS TIME WE TOOK
MATTERS INTO OUR
OWN HANDS!
14

AND THAT iS WHAT IDEAPRENEURS DO BEST.
GOODNIGHT,
SWEETHEART.
A CONSTRAINT LIKE THAT MEANT
WE HAD TO WORK LEAN AND SMART.
NOW THAT WE KNEW THE BOX
WE WERE TRAPPED IN...
GUYS, HERE iS A THOUGHT.
WHAT IF THE TESTING PROCESS
WAS noT MANUAL?
WE JUST HAD TO THINK OURSELVES OUT OF IT.
WHAT DO
YOU MEAN?
WHAT IF THERE
WAS A WAY TO AUTOMATE
THE TEST PROCESS ACROSS
ALL BROWSERS?
THEN WE COULD ELIMINATE
MORE BUGS AND TEST THE APPlication
AGAINST MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
BUT THE QUESTION IS, HOW?
WE USE SELENIUM.
15

CLIENT’s HeadQuarters
MY TEAM AND I NOTICED
THE TESTING PROBLEM AND
THOUGHT OF A SOLUTION.
ON YOUR OWN??
THAT iS WONDERFUL!
THANK YOU.
THROUGH SELENIUM WE haVE AUTOMATED
CROSS BROWSER TESTING, LETTING YOU CHECK
EVERY TEST SCENARIO ACROSS ALL BROWSERS,
WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL SCRIPTS.
GOING OUT OF
OUR WAY IS HOW WE BUILD
A GREAT RELATIONSHIP.
THAT MEANS FEWER BUGS, FEWER RESOURCES
UTILIZED AND AN INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY.
WE ALSO CUSTOMIZED IT TO HELP TEST APPLICATIONS
AGAINST OTHER LANGUAGES.
amazing!
YOU haVE GONE OUT OF YOUR
WAY TO HELP US OUT.
AND FOR US,
THAT iS ALL THAT MATTERS.
NISHU’S IDEA VASTLY IMPROVED THE CUSTOMER’S TESTING PROCESS, greatly ENHANCed PRODUCT QUALITY, REDUCed EFFORT UP TO 83% AND decreased COSTS
BY USD 937,000.
NEXT : To change the system, an ideapreneur changes a few minds in...
16

HCL, MACCLESFIELD
making a change is easier said than done.
But that never stops ideapreneurs.
Team…
…are you
ready to change
the world?
While managing data backups for one of
the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies...
My team and I saw a dire need for change.
OF COURSE!
BUT WHAT DO
YOU MEAN?
but no secure way
of backing it all up.
we have got
to change that.
Our client
has 14 petabytes
of valuable data.
17

We were conscience-bound to do something about it.
and they have 133 sites across
73 countries. it is this kind
of complexity that’s causing
a decline in their backup
success rate.
that is huge!
with all that data,
storage costs
have shot up.
And their data
retention methods are not
uniform either. They havE
7 different ways!
And finally, think of the data itself.
Years of in-depth medical research
without which they would have to
shut shop.
While changing such
a large system seems scary,
staying the same seems
even scarier.
I had faith in my team.
And surely, we found that the solution was simple.
more than the technology,
it is the thinking that needs
to change.
18

We need to standardize
their backup methodologies.
Yes! By prioritizing
their data and using a
standard backup procedure
it can be done.
What is simple, however,
is not always easy.
But this can
only work…
At its core, the solution required challenging the status quo.
…if it is done across
the entire
organisation.
We love the idea!
But that means You have
many more stakeholders
to convince.
Client’s headquarterS
Fortunately, ideapreneurs are driven.
We are looking
forward to it.
19

We are ready to go further and push harder...
to bring our ideas to life.
Client’s Office, Sweden
Client’s Office, UK
Because we have faith in them.
Congratulations!
The organisation has decided
to take up your approach
to retention.
Client’s Office, USA
And we know that when the dust settles...
...That is all we need.
Everything is going
to change.
And change for
the better!
Prabhu’s idea was not only reusable and scalable but also saved
the client USD 19.08 mn and increased their data retention
rate from 65% to 99.999% across the globe.
Next : An ideapreneur hits one out of the park in...
20

LEARNING FROM OUR EXPERIENCES IS WHAT PROPELS US FORWARD.
HMMM…
HE LOVES BOWLING
THAT YORKER.
BUT TODAY, I aM READY.
AND PREPARES US FOR GREATER
EXPERIENCES.
AS AN ASSOCIATE MANAGER AT HCL,
EVERY EXPERIENCE COUNTS.
MY TEAM AND I WERE WORKING ON PROVISIONING BROADBAND CIRCUITS FOR
A MASSIVE TELECOM COMPANY.
TEAM, GOOD NEWS!
OUR WORK ON THE
LOWER BANDWIDTH PROCESS
HAS BEEN APPRECIATED.
THAT iS
WONDERFUL!
AND THEY aRE MOVING
US TO A HIGHER
BANDWIDTH PROCESS.
THAT MEANS
HIGHER EXPECTATIONS.
SOUNDS
AWESOME!
21

WITH OUR PAST EXPERIENCE, WE ANTICIPATEd
THEIR PROBLEMS AND DuG DEEPER.
FIRST, LET uS PINPOINT
THE CLIENT’S
BIGGEST CHALLENGE.
IT HAS TO BE THE HEAVY
TERMINATION LIABILITIES
THEY FACE WHEN THEY DISCONNECT
CIRCUITS WITH THEIR CUSTOMER
BEFORE THE TERMINATION
OF THE CONTRACT.
DIDn’t WE FIX
A SIMILAR PROBLEM DURING
OUR LAST PROCESS?
COULD THE CAUSES BE
SIMILAR TOO?
PERHAPS.
THERE WAS NO VISIBILITY
ON THE CONTRACT TERMS AND
LIABILITIES AND NO PROPER
REPORTING STRUCTURES
BEING FOLLOWED.
by being proactive, we GoT TO THE FAMILIAR ROOTS OF OUR CUSTOMER’S PROBLEM.
ALSO, the CLIENT’s SALES
TEAMS DISCONNECT the CIRCUITS
BASED SOLELY ON THE
CUSTOMER’S REQUIREMENTS.
AND BECAUSE THAT IS IN
BREACH OF CONTRACT,
OUR CLIENTS ARE
PENALISED HEAVILY.
22

TO START THINGS OFF,
WE CAN DEVELOP A SYSTEM
TO KEEP A CONSTANT CHECK ON
CONTRACTUAL LIABILITIES.
HMMM…
NOW WE NEED TO SEE WHICH
OF THE SOLUTIONS FROM
OUR PREVIOUS PROCESS
FIT THE BILL.
THE ACCOUNT TEAMS
COULD WAIT LONGER
BETWEEN CANCELLATION
REQUESTS AND ACTUAL
DISCONNECTION.
YES! AND WE COULD ALSO
INITIATE A REAL TIME SYSTEM
TO KEEP TRACK OF ESCALATIONS
AND INTERVENE WITH ANY
STOP REQUESTS THAT MIGHT
INCUR PENALTIES.
GREAT WORK TEAM!
NOW LET’S HIT IT OUT
OF THE PARK.
BUT THE GREATEST ADVANTAGE OF BEING IN FAMILIAR TERRITORY...
23

WAS HOW QUICKLY WE COULD TURN THINGS AROUND.
CLIENT’S HEADQUARTERS,
THE NEXT DAY.
THANKS TO HCL, IDEAPRENEURS LIKE ME GET TO
CONSTANTLY USE OUR INSIGHTS.
ISN’T THIS
A PLEASANT SURPRISE!
WHAT BRINGS YOU
IDEAPRENEURS HERE?
THAT’S HOW WE aRE ABLE TO DELIVER UNEXPECTED RESULTS
AND GIVE OUR CUSTOMERS ANSWERS...
WE haVE COME
WITH SOLUTIONS.
…AND USING THESE LEARNINGS
WOULD MEAN MORE VISIBILITY
ON UPGRADES, ALMOST
NO BREACH OF CONTRACT AND
HUGE SAVINGS.
BUT YOU haVE JUST
MOVED TO THIS PROCESS!
WHAT DO YOU HAVE?
TO QUESTIONS THEY aRE YET TO ASK.
THESE IDEAPRENEURS
ARE BEYOND FANTASTIC!
By saving close to USD 3.2 mn, Sartaj and his team gained the client’s confidence and helped them generate new business.
NEXT : an IDEapreneur Brings reform in...
24

AS AN IDEAPRENEUR WORKING FOR
A CORRECTIONAL FACILITY...
I GET TO SEE LIFE A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY.
WHILE WORKING ON APPLICATIONS MAINTENANCE AND OTHER
PROJECTS FOR THE ORGANISATION...
AH! just
the person i
wanted to see.
WE STRUCK UPON A FAMILIAR THEME.
WE TRIED TO COMPLETELY
OVERHAUL OUR CORE
BUSINESS SYSTEMS. BUT WE
RAN INTO SOME….
WE NEED TO REFORM
OUR BUSINESS.
THE TECHNOLOGY JUST
ISN’T HOLDING UP.
25

…PROBLEMS.
TO OVERHAUL THE WHOLE
I .T. ENVIRONMENT
WOULD HAVE MEANT
A COMPLETE INFRASTRUCTURE
RE-PLATFORMING.
THAT WOULD HAVE
TAKEN YEARS!
HCL, Office
CHANGE IS DIFFICULT.
AND BEEN EXTREMELY
COMPLEX AND COSTLY.
NO WONDER
THEY STOPPED.
BUT IT IS INEVITABLE.
THAT’S RIGHT.
BUT THEIR SYSTEM IS OLD
AND SLOW. it STILL NEEDS
IMPROVEment.
CORRECTION.
WE NEED TO IMPROVE IT.
26

EVEN THOUGH WE WORK AT HCL
WE aRE ALWAYS THINKING
OF OUR CLIENTS.
AH, I LOVE THIS PLACE.
THEIR COFFEE REMINDS
ME OF HOME.
HMM… EVEN THOUGH
IT’S PROBABLY MADE
in a DIFFERENT way?
THAT iS WHY WE UNDERSTAND WHAT
THEY REALLY WANT.
INTERESTING.
wait. AM I MISSING
SOMETHING?
THE INGREDIENTS DON’T
MATTER, IF IT TASTES THE
SAME.
WE COULD STILL MAKE
SURE THEIR USERS GET THE
SAME BENEFITS!
I SEE! SO EVEN THOUGH A
COMPLETE OVERHAUL MIGHT
BE OFF THE CARDS…
27

WHEN YOU BUILD STRONG RELATIONSHIPS...
SO, IF WE IMPROVE THE
END USER INTERFACE USING
MODERN TECHNOLOGIES...
...THE BIGGER PICTURE BECOMES CLEARER...
...AND MAKE A FEW CHANGES
TO THE BUSINESS PROCESS
LAYER, WE COULD IMPROVE
RESPONSE TIME…
...FINDING THE SOLUTION BECOMES EASIER...
…AND DELIVER A BETTER END USER
EXPERIENCE. AND WASN’T THAT THE AIM
OF THE REFORM TO BEGIN WITH?
...AND BRINGS REFORM MUCH CLOSER.
BUT ALSO CHANGING
THE WAY THE WORLD
VIEWS I. T.!
ABSOLUTELY! I MUST SAY, YOU
IDEAPRENEURS ARE NOT ONLY
MAKING HCL PROUD...
THROUGH THEIR IDEA, CARL AND HIS TEAM SAVEd THE ORGANISATION USD 6 Mn in a YEAR AND increased
PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH THEIR REFORM IMPLEMENTATIONS.
NEXT : an IDEapreneur finds just the right balance in...
28

MY MOTHER USED WHATEVER WAS AVAILABLE TO
MAKE DELICIOUS FOOD. SHE WOULD HAVE MADE A
GREAT IDEAPRENEUR.
I JOINED HCL HOPING THAT MY ABILITIES WOULD HAVE
A CHANCE TO SHINE. I GOT MUCH MORE THAN I EXPECTED.
BECAUSE THERE iS A CHALLENGE around EVERY CORNER.
HI TEAM,
HERE iS SOME FOOD
FOR THOUGHT.
TWO DAYS AGO,
CLIENT’s Headquarters
I aM GLAD YOU
COULD JOIN US.
MY PLEASURE.
WHAT SEEMS TO BE
THE PROBLEM?
WELL,
IT iS our grievance
redressal system.
i know it is NOT PART OF
YOUR CONTRACT…
WE woulD LOVE TO
LOOK INTO IT!
29

PRESENT DAY, HCL
SO I THOUGHT,
WHAT A GREAT CHANCE
TO BE PROACTIVE!
THEN LET uS DISCUSS
THIS OVER SOME
HOME COOKED FOOD?
YOU KNOW WE aRE
ALWAYS HUNGRY
FOR A CHALLENGE!
AWESOME!
AND WE aRE ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR
JUST THE RIGHT SOLUTION.
WHICH PROBLEM
DO YOU HAVE ON
YOUR PLATE TODAY?
OUR CLIENT’S REQUEST TRACKER
TEAM AT THEIR INCIDENT OPERATIONS
CENTer IS ONLY ABOUT 13 PEOPLE STRONG,
AND TAKE WAY TOO LONG
TO EXECUTE REQUESTS.
…AND THE DELAY IN GRIEVANCE
REDRESSAL IS MAKING THEIR
CUSTOMERS VERY UNHAPPY.
30

WAIT, THAT’S IT!
WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE CANnoT
FIND THE RIGHT SPICE FOR A DISH?
WE IMPROVISE, RIGHT?
SOUNDs SERIOUS…
OH…BY THE WAY,
YOUR FOOD IS AMAZING!
ALL THE INGREDIENTS ARE
JUST RIGHT.
by improvise...
you mean?
WE REPLACE
THE MISSING INGREDIENTS!
THINK ABOUT IT.
AT HCL, IDEAPRENEURS
OFTEN COMPLETE EACH
OTHER’S IDEAS.
I THINK WE haVE FOUND
THE RECIPE TO MAKE
OUR CLIENT HAPPY.
NOW LET’S COOK!
WAIT, Don’t THEY HAVE AN
INCIDENT Operation Center
IN PITTSBURGH
AVAILABLE 24X7?
oh!
we could transition
the job to them!
31

OH, SORRY TO KEEP YOU WAITING.
WE ARE STILL TRYING TO
FIGURE OUT WHAT
TO DO ABOUT…
…THE CUSTOMER
GRIEVANCE ISSUE?
you already
have an idea?
WE HAVE MORE THAN AN IDEA.
WE HAVE THE SOLUTION.
ARE YOU
SERIOUS?
USING YOUR Incident operation
center IN PITTSBURGH,
WE CAN TRANSITION THE WORKLOAD
FROM THE OVERBURDENED
request Tracker RESOURCES.
BUT WAIT,
CAN THEy HANDLE
THE SAME KIND
OF WORK?
WITH OUR EXPERTISE
IN RED-HAT LINUX,
WE CAN HELP UNDERSTAND,
UPRAISE AND UPSKILL
THE RESOURCES THERE.
AT HCL, WE TAKE OWNERSHIP OF OUR CLIENTS’ NEEDS.
THAT LEAVES THEM, AND US, SMILING.
WOW!
YOU GUYS HAVE……
JUST WOW!
THROUGH OUR INTERVENTION,
WE CAN TRANSFORM YOUR SYSTEM
IN 4 MONTHS.
IN FACT, WE COULD START NOW.
THAT WORD IS
THE SECRET INGREDIENT
THAT KEEPS US
IDEAPRENEURS HAPPY!
RENUKA’S IDEA helped the client SAVE USD 1.8 Mn, UPSKILLED THEIR RESOURCES, INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY AND MORALE, AND DELIVERED QUICK RESULTS TO HER CLIENT AND
THEIR CUSTOMERS.
Next : An ideapreneur takes data on a trip in... 32

I OFTEN WONDER HOW I GOT HERE TODAY.
I LIVED ON AN ISLAND IN GOA, AND TOOK A BOAT
TO SCHOOL EACH DAY. MY JOURNEY HAS NOT STOPPED
EVER SINCE.
LOS ANGELES, USA
MY JOB AT HCL BROUGHT ME TO Los Angeles. WE WERE
MAKING SURE NETAPP 7 MODE FILERS RAN WELL FOR A
BIG MEDIA COMPANY.
TILL ONE DAY…
TEAM I HAVE ABSOLUTELY
NO BUDGET TO RENEW
THE CONTRACT FOR NETAPP 7
FILERS FOR STORAGE.
WOW! I WAS LOOKING
FORWARD TO THIS DAY.
OLD IDEAPRENEUR SAYING: EVERY PROBLEM COMES WITH AN IDEA IN ITS HAND.
WHAT DID
YOU JUST SAY?
I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT
WHAT WE SHOULD DO WITH
ALL THE DATA.
33

DATA IS MY LIFE.
AND TODAY MY CHALLENGE
IS TO FIND
STORAGE FOR IT.
WHY DO
PEOPLE TRAVEL?
I THINK DATA IS
ALSO A LIVING THING.
AT LEAST COMPANIES CAN’T
LIVE WITHOUT DATA.
PEOPLE ARE
LIVING THINGS.
THEY NEED TO
KEEP MOVING.
WOW!
ONLY YOU WOULD SAY
SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THERE MUST BE a
BETTER PLACE
FOR MY DATA.
EUREKA!
YOU ARE really POSSESSIVE
ABOUT DATA, aren’t you?
that is so OUT OF THE BOX!
IT iS LIKE SEEING
ARCHIMEDES FIRST HAND!
BUT WHAT iS THE BIG IDEA?
34

WE FOUND A VISA
FOR THE DATA!
WHAT DO
YOU MEAN?
SIR, HE MEANS
HE FOUND A PLACE FOR
THE DATA FILES.
INSTEAD OF RENTING EXPENSIVE
FACILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR
7 MODE STORAGE, WE FOUND A
SOLUTION CLOSER TO HOME.
WE NOTICED THAT YOU haVE RECENTLY
ACQUIRED NETAPP CDOT AND HP 3PAR
STORAGE SOLUTIONS IN LAS VEGAS.
SO YOU WANT TO MIGRATE
THE DATA? IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?
WE KNEW IT iS ALWAYS EASIER SAID THAN DONE. BUT WE HAD A PLAN.
WE haVE ALREADY ANALYSED
THE DATA AND APPLICATIONS.
IT iS POSSIBLE.
WE wiLL NEED TO CLOSELY
MONITOR THE MIGRATIONS
SO THAT WE DO N0T RUN
INTO ANY ISSUES.
BY COORDINATING WITH
DIFFERENT TEAMS, WE CAN BRING
APPLICATION OUTAGES DURING
MIGRATION TO A MINIMUM.
AND TO REDUCE ANY
BUSINESS DOWNTIME, WE wiLL BE
MOVING THE DATA DURING
NON-BUSINESS HOURS.
35

IMPRESSIVE!
BUT HOW MUCH IS THIS
GOING TO COST ME? YOU KNOW
OUR BUDGET SITUATION.
THIS IS ALREADY
BUDGETED FOR, SO THERE wiLL BE
NO EXTRA COST.
WHAT?!!! YOU ARE
SUPER HEROES! THERE iS NO
OTHER EXPLANATION!
NO, SIR, JUST IDEAPRENEURS.
AND FOR US EVERY DAY IS PRECIOUS.
OH MY! BUT
WHAT NEXT?
MIGRATE TO
THE NEXT PROBLEM.
WHAT SAY, TEAM?
JEREMY AND HIS TEAM SAVED THE CLIENT OVER USD 251,000 ON SUPPORT, POWER AND COOLING, AND SIMPLIFIED THEIR STORAGE AND MAINTENANCE PROCESS FOR YEARS TO COME.
Next : An ideapreneur plants the seeds of success in...
36

WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO GO BEYOND THE CONTRACT?
FOR IDEAPRENEURS, IT COMES DOWN TO THREE THINGS.
AUTONOMY, MASTERY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY,
GOOD
MORNING!
THAT’S
MY RIDE.
GOOD MORNING,
YOU LOOK HAPPY.
PURPOSE.
THAT’S
BECAUSE I AM!
AS A TECHNICAL ARCHITECT AT HCL, AUTONOMY IS IN OUR CULTURE.
IT IS THE AIR WE BREATHE.
THIS IS ABOUT
OUR PROJECT,
RIGHT?
YOU
GOT IT!
37

A CULTURE THAT MY TEAM AND I APPLIED AS WE WORKED FOR
A WORLD LEADER IN NETWORKING OEM.
WE WERE ASSIGNED TO DEVELOP AND DELIVER THEIR NEXT GEN DEEP
PACKET INSPECTION (DPI) PRODUCT.
HEY TEAM,
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
HCL OFFICE
OUR SERVICE
CONTROL ENGINE
IS FINALLY READY.
IT iS EVERYTHING
OUR CLIENT haS BEEN
ASKING FOR.
BEING AUTONOMOUS, WE WERE
ENCOURAGED TO ATTAIN MASTERY
OF OUR DISCIPLINES.
BUT SOMETHING iS
BOTHERING YOU?
WHAT IS IT?
BUT PURPOSE ALWAYS BRINGS US BACK TO
ONE QUESTION.
IT IS THE QUESTION AT THE CORE OF
EVERY IDEAPRENEUR.
WHY ARE
WE HERE?
I aM SURE ITS THROUGHPUT,
IN FACT, ALL ITS FEATURES MATCH
THE INDUSTRY’S BEST RIGHT NOW.
I’M GLAD
YOU ASKED!
38

TEAM, IS BEING
at PAR WITH THE
INDUSTRY GOOD
ENOUGH FOR US?
NO WAY !
THEN LET uS
FIND A WAY TO
GO BEYOND!
WE FIGURED, BY OPTIMISING
THe PRODUCT DESIGN,
IT COULD BETTER UTILISE
THE HARDWARE.
if we keep going,
I THINK WE CAN REACH
A HIGHER
THROUGHPUT.
AND A SOFTWARE
UPDATE COULD MAKE
IT INDEPENDENT
OF THEIR LEGACY
SYSTEMS.
BUT DO YOU THINK
WE CAN DELIVER ALL
THIS IN THE SAME
TIME AS PROMISED?
THAT’S
THE CHALLENGE!
OUR CLIENTS WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY
EVEN IF WE DID NoT BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL.
39

BUT SOMETHING KEPt US GOING BEYOND.
I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!
THIS IS GOING TO IMPACT
OUR PRODUCT FOR
GENERATIONS!
CLIENT’s HEADQUARTERS
IT WAS NoT AN AWARD OR RECOGNITION.
BUT SOMETHING FROM WITHIN.
THAT iS NOT ALL.
BY DOCUMENTING OUR PROCESSES,
WE HAVE CREATED GUIDELINES
TO STREAMLINE FUTURE
UPGRADATION AS WELL.
GREAT WORK! BUT WHAT
MADE YOU PUSH THE
ENVELOPE SO FAR?
TO TELL YOU
THE TRUTH…
WE HAD ANSWERED OUR ‘WHY’.
…THAT’S JUST US.
HAVE YOU?
PRASATH AND HIS TEAM’S IDEA INCREASED THE CLIENT’S SALES FORECAST BY USD 18.9 Mn AND MADE THEIR PRODUCT MORE EFFICIENT AND BEYOND THE
INDUSTRY’S BEST.
NEXT : An ideapreneur goes to new heights in...
40

AT SOME POINT, WE ALL DREAM OF FLYING.
AND EVEN THOUGH WE DO NoT HAVE WINGS
WE FIGURED OUT HOW TO MOVE THROUGH THE CLOUDS.
at hcl, my team was always trying to get new ideas off the ground.
FOR CLIENTS WHO DREAM OF CREATING THE FINEST AVIATION EXPERIENCES.
SO THIS IS THE NEW
JET WE HEARD ABOUT!
YES, THIS BEAUTY SEATS
18 PEOPLE. AND AT
40,000 FEET NOTHING
ELSE COMPARES.
41

BUT YOU CANnoT FLY IF THERE iS SOMETHING WEIGHING YOU DOWN.
WE aRE ALREADY
ON COURSE TO GET YOU THERE.
LET ME TELL YOU
A STORY THAT
CONCLUDES TODAY.
REALLY? WHAT DO
YOU MEAN?
ON A SERIOUS NOTE,
I AIM TO TAKE OUR
BUSINESS TO
NEW HEIGHTS.
YOU SEE, IDEAPRENEURS ARE ALWAYS LOOKING OUT FOR CLIENTS.
HCL OFFICE, 2 WEEKS AGO
TEAM, THE QUESTION IS,
HOW CAN WE GO BEYOND
THE CONTRACT?
WE CAN START BY
FINDING A BIG PROBLEM
TO FIX.
LIKE THE NETAPP
STORAGE THEY USE
FOR THEIR DATA?
EXACTLY! WITH LATENCY AND
CLUSTER-FAILOVERS, MAJOR
OUTAGES TAKE SEVERAL HOURS
TO RESOLVE.
42

WE COULD IMPROVE IT
TO MAKE A MARGINAL
DIFFERENCE...
...BUT THIS IS our
CHANCE TO NURTURE
A BEAUTIFUL
RELATIONSHIP.
so WE SEARCHED FOR A WAY TO FLY BEYOND THE EXPECTED.
IMAGINE IF WE COULD
MOVE ALL OUR DATA
TO A NEW SYSTEM…
THAT iS IT! LET uS CHANGE
THE SYSTEM. I KNOW WE
CAN FIGURE IT OUT.
43

AND WE FOUND A WAY.
AND THROUGH CONTINUOUS
MONITORING, WE wiLL BE
PREPARED FOR ANYTHING!
I GOT IT! OUR CLIENT HAS
PROCURED THE ADVANCED
EMC STORAGE.
NOW LET’S ROLL!
AND IT LOOKS LIKE
THEY aRE BEING
UNDERUTILISED.
WE NEED TO ADOPT THIS NEW
STORAGE AND COMPLETE THE
MIGRATION.
…AND HERE WE ARE
TODAY, READY TO
REENERGISE YOUR
COMPANY.
MY GOODNESS!
YOU IDEAPRENEURS
READ MY MIND.
present day
THAT iS BECAUSE YOUR
COMPANY IS ALWAYS ON OURS.
MUHAMMAD AND HIS TEAM’S IDEA VASTLY IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY AND SAVED THE CLIENT from spending usd 1.6 mn ON NEW STORAGE SOLUTIONs.
44

TEAM RASHMI
RASHMI MURTHY
Their idea was greatly appreciated by clients, and their willingness to explore new technologies left them with
a wealth of new and invaluable knowledge.
TeAm GAurAv
GAURAV ARORA
The solution gave Gaurav’s team exposure to international clients. This led to the refinement of their technical
skills and the acquisition of new business.
TEAM NISHU
NISHU SINGH
Recognition for their idea came quick and from various quarters. Through it, the team gained a heightened sense
of confidence and the clients developed a greater understanding of HCL’s capabilities.
TEAM PRABHU
PRABHU RADHAKRISHNAN
Prabhu and his team received greater visibility and appreciation within the organisation. And HCL’s
ideapreneurship reward policy was the icing on the proverbial cake.
TEAM SARTAJ
SARTAJ HUSAIN ZAIDI
The success of their idea left them hungry to reach greater heights and played a vital part in gaining new
business for HCL.
TEAM CARL
CARL MULLER
Carl’s team received a ‘Value Champion’ reward for their idea. but more importantly, the impact it had on the
client and on HCL deepened Carl’s admiration for the power of team work.
Team RENUKA
RENUKA CHUTANI
There are two signs that your idea is valuable. The first is when your own client and HCL love it. The second is
when even other clients start showing interest!
Team Jeremy
JEREMY D’MELLO
Jeremy and his team developed new skills and hidden talents while executing the idea. An effort which was
recognized and immensely appreciated by the client.
Team Prasath
PRASATH ELANGOVAN
Recognition for their idea was accompanied by a hefty reward. But most importantly, the process taught
them that every problem could be seen from multiple perspectives.
Team Muhammad
MUHAMMAD KALEEM AKRAM
With the client’s and HCL’s encouragement to break the status quo, Muhammad and his team felt empowered to
keep pushing the boundaries of innovation on every project thereafter.
45

CONCEPTUALISATION
HCL Technologies Ltd., ITSA Brand Innovations
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Emmanuel Upputuru
STORY, SCRIPT AND EDITING
Nitin George, Abraham Vargheese, Emmanuel Upputuru
ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN
Karthik Sekhar, Aparajita Gidwani
DESIGN ASSISTANCE
Harish Chandani, Pawan Kumar
PROJECT MANAGER
Divya Marasini, Vaibhav Lohia, Alisha Mitra
MANAGEMENT TRAINEE
Aashmi Kumar
PENCILING, INKING AND COLOURING
VIVEK SHINDE
Vivek Shinde is a Mumbai-based illustrator who has worked on comics for
Virgin Comics, Mid Day and Boom Comics. Besides his love for caped crusaders and
masked vigilantes, Vivek takes an active interest in video game art as well.

Hello there! I am an Ideapreneur. I believe that sustainable business outcomes are driven by relationships nurtured through
values like trust, transparency and flexibility. I respect the contract, but believe in going beyond through collaboration,
applied innovation and new generation partnership models that put your interest above everything else. Right now 110,000
Ideapreneurs are in a Relationship Beyond the Contract with 500 customers in 31 countries. How can I help you?