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Sanjiva Weerawarana.
WSO2, a leading independent software vendor specializing in open-source API management, integration, and identity and access management (IAM) products, has recently inaugurated its new office in Bengaluru, India. WSO2 is poised to leverage the vast potential of the Indian market to bolster its service and support capabilities for its global customer base.
Sanjiva Weerawarana, Founder and CEP of WSO2, discusses WSO2's recent expansion into India, and its business plans for the region post being acquired by EQT. Excerpts from an interview.
DQ: You have recently announced your intent to establish a local presence in Bengaluru. What specific opportunities do you see in the Indian market that prompted this expansion?
Sanjiva Weerawarana: WSO2 recognizes India's immense market potential. As India is set to become the world's third-largest economy, we see vast opportunities for a leading-edge software company like ours. Being present in the region, we are extremely enthusiastic about India's growth trajectory.
Our strategic move to establish a presence in India, with the launch of an office in Bengaluru recently, boosts our ability to provide service and support to customers across all regions without compromising the high standards we have set for ourselves. It complements our team in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and enhances our global customer support.
Serving as a hub for collaboration and synergy, this initiative will foster cross-functional teamwork, knowledge sharing, and the exchange of best practices. By harnessing the collective expertise of our diverse workforce, we aim to deliver greater value to our customers worldwide.
DQ: How does WSO2 plan to leverage its partnerships with Tech Mahindra and LTI Mindtree to expand its customer base in India and the broader Asia-Pacific region? What unique value do these partnerships bring to WSO2's strategic goals, and how will they enhance your market positioning?
Sanjiva Weerawarana: WSO2 is leveraging our partnerships with Tech Mahindra and LTIMindtree to significantly expand our global customer base. These collaborations enable us to tap into the extensive networks and market reach of both partners, introducing our innovative solutions to a wider audience. By combining WSO2’s advanced API management, integration, and identity solutions with the domain expertise and technological capabilities of Tech Mahindra and LTI Mindtree, we can co-develop customized solutions and accelerate digital transformation for diverse industries across the region.
Additionally, these partnerships enhance WSO2’s implementation and support capabilities, ensuring comprehensive and reliable services through Tech Mahindra and LTI Mindtree’s expertise in system integration and managed services. Joint go-to-market strategies amplify our market visibility and strengthen our value proposition. Together, these alliances will boost WSO2’s market positioning and drive substantial growth by delivering exceptional value to our customers.
DQ: Discuss the goals behind WSO2's acquisition by EQT. How does this partnership aim to accelerate your investment in innovative technology for digital transformation?
Sanjiva Weerawarana: WSO2 was attractive to EQT because it has been a consistently profitable business with solid revenue growth and exceptional product vision. Their goal is to accelerate that growth trajectory in the coming years. The acquisition will grant WSO2 access to more substantial financial resources, facilitating increased investment in R&D and the pursuit of strategic acquisitions.
Regarding market expansion, EQT’s global footprint and expertise will assist WSO2 in broadening its market reach, entering new territories, and targeting new industry verticals.
EQT’s experience in scaling businesses will also offer valuable strategic guidance to WSO2’s management team, enabling WSO2 to seize growth opportunities and more effectively implement its long-term vision.
As the third-largest private equity fund globally, EQT has an extensive tech and software portfolio, with a significant emphasis on Asia. I am very enthusiastic about the new opportunities this collaboration presents for WSO2.
DQ: Markets for API Management, API Integration, and IAM, are experiencing significant growth. How is WSO2 positioned to capitalize on these trends?
Sanjiva Weerawarana: WSO2 has comprehensive capabilities in all three areas, which we believe are foundational aspects of any digital transformation roadmap. Coupled with our strong community and support ecosystem, and our proven track record of success in these technology areas, we are well positioned to capitalize on market growth..
Our architecture is designed for scalability and high performance, ensuring reliable operation even under the most demanding workloads. This scalability is crucial for businesses, especially those experiencing rapid growth or handling large volumes of transactions.
We also see a push for open source software adoption by the public sector in India. For instance, in line with the Digital India initiative, our open source products are also used by a number of Indian government and public sector entities in their respective digital transformation initiatives
DQ: Generative AI is becoming increasingly influential across industries. How is WSO2 integrating generative AI capabilities into its offerings to enhance value for customers?
Sanjiva Weerawarana: Generative AI plays a horizontal, enabling role across WSO2’s entire product spectrum. We incorporate generative AI for various aspects to help developers to create APIs, manage them, generate identity flows, etc. Gen AI is something that everyone has to adopt in the right places and we’re doing that across the board as well and evolving this as we go along.
For instance, we recently unveiled the new AI-based WSO2 AI Developer Assistant in the WSO2 API Manager that enhances search in the Developer Portal and adds natural language API testing. Developers can describe what they’re trying to achieve in plain English, and the AI assistant will suggest the most relevant APIs. It can also generate test samples, recommend efficient testing paths, and point to the most helpful resources for a specific scenario.
We also introduced new AI-based capabilities in our SaaS-based, developer-focused Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) solution -- Asgardeo. These capabilities simplify creating a branded experience for customers based on your website. Login Flow AI allows you to use natural language to describe your desired authentication flow for applications, including authenticators and conditional authentication.
DQ: Looking ahead, what are WSO2's top priorities for the next 3-5 years, especially in the context of your expansion?
Sanjiva Weerawarana: WSO2's top priorities for the next 3-5 years are centered around product innovation and global footprint expansion. In terms of product innovation, we are dedicated to evolving our product portfolio to meet the dynamic needs of our customers.
This includes enhancing our API management, integration, and identity management solutions, and further developing these by leveraging AI. Expanding our cloud-native capabilities with platforms like Asgardeo and Choreo is also a key focus. In terms of talent, we will focus on efforts to expand into new markets and deepen our presence in existing ones. This involves forming strategic partnerships, building local alliances, and enhancing our sales and support infrastructure to better serve our global customer base.