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13 APTECH Adventurous And Ambitious

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DQI Bureau
New Update

With
over 1,500 centers spanning 30 countries, Aptech continued to figure prominently
among institutes providing education and training in IT.

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For this leader, the fiscal 1999-00 was marked by a 40%
growth as compared to 20% the year before. It recorded a revenue of Rs 511 crore.
Of this, the maximum was earned during the second quarter of the fiscal. The
year saw its share of exports, in terms of revenue, increasing to Rs 51 crore
from Rs 17 crore in 1998-99.

Aptech
has always taken hard decisions in pursuit of its aims, and won each time. In
1998, it had restructured its business units in order to grow more aggressively.
Earlier in 1992-93, it had decided to introduce specific courses oriented
towards professionals, and made conscious efforts to give each of its courses a
different branding. Thus were born the four divisions of Aptech–Aptech, Arena
Multimedia, Asset International and OnlineVarsity. Together, they enabled Aptech
to soar to new heights in the last fiscal.

STRATEGY

  • To popularize OnlineVarsity–the online training arm of Aptech in
    other parts of Asia
  • To introduce new courses in software project management, software
    quality assurance and datawarehousing.

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

  • Became more web-centric
  • Entered the realm of the net with its online division, OnlineVarsity.
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All
these different brands firmly established their bases–offering courses ranging
from basics to the currently hot Java and ecommerce. Arena Multimedia had over
150 centers training both students and professionals. Apart from having
international tie-ups with Macromedia Inc and Adobe Systems, it also held the
ISO 9001 certification for its educational support services. With a 60% market
share in multimedia training, Arena proved that Aptech’s dictum of the product
being the brand could actually pay off. Aptech’s training arm, Asset
International, had a reach of 120 training centers across 10 countries, having
tie-ups with Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Novell and Sylvan Prometric.

Aptech entered the realm of the net with its online division,
OnlineVarsity, which served as an alternative medium of delivery as well as a
brand extension of Aptech. It was built on a Lotus platform and delivered
through Wipro Net.

  • START-UP YEAR: 1985
  • COLLABORATIONS: Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Baan
  • DEALER OUTLETS: 1,349
  • EMPLOYEES: 1,454
  • BRANCH OFFICES: 22
  • REGD OFFICE: Elite Auto House, 54-A, Sir M. Vasanji Road, Andheri
    (E), Mumbai 400 093
  • TEL: 838 9831-36
  • FAX: 838 9828
  • WEBSITE: www.aptech-worldwide.com

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In the race for providing training to IT professionals,
Aptech formed many alliances. It started providing its students an international
qualification through distance learning in alliance with the Regents College, a
US-based virtual classroom. On the domestic front, Aptech had a BCA course in
association with the Directorate of Correspondence courses and Distant
Education, Bangalore University. The Manipal Academy of Higher Education also
offered its BIT course through Aptech’s centers.

By the end of the year, Aptech plans to introduce its
OnlineVarsity in other parts of Asia. Courses like software project management,
software quality assurance and datawarehousing are on the anvil. It also plans
to introduce a packaged course on customer relationship management. Aptech feels
that bandwidth will not pose a threat to its plans, with increased activities
among ISPs and the likely resolution of the bandwidth issue.

Aptech has dared to innovate and evolve. Its strengths lie in
the adoption of such plans. In 1999-00, Aptech became more web-centric, which
was in tune with the times. Both Arena and OnlineVarsity spoks of Aptech’s
zeal in this direction. Aptech also pursued a policy regarding changes in
courses.

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The shift in focus towards the web has not sounded the death knell for
multimedia. Aptech’s success in the web arena also means success in
creativity. With its many branches, Aptech is all set to prosper. Its past
records vouch for its foresight and readiness to innovate. The right decisions
could usher in a period of growth for this giant in IT training. DQ

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