WinWire is a company that enables enterprises in the healthcare, software, and digital platforms (ISVs), retail, high-tech, and manufacturing sectors to embark on a transformative digital journey. Pulse 2.0 interviewed WinWire CEO Ashu Goel to learn more about the company.
Ashu Goel’s Background
Goel has been in the Bay Area since the late ‘80s. And Goel said:
“After a few years at AT Kearney, during which I opened their India offices, I joined Microsoft in 1999. During my six+ years there, I had the chance to work with Steve Ballmer and was involved in setting up their Global Development Center in 2004. A tremendous experience, on a variety of levels, to work with Microsoft and learn from Steve. But in 2007, I had the entrepreneurial gene growing inside of me, and I joined with my co-founder and WinWire CTO Vineet Arora to start the company. I’m immensely proud of what we have built together. Time flies by—the Company turns 17 years old in April 2024.”
Formation Of WinWire
How did the idea for WinWire come together? Goel shared:
“When the idea hit me to start WinWire, I knew that technology was going to be a game changer for enterprise in the decades to come. This was before mobile, data, cloud and of course, before GenAI. I knew I wanted to help companies build competitive advantage through innovative software solutions. And that the most innovative solutions should be built on Microsoft!”
Core Products
What are WinWire’s core products and features? Goel explained:
“Today, WinWire prides itself on delivering a spectrum of transformational services that include:
- Cloud Migration and Modernization: Streamlining your transition to the cloud with efficiency and agility.
- Application Development and Modernization: Crafting state-of-the-art applications tailored to your business needs.
- Data, Analytics & Generative AI Services: Harnessing the power of data and AI to drive decision-making and innovation.
- Modern Workplace Solutions: Enhancing productivity with Microsoft 365/SharePoint Services.
I know there are other companies that deliver similar solutions. But what separates WinWire from those companies is that we were built on the foundation of our company values, which have not changed since we started. And the foundation of those values is “People First.” These values have defined our culture.”
Favorite Memory
What has been Goel’s favorite memory working for the company so far? Goel reflected:
“There have been many wonderful memories and examples of delivering on our promise of bringing innovative solutions to WinWire clients. But honestly, my favorite memories are our ‘Annual Offsites,’ which we hold in April every year. We bring the entire team in Hyderabad and Bangalore together, along with my leadership team in the U.S, to say ‘THANKS’ to everyone for their hard work throughout the year in driving competitive advantage to our clients.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges has Goel faced in building the company? Goel acknowledged:
“Nothing unusual, other than the typical macroeconomic factors influencing every customer’s decision-making time frame in the last few years. It has been a series of ‘fits and starts’ coming back from the pandemic. And although some technology headwinds remain, I feel 2024 is going to be a breakthrough year to get back to industry-leading growth for WinWire.”
Evolution Of WinWire’s Technology
How has WinWire’s technology evolved since launching? Goel noted:
“When we started out, our belief was that there will be more and more data (remember 2007 was before big data, Cloud, ML and AI were even words that people understood!) and we felt “Making it Actionable” will be key for any enterprise’s success. It is good to see that our vison has come to fruition. On the technology front, we have always been at the leading edge. Today we are helping companies navigate GenAI and demystify Microsoft Copilot. In 2023 alone, we had hundreds of conversations with our clients and prospects within the Healthcare, Life Sciences and ISV space, helping them to understand the possibilities to drive business growth and gain competitive advantage.”
“I believe 2024 will be the year where enterprises take emerging technologies like GenAI and Copilot from ‘excitement to execution.’”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of WinWire’s most significant milestones? Goel cited:
“Like any startup, the first-year milestone is the most significant. It is well documented that 90%+ companies fail in their first year. So, getting past that first year was very important for WinWire. The 10-year milestone is important as well, as by then, we were positioned as a leader in the digital transformation space. Most recently, in 2022, we received a strategic investment from a private equity firm, which has allowed us to make further investment in our management team, office expansion, and technology capabilities for our clients.”
Customer Success Stories
After asking Goel about customer success stories, he pointed out:
“We have many success stories listed on our Website, and they can be found here: https://www.winwire.com/success-stories/.”
“Like our children, I love them all! What makes me proudest is that many of the success stories you will read about are “relationships,” and these customers have been working with WinWire for more than half our life as a company!”
Funding
After asking Goel about the company’s revenue information, he revealed:
“I don’t typically share this information, but to help your readers with a bit of context into the size of WinWire, I will say we are not quite a $100 million company. We have almost 1,200 employees globally, who all have a passion for helping our clients unleash the power of Azure and OpenAI.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates WinWire from its competition? Goel affirmed:
“Without a doubt, it’s our people. I mentioned earlier that the foundation of WinWire was built on three core values, driven by our ‘People First’ culture. We hire warm, friendly people, and we only want to work with warm, friendly clients. It may sound like a cliché, but it’s true! And every ‘WinWirean’ has a passion for Microsoft technology—we pride ourselves on being an ‘inch wide and a mile deep’ on Microsoft solutions. So, we aren’t for every enterprise out there, but we find that our long-term clients align around these differentiators.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Goel concluded:
“I am bullish on the next few years and am excited to see what the future holds for WinWire. I feel the right management team is in place to help us execute on our five-point strategy. Without getting into too many details, we will double down on client expansion, acquiring new strategic clients; building new solutions and services; and building a scalable organization that delivers on another of our core values in ‘providing delivery excellence.’”
“How do we deliver upon all of this? You’ll have to follow us to find out.”
