A leading provider of ERP solutions for the construction industry, Xpedeon, with over 25 years of experience across various geographies and engineering and construction sectors of all scales and disciplines, boosts productivity and manages costs effectively. It integrates digital workflows seamlessly across critical functions, including procurement, inventory, plant management, contract management, manufacturing, financial accounts, rentals and leasing. With its extensive, purpose-built industry capabilities across all departments, it ensures streamlined operations and outstanding project performance. Janak Vakharia, CEO of Xpedeon, speaks about the company’s journey since 1994, the market, and much more. Excerpts: Please take us through the company’s journey since 1994 from a traditional licensing model to a profitable Cloud/SaaS platform. Founded in 1994 in Mumbai, Algorithms Software began with a vision to digitally transform the construction industry, an area that was largely untapped by software providers due to its inherent complexities. At the time, most vendors were focused on manufacturing, BFSI, retail, distribution, etc. Algorithms Software was quick to identify that the engineering and construction industry was an unaddressed space, saw a significant opportunity, and got to work. In 1996, the company launched its first product, SiTE, which quickly gained traction in India. This success paved the way for global expansion, starting with the UAE in 1998, followed by the UK and Ireland in 2002. Following our entry into the UK and Ireland market and the initial successes there, the company had solid experience across three geographies spanning nearly a decade and it had generated a wealth of learnings and experiences. The business was quick to understand the tech trends and the changing requirements of the industry across a wide spectrum of areas and therefore took the ambitious exercise of going back to the design board and redeveloping the entire product to incorporate these. In 2006, the company commenced the development of Xpedeon, its flagship enterprise resource planning (ERP) product, developed after extensive R&D to address the unique challenges of the construction sector and incorporating all the learnings and experiences. In 2008, it launched Xpedeon, first in the UK market followed by the Middle East and then India. Over the years, Xpedeon continued to innovate, introducing a whole range of new technologies such as mobility solutions (apps), a digital transformation stack to manage extended supply chains, Dynamic Forms, etc. Just prior to the COVID pandemic, the business saw a trend emerging in Western markets where customers were insisting on Cloud-based plug-and-play solutions being offered as a fully managed service. Realising this was going to be persistent buying behaviour going forward, the business strategically decided to re-engineer Xpedeon to be Cloud-native and launched its Cloud-first strategy. It built a robust enterprise-grade Cloud solution that could scale exponentially and deliver to its customers a resilient and consistently dependable platform. Since then, the business hasn’t looked back and has had tremendous success and acceptance among the customer base. Even in India, large customers such as Navayuga Engineering Company and SJ Contracts have adopted our Cloud offering over privately hosted applications. At Algorithms, it’s always been about building a fiscally stable and profitable business. While working on the Cloud offering, it carefully modelled the business to ensure consistent profitability and positive cashflows while managing the pivot from privately hosted solutions to a fully managed Cloud/SaaS platform. As a business, it has delivered on this goal. What inspired you to foray into ERP solutions designed specifically for construction? Being one of the most complex and fragmented sectors, the construction industry lacked specialised digital tools to address its unique challenges. Algorithms Software identified this gap early on and aimed to create tailored solutions that would streamline operations, reduce inefficiencies and enhance productivity for construction businesses worldwide. As mentioned previously, this was an underserved segment. The inherent complexities of the construction industry made it unattractive for standardised systems to address its needs. This is where Algorithms Software saw an opportunity to think out of the box and deliver a solution. How many projects has the company undertaken to date both within India and globally? More than 30,000+ users sign in and use our platform across our markets every day. We have successfully delivered over 200+ enterprise-scale implementations over our journey. In India, we have worked with 30+ customers and currently, we are witnessing significant traction. We are looking at a 300 per cent growth year on year for the next few years from India, driven by a buoyant business environment and sustained infrastructure and real-estate spending. What is interesting is the number of customers who are approaching us to replace the existing systems that they have tried to implement with limited success. What is the market potential for solutions such as yours? With the global construction ERP market witnessing exponential growth, the potential for tailored solutions like Xpedeon remains immense. The increasing demand for digital transformation, coupled with the adoption of Cloud technologies, positions it to further solidify its market leadership. As per currently available data, the TAM across our current and forthcoming markets would be about $ 15 billion annually, though currently highly fragmented between local, regional and global players as well as point and large footprint solutions. We see this as a very exciting space going forward for Xpedeon. We are in the right place at the right time with construction technology (Contech) being a hot topic or flavour of the season right now. What emerging trends do you foresee in the sector? The construction ERP sector is witnessing transformative trends, including the adoption of AI-powered insights, predictive analytics, IoT, drones and BIM/digital twins. The shift towards Cloud-based ERP systems is accelerating, driven by the need for agility, scalability and reduced infrastructure costs. Technologies like IoT, augmented reality, and robotics are being integrated into ERP platforms to optimise processes, enhance safety, and improve project management. Moreover, hyper-digitalisation and the advent of mobile ERP solutions are empowering businesses with real-time access to data and insights, regardless of location. What were the constraints during implementation in key regions (India, US, EU, Asia-Pacific, GCC, UK and Ireland), and how were they overcome? The challenges are different in different geographies. Some were challenges we faced in our early years and are no longer challenges while some continue to be. Here are some of the key challenges we face or continue to face: Employee attrition: Due to the very nature of the business, certainly key roles experience increased attrition, especially among the project-based staff. This often results in implementation delays and keeping implemented systems sustained. We mitigate this by ensuring our customers have a core team/centre of excellence empowered with contextual training materials to onboard new staff quickly on the system. We have also heavily simplified project-based functions through our mobile apps that are intuitive to use and require minimum training. This has been a game-changer for us in increasing and sustaining client/user adoption of Xpedeon. Management bandwidth: The construction industry is plagued by risks and external factors often beyond the control of management. Senior managers are constantly coping with this challenge on an ongoing basis, which makes it difficult for them to spend time properly implementing systems in their organisations. Our proprietary implementation methodology Xpedite makes it possible for senior managers to focus on key issues and escalations on a cadence that is workable for them. We attempt to minimise their involvement in the implementation BAU and only focus on resolving policy matters and escalations. Availability of structured and reconciled data: This is a major challenge. It is often surprising to us the very poor quality of information about their business that is readily available to hand that can make sure onboarding on Xpedeon is smooth. Given that a lot of our customers have implemented other systems before, it is surprising to see that this is an issue. As part of our onboarding process, we have a perfected mechanism of gathering and reconciling this information in readiness to implement Xpedeon. This makes the process smoother. Our consultants often advise customers and help them get this information to a satisfactory level. System adoption at the project-based staff level: At the project site level, a standard question that managements contend with is, “Shall I deliver the project or enter information in the system?” It is very difficult to drive adoption at project sites that could be in far-flung locations. Through our highly intuitive purpose-focused mobile apps, we make it easy for site staff to use systems with minimum intrusion into their core responsibilities, i.e. delivering the project. The local context challenge: Every country has its way of doing things and has its own local dynamics and focus areas. As a business, we go to lengths to ensure we recruit local teams who have a profound understanding of local requirements and can help onboard Xpedeon in a manner that works for our customers. This could be language/nomenclature, process imperatives – the speed or control debate, local compliance and taxation needs, etc. How does your process contribute to sustainability and the reduction of construction waste? Xpedeon’s integrated platform eliminates data silos and optimises resource management, significantly reducing material wastage and improving operational efficiency. By providing real-time insights and predictive analytics, it enables better decision-making, helping organisations minimise their environmental footprint while maintaining profitability. There are three primary ways in which Xpedeon enables this: Carbon footprint reporting: We provide an entire solution to manage GHG emission reporting for projects and the organisation’s level and provide insightful reporting for businesses to help target, control and reduce. This can measure and report across all three scopes under the GHG protocol. Eliminating paper through digitalisation: Our digital transformation stack eliminates the widespread use of paper throughout the business, a major driver of sustainability initiatives. Reducing construction waste is more about having the right data to hand to make the right decisions on time. It revolves around: 1. Buying what is required – strict controls over material budgets and requirements 2. Effective inventory tracking for surplus and scrap materials – having this accurate information to hand can ensure that surplus and scrap materials are effectively used or disposed of in a responsible manner. What are the challenges in integrating data from various sources (AI, machine learning, IoT, augmented reality, drones and robotics) into a cohesive solution for construction projects? Integrating data from numerous sources, including AI, IoT and robotics, into a cohesive ERP solution presents several problems, particularly in terms of data authenticity, consistency and smooth integration. These technologies produce massive amounts of data that must be processed and linked to the ERP system in real-time. Xpedeon has addressed this issue by creating a platform that is highly adaptable and capable of connecting with a variety of technologies, ensuring that data flows seamlessly across all systems without interruption. It is also about receiving the data in the right context. Xpedeon provides contextual information uploads concerning specific applicable processes to ensure that it is actionable and reportable. What measures are in place to ensure the security of data? Xpedeon prioritises data security and comprehensive procedures are in place to protect critical project data. To maintain the security of all information, the platform employs powerful encryption techniques, multifactor authentication and routine security assessments. Further, Xpedeon's Cloud-based solutions adhere to industry-leading data security standards, giving clients peace of mind that their data is secure against potential threats. Our platform has achieved certifications for ISO 27001, 27017, 27018 and GDPR (statement of compliance). We have robust tracking mechanisms in place to ensure we have the right incident recognition and remediation actions in place. Further, we have best-in-class resiliency built-in with multiple fail-over regions, delivering exemplary RTO and RPO metrics. What emerging trends do you foresee in the next five to 10 years? Over the next decade, the construction industry will undergo substantial transformation due to technological improvements. Autonomous ERP systems powered by AI and machine learning will optimise processes with minimal human interaction. Conversational AI and voice interfaces will revolutionise how users engage with ERP systems, while open standards will allow seamless connectivity between digital tools, fostering integrated ecosystems. Additionally, AI and machine learning will improve project management by identifying risks, automating processes and allocating resources more efficiently. The wide adoption of IoT or drones will give real-time data from construction sites, while Cloud-based solutions will improve cooperation and data-sharing between teams and locations. With an increased emphasis on sustainability, technologies that minimise waste and improve energy efficiency will play an important role in the industry's future. At Algorithms, we are investing heavily in these initiatives with new features and products incorporating these technologies being scheduled for release into next year.