Akash Arora, 30, of netlink, is in the forefront of the IT outsourcing industry. Before establishing their head office in Dubai in 1999 Akash had an office in New Delhi providing digital solutions to medium and large businesses. Today netlink employs 15 account architects in Dubai and 108 development engineers and software specialists in India making it not only a unique business model, but an unrivalled solutions provider in this market.

What is it that makes you guys stand out?

netlink is unique because we have established a business model that is currently used by no one else in the Dubai market. Most companies want to outsource to cheaper markets but they do not want all the headaches of communications problems, time differences between countries, long distance development issues, etc. What we at netlink have done is to retain a talented and dedicated staff in India and to have a team of account architects based in Dubai where there is market demand for our services. With this structure, clients simply brief the account architect who then project manages the work with India and the client never has to be involved in the day-to-day development.

What is the role of Dubai in your operations?

Dubai is a very dynamic market in that it is a crossroads of sorts between East and West and with the development of Dubai Media City, Internet City and others, we have continued to see the demand for our services rising. There is also the matter of proximity in that India is a short flight away.

What services do you offer at netlink?

We are a full-service digital solutions agency and can provide customers with: Branding and digital business strategy; knowledge management; customer relationship enhancement; information dissemination. netlink also has extensive marketing and public relations capabilities both online and off.

Do you specialise in any one business sector?

While we do partner with companies in all sectors across the board, our roots are in the travel and hospitality industries. For airline and travel organisations, we create digital solutions that streamline their processes, strengthen customer relationships, and deliver sustainable competitive advantage. In the hospitality business, netlink has provided expertise that enables companies to strengthen their relationships with internal and external audiences, while leveraging digital technology to fuel significant growth and create dramatic efficiencies.