Abid Hussain of EGS reinvented a pioneering IT services company to compete at a time when many national and international ventures went bust. Not only did EGS survive, it continued to grow through rapid industry changes. This story demonstrated the unique challenges of an established company that responds to the vagrant business cycles to manage growth of the last 35 years.
Azhar Rizvi’s Comments
Abid Hussain and his firm EGS is one of the oldest and the most respected IT firms in Pakistan. Operating for almost 35 years now, it has made a great impact on several industries through its cutting edge IT implementation projects. However, like any other IT firm, EGS has had its share of ups and downs. Many local and international firms that were set up in the past thirty years have ceased to exist or have been acquired by other firms. However, Abid and his team have shown remarkable adaptability and resilience. They have been continuously trying new approaches, technologies, industries, and partnerships to stay current and on the scene.
Abid Hussain came to us during the training for the MIT-EFP Business Plan Competition in 2015. Working with a person of his caliber and his team was a tough call, as teams with such experience always come with a significant amount of baggage. However, to our surprise, we found them to be extremely open-minded and receptive throughout the five-month course. Our mentoring sessions with him were actually brainstorming sessions, where we were learning from each other. At that time, EGS had a wide range of business areas and product lines. We suggested that they streamline the business and focus on key areas of strength. We worked out plans and strategies to develop business focus, and tested them to see their effectiveness. The suggestions were appreciated and in a period of six months, they have been able to turn around their revenues and pare down costs. This was a great demonstration that you can learn and adjust according to requirement, at any stage in life; all you need is an open mind and the willingness to accept change.
Invent, Reinvent and Reorganize
The Information Technology sector has seen many high and lows since the 1980s. The 1980s and 1990s were the peak period with high growth, proprietary hardware and solutions, and high margins on sales and profits. However, by the mid 1990s, the IT sector had moved towards open systems. Cheaper systems came about due to Microsoft and Intel. The industry landscape changed. There was competition from a wide array of newer firms. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the dotcom era characterized new opportunities and new business models, for old and new players. Those who took advantage of the time enjoyed the windfall. However, there was a market correction in 2000 with a severe dotcom crash and trillions of dollars were lost on the stock market. The industry was revived, but many giants fell because they could not keep up with the times in this volatile industry. Digital, Compaq, AST, Gateway, 3Com and Informix, were either merged, acquired, or worst, shut down. Others such as IBM, NCR, UNISYS needed to learn the cost of reinventing themselves the hard way.
EGS began operations in Islamabad in the early 1980s. One of the first local IT firms in Pakistan, EGS was a pioneering company that remains among the leading IT companies even now. Considering the volatile nature of the industry, EGS has demonstrated extreme resilience in its journey of over 40+ years.
EGS is currently in another cycle of reorganization based on current marketing needs. This is undoubtedly a tough decision for organizations with a long list of customers and relationships, but EGS and Abid Hussain have demonstrated that the viability and growth of your firm depends on your ability to read market signals and adapt to them. This is the story of the unique challenges that an existing company faces when it is looking to keep itself relevant and with the times. It is a lesson for all entrepreneurs to understand a company’s growth from a long-term perspective.
Read how an established company like EGS manages to stay ahead of the competition in Entrepreneuring Pakistan
