The percolation of technology into businesses has helped carry out mundane as well as complex tasks with ease and accuracy. Right from automating routine tasks, improving data analysis and storing data for retrieval, information technology can also help businesses maintain their competitive advantage. It goes without saying that you will be able to improve customer service.
There are companies that offer their geospatial expertise to ensure the smooth sailing of your businesses. One such company that has been focusing on the agile development of geospatial, software development, data analytics and mobile application is Hardcastle GIS Solutions Pvt Ltd. The company delivers standard-based software code that can be transitioned into an internal team anytime.
We had the opportunity to learn more about the company in an interview with the Founder-CEO Swapnil (Neil) Jadhav.
Excerpts:
Kindly brief us about your company and its initial journey.
After my six-month internship with Patni Computers, I decided to pursue my childhood dream of being an entrepreneur. I had an easier option of joining my father’s business, which is in the electrical domain. I decided to use my knowledge and degree of Geoinformatics to resolve the Location problems of today’s world. With Uber, Swiggy, and other GPS-based mobile apps picking up, I decided to help businesses, start-ups and the government build the Location Strategy, which is the future.
I quickly built a website and started promoting the business online. Within few days, we got an inquiry and closed deals within few days. I was very nervous attending my first sales call. but the entrepreneur blood in me helped me sail through well without having corporate or any other work experience. Over the last 10 years, we made some great achievements delivering prestigious projects for businesses like Mckinsey & Company, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh Government, GIDC, Greece Government among others. We started our US Operations in 2018 two years back and last year we started the UK operations as well.
Please give an overview of the services and solutions you offer. What differentiates them from competitors?
At Hardcastle, we work in three core domains which are GIS, AI, and Mobile. We apply our geospatial expertise across many of our projects each with varying needs. We do everything from fully custom Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions built specifically to meet your workflows to tailored backend service and visualizations on mobile and desktop clients.
- Geospatial data visualizations and cartography
- Data extraction, transformation, loading and enrichment
- Leverage best of breed open-source and commercial GIS technologies
- Utilize cost-efficient and reliable serverless GIS approaches
Differentiators:
- Our solutions are built on open-source platforms which saves our customers huge licensing costs. Apart from this, our solutions are offered free one-year support as our post-sales activity.
- We are a customer-focused organization. Listening, understanding your needs and concerns is our primary objective. Hardcastle is managed by seasoned executives with proven track records.
What are the benefits gained by your clients/users from your products, solutions and services?
Every day, Hardcastle helps its clients use GIS technology to solve real-life business problems. It is at the core of every project we deliver. Since almost all information has a spatial component, our team uses GIS tools to unlock the true value of that information and improve the quality and efficiency of processes, services, and information across the organization. Hardcastle uses GIS technology to help customers overcome a wide range of problems.
Data Management and Sharing
Do you have silos of GIS data stored by individuals or departments? Is your data out-of-date, or updated infrequently? Does it take too long to distribute accurate GIS data to those who need it? Are you unsure how to properly aggregate and manage your data?
We use GIS technology to standardize data management workflows, eliminate silos, and efficiently share authoritative data with end-users, whether internal or public, in an intuitive and user-friendly format.
Geospatial Data Services
Visualizing Spatial Information
Overwhelmed with data that is difficult to understand or examine for trends?
Information becomes a whole lot easier to understand once it is mapped. A map provides context and highlights patterns compared to a spreadsheet or other non-spatial format. GIS technology allows you to efficiently interpret and communicate valuable information.
Making Better Decisions
Looking for solid ground on which to make and back up the decisions you make? GIS allows for more robust decisions by enhancing the information you have on hand to make and defend those decisions.
For the maximum value, GIS enables the integration of related data from multiple systems to provide a complete picture. For example, connecting the data from a county government’s tax database with its GIS provides richer, more complete information about properties that users can easily access and understand using a map.
GIS System Integration
Constituent Engagement
Are you struggling to meet the public’s expectations for finding the information they need about their community? Is it difficult to share up-to-date information on evolving situations such as road closures or emergency events? Do your constituents have to call or make in-person visits to find property records, or navigate a complex GIS map to access data?
Establish better engagement with modern GIS tools. Automate the publishing process to ensure the public always has access to accurate data and share valuable information on property, services, and much more via easy-to-use, mobile-friendly apps.
Public-facing Apps
Field Operations
Do your staff in the field use paper forms to record their activity? Are field workers disconnected from organizational data and workflows?
Eliminate the opportunity for human error and enable field mobility using GIS technology. Staff can edit and use data in any location – even when disconnected from the internet – and manage work orders and other processes via mobile devices.
Hardcastle implements and configures GIS solutions designed specifically for field operations, providing easy-to-use interfaces that standardize workflows and maintain access to the right data in any environment.
GIS Solutions
Asset Management
Are you working with out-of-date data on utilities, facilities, and other infrastructure? Are you struggling to implement a standard process for keeping that data current across individuals and departments? Where do you store it?
GIS tools provide an easy and efficient way to record, update and track information about your assets in real-time on a standard platform.
Read more at https://hardcastlegis.com/GIS-Applications.html
What obstacles and/or limitations do you and your company face while growing, sustaining, or retaining its clientele?
Data Limitation.
This is a problem faced by GIS users for decades in both developed and developing nations. Finding the money to collect new data and to convert paper maps and data into digital format continues to be a problem. In many cases, digital data do exist, but there are issues of confidentiality, national security, etc.
Good cash flow control is important for any business. For a growing business, it is crucial – cash constraints can be the biggest factor limiting growth, and overtrading can be fatal. Government being the biggest GIS user in Indian market, maintaining cash-flow becomes a challenge when working on a government assignment.
R&D forms the core of your services. How do you stay updated with the latest in the industry and adapt to it?
 We currently spent around 18% of our revenues on R&D. We also collaborate with the company in other domains such as agriculture in order to jointly build a new product with joint expertise. This helps in keeping up with the industry and its trends.
What new can we expect from the company in the coming years?
Hardcastle GIS is launching its two products very soon. MapMyCrop is one of the Crop Monitoring Saas Platform and GIS Fleet which is SAAS based Fleet Management Software.