Jade Global
“All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.” – John Kenneth Galbraith
Thus we begin, looking closely into a life that started with nothing but a dream, a vision to create a macrocosm of the most progressive ideas to give birth to the most cutting edge technology and committed services which we now know fashioned into Jade Global, a name that lives beyond its business entity. It is the very extension of its CEO, Karan Yaramada’s ethos. And it has proven its mettle in the face of the Pandemic, thriving not just due to a resilient business strategy that was an innate part of Jade Global, but also the sheer perseverance exhibited by its people.
We give you a glimpse into how Karan Yaramada, winner of the CEO World Award 2020, anchored Jade Global. Today Jade Global is recognized as one of the fastest-growing private companies in North America by Inc. 5000 (winning the place for 10 consecutive years), and making constant appearances in global power lists as a preferred strategic technology partner for companies on their digital transformation journey.
LET’S BEGIN FROM THE BEGINNING: A VISION IN THE VALLEY
There is a hint of a smile on his face, reminiscence, as he looks back at the days that made all the difference. Helming this solo ship was not the easiest. Especially in 2003, when Silicon Valley was mushrooming with a million big ideas waiting to turn into billion bucks. Karan started small. He founded Jade Global with Oracle Partnership in San Jose, its US headquarter and the first office.
“We were unknown. I had a handful of people and an idea. I wanted to make businesses breathe easy. Oracle, a big name even then, became our cornerstone. And stays to this day one of our strongest suits,” Karan reflects
By 2005, Jade Global had 50+ employees and Salesforce Alliance & Microsoft Gold Partnerships. Jade successively added Snowflake Managed Services, AWS, ServiceNow, Zuora, NetSuite, and a Boomi Elite Partnership over the years to its growing partner landscape. Today Jade Global has 1000+ employees, spread across 7 cities, including offices in Austria, Canada, and India. However, one of its greatest milestones is the establishment of Jade Global’s R&D Unit: Jade Labs, a locus of innovation that adds a unique flavor to its partner offerings.
Karan adds, “Jade Global has made it to this juncture due to its great partner alliances. But then we were not the only ones out there offering an Oracle, or a Salesforce service. It was so essential to get our own blend here, so our clients know the difference is not just in the service but the entire ecosystem we bring to the table.”
Kanverse, Jade Global’s AI, is a Cognitive Automation Platform that can support various use cases across the enterprise to remove bottlenecks, streamline business processes, and minimize manual touch points across workflows.
Jade Global’s unique offerings are distinct yet conducive, in fact, complementary to its partner’s growth. They have established a symbiotic relationship, where their home-grown technology and innovation enhances and adds to the services offered. Kanverse AI was one of the many. Some of these others are Jump Start Analytics, Jade Global’s Prebuilt Analytics for Oracle EBS, JadeConnect for Connecting the Enterprise through ServiceNow, Xenon Test Cloud, Infa to ODI-The First and Only Informatica to ODI Data Integration Conversion Tool, Accelero-Accelerated Oracle EBS Implementation, Reverse Logistics, Warehouse Management and more.
PANDEMIC & TRANSITION TRANSLATING DIGITAL REQUIREMENTS INTO PRACTICAL REALITIES STARTS AT HOME
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea,” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Now that the vaccination is out and the world slowly settles back into a near-normal rhythm, businesses are trying hard to make a comeback. It is not easy. Jade Global survived the storm, albeit with a few scratches. It was impossible for businesses to come out unscathed after all. What was the magic formula? We want to know how Jade Global made it.
While many are harping on about the “digital transformation” wave, Jade Global has been living and realizing it for its clients. The Two-Time Honoree, listed among the Fastest Growing Silicon Valley and Philadelphia Enterprises in 2016 & 2018, has steered 2600+ technology projects across a range of industries. One of the company’s mainstays is adaptation through digital synergies that are at the very root of all its processes. Digitization is a way of life at Jade Global, which was in effect even before the pandemic hit and virtual offices came into being.
“We had almost unknowingly been preparing for this period over the past few years. We went on to become a 100% remote workforce almost overnight without any glitches. This was possible because all our employees had company-issued laptops and secured VPN Access; everything was on the cloud, including our office collaboration suite, time and billing system, and network security,” Karan beams.
“It was not just about the set-up, those were pieces that naturally fell into place, it was also the state of mind, that needed attention,” he continues.
Jade Global’s leadership team along with Karan created guidelines to follow for the entire company based on a wellformulated and informed design: the 3Ps Approach: In their first Virtual meeting the CEO urged his people to internalize this approach; Protect-Preserve-Promote.
In compliance with the points stated above, Jade Global declared a work from home policy in their US Offices and India offices at least two weeks before the Government of India announced its first lockdown. Its employees have continued to preserve and demonstrate the same work ethics as they did during the prepandemic days.
“In fact, we have seen a surge in employee productivity and each one of our employees has displayed great dedication in promoting the spirit of Jade Global by coming together and donating generously towards the Feeding America fund in the United States and the Prime Minister Cares fund in India,” adds Karan
Jade Global managed to raise 1,000,000+ INR in India and $15,000+ in the United States to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
THE GOLDEN RULE: Jade Global is One People
It was ultimately the humane approach that triumphed over all else. Karan reiterates the importance of forging strong bonds with people you work with. It becomes even more poignant during the crisis.
“We urged all managers to reach out to every team member so that we had an open line of communication between all employees. We were able to gain insight into the challenges of all employees and take the appropriate steps to solve these issues,” says Karan.
The company equally shared the financial burden, with more than 75% of employees worldwide expressing willingness in taking salary deferrals along with the leadership team that showed the path. The company swam through it with zero layoffs and the salary deferral program never actually taking off. He expresses, “It never came down to it. And I am glad it turned out that way.”
Another aspect of Karan that echoes through Jade Global is transparency. The leader’s demeanor is reflective of a simple candor, which is very much a part of Jade Global’s fabric. Facts and vulnerabilities were never held back from employees. Karan attributes their success to this openness, which has overarched into all their other practices and dealings
When asked about how he keeps his people motivated, he says, “It is tough to drive a uniform culture as we keep growing and there is no silver bullet to prevent this. However, keeping the conversation open and encouraging connections throughout the company is how I manage the risk and keep everybody motivated. We encourage open dialogue and an open-door policy. Furthermore, we invest in employee growth, learning and development to align our internal business practices with our vision.”
ONWARD THEY MARCH WITH NEW SOLUTIONS, NEW INDUSTRIES, AND NEW ALLIANCES:
“Hi-tech & Life Sciences Industries have a great need for technology that enables process automation and seamless integration for both internal and external partners as well as applications,” notes Karan.
Jade Global has worked with over 150 Hi-tech customers to make strategic investments in launching unique industry solutions that will transform the business processes across the board. The solution consists of reference digital architecture with a pre-configured solution consisting of 70% of the most popular and relevant use cases in combination with leading purpose-built solutions.
Jade Global’s Pre-configured Life Sciences Industry Solution addresses Key CGxP requirements, Financial Reporting & Cost Management, Compliant Clinical & Commercial Supply Chain operations, pre-built Analytics, Trading Partner Integrations inclusive of overarching Compliance & Validation Framework hence providing a comprehensive Scalable Digital operations platform helping companies stay competitive and foster growth.
Jade Global stays current, relevant, compassionate, and adaptive. It is one of the few businesses that provided a strong emotional safety net for its employees, who fought the hysteria with the support of their leader.
“Though it may seem like a fore thought now, but reality is, we were all panic stricken. Jade Global may have started as my dream, however, it is not just mine anymore, and I owe that to my people. To make it happen, take it forward, and persist,” he concludes.
And we see the smile getting wider, just a bit more. “As one of the contributors to the digital wave, I know, here on, the future only gets better, so we better get future ready”, spoke the Thinker, the Visionary, and the man who brought his ship to the shore
