2007 Fast Growth 100: Company Profiles

ZSL

ZSL Executive Vice President Shiv Kumar credits much of his company's revenue growth over the past two years to synergistic partnerships with other solution providers.

This "Get IT Together" ecosystem of about 16 partners in the U.S. and 50 globally has helped the software integrator extend its reach into verticals including telecommunications, health care, insurance and retail. "We are collaborating and adding value to each other's expertise," Kumar said.

ZSL, founded in 1995, describes its core competency as application development and management, but it also has logged significant experience in developing mobile and wireless computing solutions. Over the past two years, ZSL logged a cumulative growth rate of 129.4 percent, ending 2006 with $78 million in revenue.

Aside from new verticals, partnering with other solution providers has helped ZSL and its partners build their presence in midmarket companies, Kumar said. This, in turn, has exposed it to new application solutions areas. Thus, the company's ongoing investment in its IDEA (Innovative Development of Enterprise Applications) Lab. This R&D investment has brought ZSL closer to certain key vendors, since it is seen as an evangelist among customers and, to some extent, other solution providers."Until 2005 and even part of 2006, we were very conscious of positioning ourselves as a vendor-neutral applications provider," Kumar said. "But now we position ourselves, aligning ourselves with a specific vendor or vendors so that they can help us speed up the education process and co-selling."

Heather Clancy

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