24x7 Learning Solutions is optimistic about the Indian market and plans to set up a virtual campus in every corporate organisation. The company is also aggressive about expanding its reach in the SME segment. CEO Karthik KS offers some insights into his company's strategies to tap the e-learning potential in India.

How is 24x7 Learning helping its customers establish virtual campuses?

24x7 Learning is mainly into building virtual campuses for enterprises, to take care of their learning requirement. We have built more than 27 virtual campuses in the country across enterprises and academia. There are three crucial components involved in the e-learning initiative: technology, consulting and content.

We follow three stages while establishing a virtual campus for our clients. The first is consulting, which involves understanding the organisation and its learning culture; evaluating the existing learning processes if any, and then recommending the best learning practices for the organisation.

The spread of learning initiatives is the second stage. We recommend the expansion phase to our client at the right time, whereby based on the effectiveness of the learning initiative, the client expands the application of the virtual campus.

Integrating the initiatives with client processes is the third step, where we integrate the virtual campus with the client’s overall processes.

Could you list some of the challenges 24x7 Learning faces in India?

Initially, the lack of emphasis on training initatives was a challenge. Today, however, they are treated as a crucial element to realise organisational goals. We are providing real virtual campus solutions for our customers by understanding their work and culture. We build a solution that aligns with the strategic business goals of the company.

It is very difficult to convince top level management about the importance of e-learning courses for their employees. We try to bridge the skill gap between what is required by the corporate segment and what is produced by our formal education system.

What are your expansion plans for the coming year?

There are ample opportunities for us in India as IDC predicts the global e-learning market to touch $28 billion by 2008. About 65 customers are working with us and we aspire to double the headcount by the end of this year. We aim to implement virtual campus solutions in every corporate organisation in India and expand our reach in the booming SME segment. We are also very focused on product enhancements, and are strategising to focus more on our consulting business in India.

Earlier we focused only on enterprises, but we have now started approaching educational institutes. We are also working with the government on several e-governance initiatives and have tied up with some state-level institutes to provide distance learning programmes. Now we also focus on new verticals such as manufacturing, telecom, banking, retail and pharmaceutical companies.