The building platform

Q&A: Michael Jansen

When Michael Jansen came to India to study architecture as a Fulbright scholar in 1994, little did he know he would be setting up a hugely successful BPO in the country.

Ananta-Satellier LLC, established in 2001, is a leading offshore CAD documentation service provider with 14 out of the top 30 international architecture, interior and engineering firms in the United States, Europe and Asia as its clients.

In an interview with Nanditta Chibber, Jansen spoke about Ananta-Satellier's growth as a remote studio management firm in India.

How did you hit upon the idea of a captive BPO for architecture, interiors and engineering?

In 1999, in India, an interior designing firm in the United States appointed me to assist them to produce technical documentation for their project.

The work was completed in half the time. I hired a couple of more people and expanded.Starting off with one client, we went on to work with multiple clients that worked out brilliantly for us.

Initially, we were treated with suspicion, but the quality of our work spoke for us and we started getting high-end projects.

What services does Ananta-Satellier provide?

Firstly, and repeatedly, we are not a drafting services firm. Our job is to create design development drawings, presentation tools and construction documentation.

We are actively involved in interior designing interpretation projects. Our services span the full range of architecture, engineering and presentation drawing responsibilities.

It also offers customised presentation services, including the preparation of concept drawings, 3D computer perspective renderings and animated video walkthroughs.

We use cutting-edge technology like BIM (Building Information Modelling) "" the latest in television drafting software that generates all drawings in 3D format and incorporates critical real-world data.

What kind of projects do you have in hand?

We are doing skyscrapers, luxury hotels and resorts, high-end condominiums, commercial banks and centres, residential development, departmental stores, shopping malls, hospitals and so on.

Some of our projects are the MGM Casino in Las Vegas, a luxury condominium tower for Donald Trump, a 75-storey skyscraper in Korea, an observatory in the middle of a volcano crater in Arizona, Victoria Secret's chain of lingerie stores, a mosque in Kuwait and are servicing one of the architecture firms working on rebuilding the World Trade Center in New York.

How have you performed financially?

We have been growing at 50 per cent annually, and have projected a 75 per cent growth for each of the next five years. I do not want to share the company's worth, else there will be lots of sharks out there trying to buy us.

We're a 100 per cent export services firm, but plan to have local projects in India under a different banner.

Why did you choose India for your venture?

Partly because I happened to stay here,and also because of the massive English-speaking talent pool. There is a growing comfort level in the United States with Indian professionals. India will always be our global headquarters.

What about future plans?

In terms of expanding our team, we plan to have 500 people in India in the next 2-3 years and 1,200 across the globe in the next five years. I have created a dream team of the best in the industry because of the best world clients hiring us.

Secondly, we plan to acquire firms across the globe and include them in our system. Right now, we are heading towards China. Also, we will have joint ventures for our Indian projects.

The design services and implementation industry is $850 billion worldwide, of which only a small portion is outsourced. The more time we spend with our clients, the more flexibility we gain, so we always look at premium projects.