When the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, launched the ‘Make in India’ initiative in 2014, Arjun Nagarajan was in the US, Saurabh Sharma was in Saudi Arabia, and Aman Agarwal was in Paris. Apart from friendship, the three of them were bound by the common desire to start their own business in India. So, they decided to quit their jobs and return to the country.
Saurabh had met Arjun when they were working with Schlumberger in Mumbai in 2007, while Arjun and Aman had met when they were working in Qatar in 2013.
Back in India, initially their plan was to build a CRM tool for small businesses. Soon that idea gave way to something bigger.
Arjun, Saurabh and Aman had a combined work experience of 41 years in the energy sector and had worked around the world. Having worked for leading oil companies such as SLB and Halliburton, with knowledge of running operations, the three of them decided to create a solution for the enterprise sector. That is how was born in 2016 in Gurugram.
Syook’s SaaS platform uses real-time location systems technology to help businesses track all their mobile assets from one place. Users receive real-time location-specific data, alarms, and analytics on a dashboard. This data and analytics help enterprises make informed decisions that ultimately enhance safety, productivity, and compliance at the workplace, says the company’s co-founder Arjun.
Syook’s offerings
Syook’s ‘InSite’ is a real-time location tracking system that enables businesses to contextually locate different assets (equipment, people) on a digital map of their facility.
Assets that can be monitored include heavy vehicles, manufacturing equipment (such as pallets and trolleys), finished goods in sales yards, medical equipment (ventilators, ECG, oxygen cylinders), construction equipment (power tools, water jets) and people (contractors, visitors, employees).
Apart from InSite, Syook’s platform also offers a computerised maintenance management system that helps users plan work orders and schedule roles for different types of assets.
How the platform works
Uses can operate the Syook platform through a web app, a mobile app, and IoT devices.
The platform ingests raw data from the IoT hardware (active tags with RFID/GPS chips) installed on the company’s assets. The tags transmit the data to a gateway, which sends it to the cloud, where the data is processed using proprietary algorithms. Then the location of an asset is discerned in real time and insights are drawn.
According to Arjun, Syook’s platform can track tens of thousands of assets in real time.
“Millions of data points are fed in real time into Syook’s location engine, which displays the location of assets on a map. The entire platform is no-code and can be configured to solve majority of common operational problems, such as shift management, visibility, immobility detection, and equipment availability,” states Arjun.
Use cases
Here are some examples of how tracking and monitoring assets can help businesses with compliance and productivity.
Let us say a company has employed 1,000 contractors. InSite helps the project manager know if the contractors are at the assigned place and working a specific number of hours. People entering restricted areas can also be monitored in real time.
In a hospital set-up, at least two oxygen cylinders should be present in the ICU and at least one attendant should be present in the blood lab. A nurse should not be absent from the nursing station for more than 15 minutes. Syook’s InSite helps ensure all this.
The Syook team
Using Syook’s platform, logistics companies can ensure that trucks do not spend more time than desirable in loading areas, at the entry gate, and at the parking lot.
Facility managers can ensure that security guards are making adequate rounds of the facility during their shift.
Actionable insights
According to the company, lnSite is enhanced with artificial intelligence to provide actionable insights that enable customers to take data-driven decisions to enhance operations, boost productivity, and save significant time and effort.
“Once the asset location is known, users can find out a machine’s pressure gauge reading, temperature and RPM and vital signs of the workers, etc. The data is provided to users so that they can ensure that their resources are being used efficiently. If an unfortunate situation arises, they can control it in a timely manner,” explains Arjun.
Market and growth
The real-time location systems market was worth $3.9 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow to $12.7 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 26.5%, according to marketsandmarkets.com.
Syook competes with companies such as , , Airfinder, Litum, Sewio, Honeywell, Aeroscout, and BlueGPS.
According to Arjun, the solutions offered by competitors may be designed specifically for hospitals or manufacturing units, but Syook’s solution can be installed in any facility, with minor modifications.
The startup generates revenue from software licensing fees and SaaS subscription. It focuses on the energy (oil and gas), mining, manufacturing, logistics and healthcare sectors.
Syook has partnered with system integrators and consulting partners such as , , , , and to offer standalone and integrated solutions to customers. It has served companies such as Unilever, UPL, FIAT, ONGC, Indian Railways, Reckitt Benckiser, and the Tata group.
In August 2021, Syook raised $1 million in a Series A funding round from ONGC and IPV. It generated half a million US dollars in revenue last year and is projected to clock $2.4 million this financial year. Syook expects to generate a revenue of Rs 4 million in the financial year 2023-24.
Currently, the startup is operational in the UAE through a local partner. It plans to set up offices there for a direct presence. It will also partner with large solution providers in the markets of EU, North America, Africa, and Japan.
The story behind ‘Syook’
The inspiration for the name ‘syook’ came from the Arabic word ‘souk’, which means ‘marketplace’. The word resonated with the founders, who had spent a lot of time in the Middle East, and thus they named their company ‘Syook’.
