India aims to become self sufficient (Atmanirbhar) calls for indigenization, maintenance of foreign supplied products & solutions, etc. Possibilities of exporting technology and products to other countries, not just the third world ones but also to others can help the country to develop into a superpower nation. India is now acquiring defense aircraft with offset obligations which provides opportunities for local companies to participate, and the Make in India initiative is clearing the way for indigenous development, manufacture of components and subsystems. With the government's initiative of"Atmanirbhar Bharat", various industry verticals are poised for local development, manu facturing, and possible export opportunities. All this can lead to the country being able to tap into unrealized potential and helping its people to lead a better life.

Systems Aids is a pioneering business organization that aims to lay an integral part in the nation building process, and they provide indigenous embedded products & solutions using state-of-the-art technology for import substitution, feature upgrade, cost optimization, etc. Design, development, and manufacture of Line Replaceable Units (LRU's) for airborne applications either Fit Form Function indigenous replacements of existing units or Units with new functionality is the company’s forte. Systems Aids has certified quality system (ISO 9001 : 2015) and design house (CEMILAC) approval and they are aware of all standards in the industry through long time experience and sticky staff. The company is also pioneers when it comes to development of ground equipment for testing, diagnostics, maintenance, etc. such as Automated Test Equipment (ATE), Data Replay Units, Simulators, Manipulators, etc. Systems Aids is an approved design house from CEMILAC for developing airborne & ground based products. The company has qualified many products for airworthiness and supplied them, going through the necessary environment test requirements, using the certified test labs. They have developed airborne LRU's which are proven, as they have completed more than 10-12 years of actual flight. And their ground based systems have been in operation also for 2 to 3 decades in some cases.

A Notch Above The Rest
Generally small scale industries in 1980s were used to develop and manufacture consumable products or take up subcontract work or services to ensure regular flow of funds. In that period to venture into high tech products development for a high end application with stringent specifications with so many procedures and approvals was very rare except for those individuals who were passionate to contribute to the nation building in their own small way and to develop technologies locally and to enthuse youngsters towards this goal. Systems Aids was willing to take up ‘one-off development jobs' which require special dedicated skill set as a part of import substitution which many industries were reluctant to take up for lack of continued production orders and the possibility of retaining skilled work force till the completion of the project and to have continued interaction with the end users,

design approval and inspection authorities. This could be achieved mainly with hand holding from defense PSUs and dedicated government R& D labs and testing facilities spread across the country.

Adding more about their operations and its uniqueness, Mr. Venkata subramanian, the founder and CEO says "We are basically an electronics equipment development and manufacturing company. In most of the development activities the customer gives only the overall speci fications with input/output requirements. We have to deduce from that and work out the design which will go through a number of iterations before taking the final shape as products. It is a long drawn, time consuming process. In many cases, only the bare product without any proper documents will be given for indigenization which might have been supplied a couple of decades ago using parts which were vogue at that time. This is very common in defense related products. The obsolescence management is really a big issue. We are abreast with the latest technologies and implement the same using recently released parts so that the longevity of the end products is taken care which is a pre requisite in defense/aerospace fields. We have a number of indigenously developed products which are unique in nature. To name a few MIG21 simulator hardware, automated flight data recorder test equipment for Tejas aircraft, and avionics air borne Line Replaceable Units(LRU)for Jaguar aircraft."

Organizations should focus on the supporting key areas of their businesses that will help them to stabilize in the new environment and strategize for what next

While talking more about their future plans, Mr. Subramanian adds "With the government's initiatives of "Make in India" and "Atmanirbhar Bharat",the industries are poised for local development, manufacturing, and possible export opportunities. Moreover, our experience in the defence arena over three decades will enable us without any entry barriers to explore new areas. Getting actively involved in the indigenization programs in aerospace defence sector both on the development & manu facturing front as well as MRO(Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) aspects will be top priority for us going forward."

Some Key Attributes Of Systems Aids
•Ready to take up challenging developments with brief/sketchy requirement specifications and work with customers to realize their needs
•Boutique house for developing products/solutions in electronics, embedded, electro mechanical, software areas
•Close to 4 decades & capable to provide full lifecycle support for developed products
•Effective Use Of The EcoSystem Within The Region Test Facilities & Labs Consultants Etc.

Venkatasubramanian, CEO
He has worked for National Aeronautical Laboratories as Scientist, before starting Systems Aids in 1982, remaining a business owner till date. He carries forward the technological base from the scientist days and is hands on with advanced development activities of the products. He is actively involved in the activities of SIATI (Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies & Industries) as an office bearer and among the council of trustees. He is also the Secretary of the Indira nagar Sangeetha Sabha. He has bagged many awards both in individual capacity and for the company as well, in his illustrious career of more than 38 years

He is ably supported in the management team by:
Ramandeep Singh, Head - Innovation, Strategy, and International Sales
He is an award winning serial entrepreneur with over 2 decades experience in delivering innovative technologies hardware and software solutions. He specializes in designing innovative solutions from scratch, based on client specific requirements and is also a conver gence specialist. He is actively involved in shaping the roadmap of Systems Aids to provide innovative technologies and solutions as a product, as well on services models.

Sundar Raman, COO
He is worked earlier in multi national organizations and has domain exposure in Medical Systems Consumer Electronics, Industrial & Defence Electronics, IT Systems. His strengths are Business Development, Program & Project Management, Post Merger Integration (M & A), Process Improvement, Supplier management. He has managed global product releases, turnkey system development, HW & SW engineering, IT & integration projects