One has to be patient here

Enterprise data management, gives you a more predictive sense of a market. 

Fair Isaac is one of the leading providers of decision management solutions in the world and is present in 80 countries. Mark N. Greene, 52, CEO, recently discussed his plans with BT's Rahul Sachitanand. Excerpts:

Question: How competitive is the market Fair Isaac operates in?

It is becoming more competitive, but we're seen as the pioneer in this space. Traditional business intelligence is rear-view looking; if you ask a question of it, it will tell you "who were my most profitable customers". The segment we operate in, called enterprise data management, gives you a more predictive sense of a market.

Question: Why has Fair Isaac struggled to grow over the last couple of years?

The market is growing at 10-12 per cent, but our growth has been nearly flat. When I came aboard, I learnt quickly that while we have good products, people and a strong customer base, we don't have good sales, marketing and customer service and that we had stopped listening to customers. I aim to change that.

Question: How important is India to Fair Isaac?

We already have blue-chip clients such as ICICI here; we expect the list to grow. But one has to be patient with developing markets. Fair Isaac also has a software, services and analytics centre in Bangalore, where it employs 300 people; we expect that number to grow.