At Protean eGov Technologies, product innovation is not about chasing trends but about solving real-world challenges at scale. According to Bertram D’Souza, Chief Product and Innovation Officer, the company’s strategy is to build on its strengths while addressing critical gaps in digital infrastructure. “The likelihood of success is higher when you build on your strengths. For us, digital identity is central — and we are creating products on top of existing digital rails to unlock greater value,” he said.
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Over three years ago, when D’Souza joined Protean, the company was firmly established in tax services, pension management, and digital identity via Aadhaar integration. As one of the first Aadhaar registrars, it had already onboarded over 10 crore citizens and enabled large-scale authentication for BFSI institutions. Today, Protean’s growth roadmap runs on two tracks — infrastructure layer and innovation layer.
Infrastructure and Innovation Layers
- Infrastructure Layer: Focused on long-term Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) such as Aadhaar-based authentication, eSign, central KYC upgrades, and consent management platforms across regulated sectors, including agriculture.
- Innovation Layer: Building new B2B and B2B2C products such as workflow-based eSign, RegTech solutions, verification APIs, and analytics tools for BFSI, healthcare, agriculture, and commerce.
This dual-track approach has proven successful, with Protean onboarding over 100 new B2B clients in the last 18 months. The company has also expanded globally with a subsidiary in Dubai, targeting markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
AI with Purpose
Protean is integrating AI across high-friction use cases instead of deploying it as a gimmick.
- Agentic AI Support: A 24/7 multilingual AI tool that helps field agents — especially in rural India — troubleshoot issues in real time through voice and text.
- AI-Powered eSign Risk Alerts: Summarizes documents and flags risky clauses before customers sign, safeguarding first-time digital users and reducing blind acceptance of terms.
- AI Developer Support: Embedded in Protean’s RISE API platform to help developers debug integration issues instantly, boosting efficiency and independence.
Consent Management and Data Empowerment
With India preparing for the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, Protean’s work in consent management is highly relevant. Examples include:
- AgriStack: A consent-based framework connecting farmer data with financial institutions, enabling fairer credit assessments.
- Protean Suraksha: An RBI-licensed Account Aggregator service that gives users greater control over their financial data and consent.
From Services to SaaS and IP-Driven Growth
Protean has shifted from a services-oriented model to a SaaS-first, IP-driven strategy. Its technology and AI teams in Mumbai and Pune develop all core IP in-house. The company selectively collaborates with startups to add specialized capabilities and mentors ventures through platforms like IISc’s MSME research cell.
D’Souza highlights that innovation success is staged: first achieving product–market fit, then scaling to revenue traction, and finally gaining market leadership.
Talent and the Future Vision
Protean’s hiring strategy prioritizes AI fluency, deep domain knowledge, and problem-solving ability. As D’Souza notes, “AI is like a language now — without it, productivity, quality, and agility all suffer.”
Looking ahead, the company aims to be known both for building “digital roads” (infrastructure) and “vehicles” (products) that travel on them. New focus areas include Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for secure credentials in travel, employment, and education, and multilingual AI-powered tools for India’s diverse population.
“We want to continue being seen as a company building the future of digital roads for India and global markets, while also creating products that solve real problems for citizens and enterprises,” D’Souza concludes.