Jawad Ayaz doesn’t like to come in second. Like many in the new generation of Indian entrepreneurs, he’s determined to be the first to market with new technology. Unfortunately, sometimes he’s been too early.

In 1995, Mr. Ayaz left his job with telecom equipment maker Nortel in the United States to found Openera Technologies (formerly IndTeleSoft), which pitches what it says is the only working mobile IP multimedia system (IMS) client in the industry. Openera’s client framework enables the delivery of multimedia IP communications for handset manufacturers like NEC, service providers like VodafoneJapan, and server vendors like Nortel.

“You don’t achieve anything by trying to do what others are presently doing,” says Mr. Ayaz. “You need to anticipate what the market will need and come up with solutions for that.” Openera’s edge is a platform to develop mobile communications applications, as well as the applications themselves. The company provides both, including features like Active Phone Book, which lets users see who’s available and who’s not, a two-way communication service that works much like a walkie talkie, and instant messaging. Trials have started in Asia and Europe; Mr. Ayaz expects a big uptick in demand over the next couple of years.

With 2.5G and 3G networks rolling out around the world, the market can’t get enough cutting-edge applications. “Mobile operators are looking to next-generation networks to provide value-added services,” says Mr. Ayaz. “We help them do that.”

Openera took a long and winding road to its current business. In 1998, it started dabbling in the then-unheard-of voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology. And in 2000, years before its IMS technology, the company pioneered the development of a carrier-grade “soft switch” technology for separating network hardware and software on wireless phones, and spun it off as U.S.-based product subsidiary Xybridge Technologies in Richardson, Texas. As CEO of Xybridge, Mr. Ayaz raised $19 million in venture funding. The company broke even in 2000 with $20 million in revenue.

Openera then sold Xybridge to Oakland, California-based Zhone Technologies in February 2001, leaving itwith no intellectual property. So Mr. Ayaz and his team embarked on a foray into the mobile IMS client area to provide a delivery platform for advanced, peer-to-peer/server-based multimedia 3G services. This was again a sector that had seen little or no interest, but one that caught Mr. Ayaz’ fancy. “There seemed to be so much work being done on the IMS server side,” he says. “Sooner or later, it would require applications.”

Two more years of self-funded uncertainty followed, as investors stayed away. “When you take risks like this, one of two things could happen to you,” he says. “You could either make it big or be left in the wilderness.” For now, Mr. Ayaz seems to be on his way to making it big. He estimates that Openera is more than a year ahead of the competition. The company just closed deals with Vodafone in Japan and handset manufacturer NEC.

Mr. Ayaz sees mobile applications being increasingly controlled by the operators, and thus believes in the importance of having open standards for the platforms. He knows the company has to expand its product range and get global sales, but admits that it would need outside funding to do so. Openera will seek investors this year.

The company became profitable last year after a gap of two years, says Mr. Ayaz. As for other technology bets he has up his sleeve, he won’t say. “Most other things happen incrementally, but the mobile IMS client was a discontinuity that we saw coming,” he says.

Mr. Ayaz is game for more risks, however. “You’re sure to have misgivings, but you need to know in your gut that the plan you have is going to work,” he says. “I’ve already been through it twice, maybe the third time will be easier.”