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Datacons plans to market products globally

Fakir Chand in Bangalore

Datacons Ltd, the Bangalore-based upcoming' IT software consulting company, has chalked out a blueprint for a 3-year growth plan which includes marketing its products-cum-services, worldwide.

Being one of the few Indian IT companies to have software products and services as its portfolio offerings from one roof, Datacons has entered into strategic partnership with global firms like i-flex Solutions (India) for implementing the latter's Microbanker and flagship product Flexcube banking solutions, besides manning its global support center.

Similarly, Datacons 'alliance with the US-based IDX Systems Corporation envisages the development of Web-based healthcare products and enables the latter to migrate its legacy systems to emerging technologies.

The tie-up with the UK-based Ocentrix will lead to joint development of dealer management solutions, using Microsoft Internet technologies. The agreement with the Netherlands-based UGBI Bank, Finansbank, and Bank Mendes Gans will facilitate implementing and manning Globus-based networks.

"Our global strategy is to combine our product-cum-service offerings and market them in the US, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions through the respective local networks. As a first step, we have already opened offices in the US and Malaysia, and are in the process to open another in the UK to take care of the European market," Datacons' chairman Shyam Ramadhyani told rediff.com in Bangalore on Saturday.

The company plans to invest around $4-million in the next three years to enhance its global marketing and sales structure. It had already invested around $2 million during the last couple of years to strength its presence first in the domestic market.

Though Datacons' is projecting a modest turnover of Rs 200 million at the end of the current fiscal (2001-02), it is setting up an ambitious target of achieving Rs 1 billion in revenues by 2005 with 100 percent annual growth in the next two fiscal years.

For instance, Datacons' first integrated software solution Autodeal is a big hit with the country's leading automobile companies such as Maruti-Suzuki, Hyundai Motors, Toyota Kirloskar, Daewood Motors, and Ashok Leyland as the product enables them to conduct their entire B2B operations online with their nationwide dealership network.

"This is one of the cost-effective and efficient delivery systems that provides online connectivity in five modules between automobile manufacturers and their dealers in the country," Ramadhyani stated.

Similarly, Datacons' flagship product MFund caters to asset management companies and financial institutions, covering the entire gamut of functions, including trading in securities, money market, wholesale, lending, leasing, bill discounting and factoring.

According to company's CEO M S Chandrashekar, MFund is essentially a niche financial ERP solution, designed to automate the entire gamut of fund and lending operations. It's various user-friendly features and functionalities have won it an industry-status in the securities and lending markets.

On account of its extensive deployment with financial companies in India and premier clients in the overseas' market such as Southern Bank, Prudential Unit Trust, IDX, Southern California Edison, and Bank Mendes Gas, MFund has evolved into a benchmark in its class of solutions.

"As a tool to turn the power of information into business-critical decisions, MFund has become a strategic imperative for mutual fund, unit trust, and asset management companies, besides financial institutions with sizeable loan portfolios," Chandrashekar affirmed.

The company's tie-up with i-flex and other companies will enable it generate more revenues from services than products as the former involves providing consulting and end-to-end solutions.

"We intend to change the ratio of services and products from the current 50:50 to 75:25 in course of time on account of the long-term contracts with global clients," Datacons' e-solutions' head R K Ravindranath said.

A cross-section of MFund user community includes Prudential ICICI Asset Management Company, Tata AMC, IDBI Investment Management, Jardine Fleming India AMC, Kotak Mahindra AMC, UTI, DSP Merrill Lynch AMC, Sundaram Newton AMC, IL&FS, Zurich AMC, and ING AMC.

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