Indus forays into insurance segment

Vivek Mannige, MD, who founded the company 10 years ago, firmly believed that the insurance sector could be the next major stop for the company. Indus Software develops mission critical application software. The focus is on software development for the financial services and banking areas. The company primarily works in two segments --lending solutions and developing custom-built software on a turnkey basis.

"We have identified what we want to do in this sector. Our fourth generation products easily lend themselves to this sector," Mannige explained, adding that they would be ready with their products by the end of September this year.

Indus Software is a 100 per cent Export Oriented Unit (EOU) and aims to achieve the SEI CMM Level 4 this year. 

From the sale of their first product in February 1995, the company has come a long way. In a short span of six years, the company has a set of products catering to the lending industry. These products could either work independently or together. 

Unfolding their growth plans for the year, Mannige said that they would be establishing a new software development center at Bavdhan in Pune. With over 210 people on their rolls today, there are plans to take this number in the region to 350 by the end of this year. The 12,500-sq. ft expanse would initially house 160 professionals. The Chennai development center focuses on the lending solutions while the Pune center primarily works on the product suite. An investment of Rs 3.5 crore has been planned for the new center which is expected to become functional by May this year.

Lending Solutions from Indus (LSI) helps banks and finance companies manage their businesses in the areas of consumer, equipment, home finance and personal loans. The product addresses the cycle covering loan applications, repayment management and collection management of delinquent loans.

The Loan Appraisal System for the Internet (LASI) helps banks and finance companies exploit the reach of Internet to offer their financial products at the desktops of the customers. Finance against Securities System (FASS) helps in managing the business of loans against financial securities. It manages the securities pledged by a customer and computes the loan that can be availed. 

Mannige disclosed that the company recently launched eSpanWorld, an issue based collaboration Internet portal to address the communication needs of managers across national and international boundaries. ESpanWorld enables managers based at various sites working on common project to communicate on issues.

In line with their growth plans, Indus plans to tackle the US market this year. "We plan to piggyback on our banking products. Our products are already popular in Thailand and SE Asia. However, the US market has been a tough nut to crack, simply because of the credit databases which are US specific,'' he explained. The first demonstration was held in the US in December and Mannige hoped for a positive response.

On the international front, Indus tied up with IBM to become the first independent software vendor in India. A Global Software License Agreement has been signed with GE Capital Worldwide. The company has been pretty active on the domestic front too. Indus recently entered into a corporate license agreement with ICICI for LSI NT Version 2.1, the first Indian sale of the version 2.1. The customization is in progress. LSI has also been customized to suit the requirements of Vysya Bank. From a turnover of Rs 23 odd crore this year, Indus is looking to double this figure the next year.

(CNS)