Kpit Systems Ties Up With Australian M-Commerce Firm

KPIT Systems plans to focus on embedded technology and business intelligence following a major breakthrough in the Australian market. Sources say that KPIT Systems has tied up with the Australia-based mCom Solutions Inc, a leading mobile commerce and payment company.

MCom is a leader in wireless electronic funds transfer technology. This technology has been developed over six years and has been leveraged off Australia and New Zealand in the commercial development of electronic funds transfer point of sale (EFTPOS) technology for both credit and debit card payment transactions over the past twelve years.

The Australian mCom also has a presence in China, Hong Kong and other countries. Plans are also afoot to move extensively in the European and the North American markets.

"The hardware has been done by an Australian company and its embedded software has been developed by KPIT. The mobile handset is the most secured product and banks like this product," Kishor Patil, managing director of KPIT said, without naming the Australian partner.

The hand-held devise enables companies, banks and other retail outlets to reach at the doorstep of a customer to facilitate payments through both debit and credit cards. KPIT through its Australian partner now plans to work in China too to develop the embedded technology software.

"We are also exploring to launch in India, but will not be involved in the hardware. We are also looking at extending this technology for other hand-held mobile devices," Patil said.

The global EFTPOS market has over 20 million terminals providing e-funds transfer at a point of sale, with in excess of 4 million new terminals sold every year. The equipment is used around the world, and provides significant benefits to merchants, through increased sales volume, and to banks, through lowered transaction processing costs.

EFTPOS reduces cash and paper handling costs for all parties involved in retail financial transactions, and reduces the risk of theft and fraud by increasing security for all parties involved.

Last fiscal, only 4 per cent of KPIT's Rs 39.07 crore (nine-month period) income came from embedded technology. In the current year, this is expected to double and next year touch 15 per cent of its total revenues.

Seeing its vast business potential, the local software firm has now set-up a special group to add up different Internet technologies and train people within the organisation on the embedded technology. KPIT is also working with research and development unit of Hitachi, Europe for micro chip tools development.

Listed on the local bourses in 1999, KPIT was established in 1990 and has subsidiaries in the UK, US and United Arab Emirates. The company has 310 people working for it out of which 84 per cent are IT professionals. KPIT has issued profit warning that is expected to see a flat bottomline and the topline shrinking marginally in the current year.

The lower revenues in the current year will be caused mainly by some of its customers deciding to reduce onsite component on account of reduced IT spend.

Most of these projects are expected to move offshore and the company is addressing this issue by focusing on offshore projects and cost-cutting measures. It has no plans to go in for headcount reduction, but will retrain its people to tap new business opportunities.