IDS Softwares eyes tier II cities for growth

IDS Softwares, a privately-held city-based company, which provides software solutions to the hospitality industry, is eyeing growth from the secondary and tertiary cities, especially in South India where several projects are coming up.

The company specialises in software solutions for all segments of the hospitality industry "" integrated solution designed for large-sized hotels, resorts, medium-sized hotels, motels, serviced apartments and restaurants.

It also has software solutions for integrated operations of chain hotels, food and beverage outlets, and quality management system of hotels.

According to IDS Softwares' MD Suresh John, over 4,000 clients, including top brands like Le Meridien, Club Mahindra Holidays, Royal Orchid Hotels, Park Plaza Hotels and Resorts, Radisson, ITC's Fortune Hotels and The Leela have opted for IDS Software solutions.

Started in 1987, the company has clients in 20 different countries. However, its focus has remained on India in the recent past with the hospitality sector witnessing a boom.

"All these days, we were concentrating on the hotel projects in the metropolitan cities. Now, a number of projects are coming up in smaller cities like Mysore, Coimbatore, Pune, Kochi, Belgaum and in Goa. We are seeing tremendous demand from the hotel industry for IT solutions," he pointed out.

South India in particular is of interest to the company since many projects are being commissioned.

"The are plenty of hotel projects coming up in Bangalore and Hyderabad. We are keen on servicing all the projects. Many secondary cities and places of tourist interest are being preferred by the hospital industry for expansion. We see opportunities for growth in all these emerging towns and cities," he added.

The company has a development centre in Bangalore employing 70 professionals.

IDS Softwares, in which Mumbai-based VC firm Alchemy Ventures has made a significant investment, plans to reach the Rs 100 crore revenue mark by 2010. "We are also looking at growing in an inorganic manner. We are in talks with various firms abroad for a possible synergy of plans for growth," John said.

Apart from managing the IT operations of the hospitality industry, IDS Software solutions assist the hotel in web booking, personalise services of customers, manage the staff payroll and forecasting the logistics demand.

The company is active in the West Asia region and North Africa. "There are enquiries from new markets such as the former Soviet Union countries, East Europe and others," John said.