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Essel Soft ties-up with 2 US cos

C.R. Sukumar

HYDERABAD, March 30

ESSEL Software & Services Ltd (ESSL), a Hyderabad-based software products development company known for its personal information management and accounting software packages in the domestic market, has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with two U S-based software majors.

``We have entered into a strategic alliance with Clear Water Technologies Inc for procuring offshore projects and with Gigabyte Technologies Inc for marketing our personal information management and accounting software products in the US market'', the ES SL Technical Director, Mr. Sridhar Narra, told Business Line. The company is currently looking at Australia for off-shore projects.

He said the company found a significant potential in both the Singapore and Malaysian markets for the accounting packages and has finalised plans to launch its accounting software to suit those markets. ``Essel is in the process of appointing strategic a lliance partners in Singapore and Malaysia, apart from the plans to set up its own marketing outfits there by July.''

Essel, which holds 21 software products, proposes to expand its software development activities by setting up a state-of-the-art software development centre at Hyderabad and expanding and upgrading the existing software development centre at Guntur.

Essel which has products costing between $40 and $10,000, also plans to sell the economy packages directly on the Internet.

Apart from fine tuning the existing product range to suit the needs of global markets, Essel proposes to identify potential areas where it can create and market software products according to global needs. ``We have already created a global edition for o ne of our most successful packages for personal information management, Gem.''

Keeping in view the changes taking place due to e-commerce, Essel has started generating e-commerce enablement into its products.

Essel has also planned to develop Web-based applications. These applications can be used directly on the Net without loading into local hard disks. The company, which is at present a development associate for Satyam Infoway for Website designing and host ing, proposes to design Internet-based components, which could be used in mail management. Essel is also a development associate for Tata Consultancy Services for the EX NGN range of products.

Essel has estimated a total funds requirement of Rs. 6.75 crores for its immediate growth plans. The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation, which appraised the expansion project, has picked up equity worth of Rs. 25 lakhs, apart from sanction ing a term loan of Rs. 45 lakhs. The Essel promoters, who have already brought in Rs. 58.19 lakhs as equity, propose to pump in a further Rs. 4.45 crores in the form of equity. To part-finance the project to the extent of Rs. 1.6 crores, the company prop oses to go public soon.