The Hindu Business Line : Encore sees pick-up in Simputer sales

ENCORE Software has said that its hand-held device Simputer has graduated from the "pilot phase" and the company sees its sales taking off this fiscal with orders pouring in.

Mr Vinay Deshpande, CEO, said the company recently signed a major order from the Army for supplying a variant of Simputer called Sathi. However, he declined to give the details of the order size. Encore has customised a variant of Simputer for the Army, which had test-piloted it in Kashmir for sometime now.

"For a product like Simputer we need to be patient to see a take-off," Mr Deshpande said. The take-off was limited by users imagination and also by the marketing reach, he added.

"Customers have begun to understand what Simputer could be utilised for," Mr Deshpande said, adding that they are coming out with their own applications.

Encore has recently won a tender from Mumbai-based hospital to supply about 2,000 Simputers, which would be deployed to collect data from cancer patients in rural Maharashtra, he said. Earlier this year, the company tied up with Mahindra & Mahindra to supply some 200 Simputers for testing various parameters of Scorpio while manufacturing.

Encore's Simputer has also found a place in the dashboard of the recently unveiled concept car Reva. Simputer has also evoked keen interest from various agencies in Bhutan, South Africa and an automaker in Saudi Arabia.

The company has sold over 2,000 Simputers till date. However, the sales will take off on a larger scale this year, Mr Deshpande said, adding that the company plans to raise fresh funds through private placement of shares to meet the increased demand. The company is in talks with a couple of high networth individuals both in India and overseas.

Encore has also recently signed up with a British company. Encore would be embedding its software onto the chips of the British company that would find their way into consumer equipments.

"It's a joint development effort," Mr Deshpande said. Encore expects royalty revenue of $2-3 million over the next three years, he added.

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