Rolta banks on SAP tie-up to reach more customers

Geospatial and engineering services company Rolta is hopeful of expanding its topline by about 15 per cent on a consistent basis going forward.

The Mumbai-based company is banking on its recent deal with SAP, in addition to play in Defence, oil & gas and the power sector to further propel growth.

Despite the slowdown in the domestic market, K.K. Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of the BSE-listed firm, is optimistic of the company’s future prospects. He spoke to Business Line on the sidelines of a recent press briefing.

Edited excerpts.

Rolta and SAP recently joined hands to combine their business software products and develop solutions in the areas of business analytics and big data. How will customers benefit from this tie-up?

As part of this partnership, we would jointly offer services for clients in sectors such as oil and gas, chemicals, fertilisers and power. We are also adding new verticals such as automobile and retail to our portfolio.

Thus, the opportunity is huge. If we do not have this partnership, the customer would have to take geospatial software from us and look for the underlying technologies from SAP. This could lead to delays as issues such as pricing, software support and compatibility would come to the fore.

With this partnership, customers can get solutions at cost-effective price points, cheaper than what they would otherwise pay if they were procuring solutions from both vendors independently. The partnership would give Rolta instant credibility, as we hope that SAP would recommend our offerings to their customers. It would also give us entry into some of the large logos.

Are you planning to venture into providing solutions to automotive companies?

Yes, the automotive space is something that interests us. We will start by positioning our ‘One View’ suite of offerings for this industry and target companies globally. However, the solution has to be tailored for the automobile sector. Hence, we have already signed up with some ‘lighthouse’ customers who would be a part of the development process.

Defence is a major segment for the company, especially in the India context. What is the kind of your traction you are seeing?

We are one of the few companies to be short-listed under the ‘Make India’ programme, under which only domestic companies are allowed to participate for major defence contracts.

Most of these projects run into billions of dollars. For instance, we are in the fray for Indian Army’s futuristic Tactical Communication Systems programme and the Battlefield Management Systems programme. In due course of time when we get our share, it would be a game changer for us.

The armed forces are encouraging private sector play and that is encouraging for companies like Rolta.

Is that why the company’s promoters have been increasing their holding in Rolta? You were recently quoted as saying that the promoters will soon have 51 per cent in the company.

We cannot bid for major Defence projects if the Indian promoters do not have a controlling stake in Rolta. In addition, the promoters have tremendous confidence in the company and hence we have been upping stake though the acquisition route.

But aren’t there concerns about a slowdown in Government IT spending, given the overall economic condition and the impending general elections of next year?

Well, the slowdown is a reality. But it’s a question of right policies. We hope we will have a stable Government after the general elections.

If the new Government takes the right decisions, we should be back on the right track soon, as the India growth story is still intact.

>adith.charlie@thehindu.co.in

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