SatNav in talks with govt for a-mantra deployment

Hyderabad-based IT products company, SatNav Technologies, is in talks with the Andhra Pradesh government for deployment of a-mantra, a web-based business infrastructure management system.

SatNav will also be going in for an initial public offering in 2007-08, before which it plans to rope in a strategic investor for less than 50 per cent share capital of the company.

Speaking to Business Standard, Amit Kishore Prasad, founder, managing director and chief executive officer of SatNav Technologies, said, "We have initiated discussions with the Andhra Pradesh government and have pitched for initial deployment at Secretariat. If implemented, Andhra Pradesh will be the first state in the country to deploy a computer-aided facility management system at the government level."

a-mantra provides a complete view of an organisation's infrastructure and facilities, and therefore standardises processes. It tracks an organisation's assets and facilities and maps them with the users resulting in better administration.

a-mantra has so far been deployed by SatNav at Satyam, GECIS (now Genpact) and ICICI. According to Prasad, Satyam has been able to save Rs 9.25 crore in the first year of implementation of a-mantra.

"The cost savings occur because the system tracks and manages assets, determines space utilisation to avoid duplicate occupancy problems and automates the flow of information across the organisation," he added. Pilot implementation has also been done at IBM, Accenture, Deloitte and ANZ Grindlays.

SatNav is also looking for a strategic investor for less than 50 per cent of the share capital of the company.

"By mid-2006, we expect this development to take place. We will then go in for an IPO in 2007-08 to offer a clear route of exit to the investor who comes on board," Prasad said. The company requires funds for market expansion. By 2006-07, it plans to take a-mantra to global markets.

With regard to SatGuide, a navigation device, the company is in talks with the National Remote Sensing Agency for satellite imagery. At present, it has signed an agreement with Nippon Audiotronix Limited for the marketing and after sales service of the product.

SatGuide is a pocket PC-based touch screen device that displays a map on the screen for navigation purposes. SatNav ended the last year with a turnover of Rs 68.5 lakh and is targeting to end this year with Rs 2.5 crore.