To increase revenue contribution from home market, the country's only listed pure-play cloud computing firm 8KMiles is in talks with leading domestic low-cost carriers to offer cloud solutions, especially on the ticketing front, to cut cost and also offer bulk bookings.
"We have been offering cloud solutions to the largest Asian low-cost carrier AirAsia for the past few years. We now want to extend our success with this airline to other airlines in the country, especially the low-cost ones," 8KMiles founder chairman and chief executive Suresh Venkatachari told PTI.
Though he said he is already piloting with some of the low-cost airlines, he refused to share names of anyone citing client confidentiality.
Though registered in Chennai and listed on the BSE, 8KMiles draws over 75 per cent of its revenue from the US and only 10-15 per cent from the home market, he said, adding that he wants to increase the revenue contribution to around 25 per cent from here through deals with airlines.
According to Venkatachari, a serial entrepreneur having set up many companies in the past, airlines can save 25-30 per cent of their IT budget if they move to cloud platform, which in the case of no-frills carriers like IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir could be significant cost savings given their operational models. This can translate into at least Rs 20-25 crore per annum for an airline.
Another advantage is that airlines' present software does not allow them to offer bulk booking. But cloud computing can do that, helping them save agency commissions, he said.
Set up in 2011 in the Silicon Valley, 8KMiles had last week reported a three-fold jump in net profit at Rs 3.15 crore on all-round improvement in revenues which rose four-times to Rs 21 crore, which is nearly half of its total revenue (Rs 44 crore) in the entire last fiscal.
8KMiles boasts of Amazon, IBM, CA Technologies, Visa, and AirAsia, among others, as its clients.
Last Friday, international fund house DSP Blackrock Mutual Fund had picked 4 per cent in the company for about Rs 6 crore through block deals at a price of Rs 175 apiece.
According to BSE data, DSP Blackrock had on Friday last picked up close to 3 lakh shares of 8KMiles, which boasts of global biggies.
