DES Mapping Solutions, a Singapore-based company, is bringing to India cloud-based ‘data appliance' product that helps clients develop and own carbon credits.
Announcing this to the Hindu Group of Newspapers, Mr Ajith Menon, Chief Executive Officer, DES, said that the company has already opened an office in New Delhi.
Mr Menon, whose venture has been funded by the Singapore Government, was here to network with the Group of Technology Companies (GTECH) in Kerala.
NICHE SPACE
He offered hand-holding facilities for companies here looking to set up business in the city-nation, a regional hub for IT, finance and banking business. He was accompanied by Mr Binu Shankar, Chief Executive Officer, GTECH.
Mr Menon said that the ‘data appliance' sits somewhere between the cloud and the normal server-based IT infrastructure on ground.
“We seek to offer the best of both worlds at a fraction of the costs that the specific data (mainly satellite images) would otherwise cost,” he added.
Explaining the niche space his company occupies, Mr Menon said there's a discussion going on in Indonesia whether to preserve the tropical forests or promote the logging industry, though at a huge environmental cost.
But there is also increasing realisation that keeping the forests is much more valuable, because 5,000 sq km of forests can create $30-$40 million worth of carbon credits.
BASE DATA
The company deals in satellite images and other base data used for city and infrastructure planning. It also finds traction as a finder of natural resources as in forests and mines.
According to Mr Menon, the per-sq km of data made available by US companies costs around $30. The whole of India is 2.1 million sq km, so it would cost $60 million, if a company wants to purchase the data outright.
The company would also need to do a lot of customising job of the data through sizing of the hardware, buy software and develop applications. It will cost an additional $10-15 million.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION
“What our data appliance, the ‘black box,' will do is… we have a back-to-back link with the data supplier in the US.
“We put this data in this black box. The client cannot take out the data, but can use it for their application for an annual fee.
“Subscription cost for one year is $1 million. So the cost gets cut from $30 to just $1 per sq km. That's the kind of costs benefit the client company is going to enjoy.”
DES APPLIANCE
DES offers to productise 70-80 per cent of ones requirements into this data appliance. It also provides required data, hardware and software.
The ‘black box,' sits behind the company's firewall. It can subscribe to this black box and use it. The costs are reduced because it is only subscribing to it, not purchasing them.
The ‘black box' is named DES Appliance, Mr Menon said. It's getting good traction not just in India but in other countries such as Brazil and Indonesia also.
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