MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: In-Tech, The Star

This would continue Satyam's tradition as a trendsetter, rather than a follower, when it comes to the IT business.

Spatial information solutions are related to anything to do with area, position and space; spatial technologies include GPS (Global Positioning System) and WAP (Wireless Applications Protocol) applications.

GIS technologies have applications in traffic and transport management systems, or even planning and maintenance of road, electric, telecommunications, oil and gas and sewerage networks.

Amit Kishore Prasad, SatNav's managing director and CEO explained that nobody, before Satyam, had accurate maps of India, let alone digitised them.

"In a large country like India, a truck transporting goods might take a week of journeying," he told In.Tech recently.

"Employers might want to know where a particular truck is, and if any delays are incurred," said Amit.

GIS Applications for vehicles would come under the term "telematics."

The challenge of digitising the maps around the major cities of India was quite formidable, as the "latest" maps of India were outdated.

So, survey teams had to go around the country to record changes such as new roads and unlisted landmarks.

The result of that labour has been www.roadsofindia.com, launched late 2000, a web portal that has directions to popular places in India.

Currently, 23 cities have complete listings. Say you need to find a particular tourist attraction in the middle of Delhi.

You can get precise driving directions, with important landmarks noted down to help you.

Or perhaps you need to take a train? Not to worry, even the train numbers are available.

Incidentally, SatNav is the first player in the GIS space to receive IBM Corp's ISV (independent software vendor) status.

Being an ISV means that you can test and certify your own software on selected IBM server platforms, tape drives and tape library systems.

Among the applications SatNav has developed and is on the verge of rolling out by April, are its proprietary automated telematics system, SatTracX, which runs on GPS and GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) networks.

The Times of India reported recently that Satyam "has already initiated talks" with leading Indian automobile companies for the system.

SatNav also has India's first ASP (application service provider) based telematics solution, and has a tie-up with US-based Pronounced Technologies, a leading provider in voice-based vehicle navigation and business applications.

In addition, it has customised PC Solutions such as SatNavigator, a map rendering and routing product. What's impressive is that it was wholly was developed in house by Satyam.

"We could've used imported hardware and saved ourselves a lot of development effort and time, but we wanted to be able to own the source code, and modify the technology," said Amit.

"If you don't own the technology, you're just another vendor," he said.

SatNav was built as a business unit, and founded by Satyam Technology Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP), which promotes entrepreneurship among Satyam employees.

Amit claims that the unit "will be cash-positive" by the launch.