Feb 06, 2008

V K Mathews, Chairman and CEO, IBS Group of Companies

V K Mathews founded the IBS Group (IBS) in 1997. The company  has grown to being a leading global provider of new-generation IT solutions to the Travel, Transportation and Logistics industries , with  solutions that today manage the mission-critical operations of the best airlines, the busiest international airports, top oil and gas companies and most of the luxury cruise lines around the world.

Equipped with a Master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, Mathews started his career in 1979 as a Computer Science instructor. He later joined Air India and spent several years with Emirates Group, formulating and implementing Information Technology strategies for Emirates’ global operations, until he founded IBS in 1997.

Mathews is an active member in a number of governmental advisory boards in the areas of Information Technology, Industry, Management and Education. He is a Director at the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management - Kerala (IIITM-K) and a member of the State’s e-Governance Steering Council, chaired by the Chief Minister. Mathews has also won a number of awards for management, leadership and entrepreneurship.

V K Mathews, Chairman and CEO, IBS Group of Companies discusses the role of IT in bringing transformation and innovations in the travel, transportation and logistics Industries. In an interview with ACEXC, he shares with us some of the path breaking solutions his company has provided its customers.

ACEXC: What are your views on the Indian travel, transportation and logistics industry?

V.K.Mathews: Travel and Transportation, a major sector of any economy, is heavily dependent on a robust infrastructure. Millions of people and businesses rely on an extensive, inter-related network. The transportation industry is in an era of unprecedented change and transition, marked by unending demands for increased services and severely limited budgets for infrastructure. The travel industry is exploring new horizons in the way it does business, thanks to technology. Today, with the help of technology the travel industry is creating new propositions for its customers - online booking, remote travel management, and new age CRM programs.

ACEXC: How do you think can IT play a role in bringing out transformation and innovations in the travel, transportation and logistics Industry?

V.K.Mathews: Almost 90% of IT companies spend huge amount on R&D and diversify their offerings to stay ahead of competition. However, attacking the right opportunity at the right time creates a significant difference in turning around the fortunes and maximize share-holders value. The last few years have seen a dramatic growth in the over-all global market. India in particular has been able to attract FDI’s (Foreign Direct Investments) at astounding levels and across sectors. The growth story will be incessant and opportunities galore across sectors and more likely to capture the Indian market, and companies based out of India has to keep an eagle’s eye on EBO (Emerging Business Opportunities) and fine-tune their business strategies to emerge successful. “Technology everywhere” is the buzzword around the globe and diversification of service offerings will help achieve significant growth for companies.

ACEXC: You have devised services for different segments of the travel, transportation and logistics Industry. Can you please highlight some of your key services available for the passenger and cargo industry?

V.K.Mathews: IBS is one of the very few IT companies in the global Travel, Transportation and Logistics (TTL) space to successfully invest in developing large and complex next-generation solutions.

IBS’ products and services manage mission-critical operations of airlines, airports, seaports, travel and tour companies, cruise lines and oil and gas companies around the world.

Products

For the airline passenger reservation system, IBS’ aiRESTM is probably the only product, which is designed and fully engineered as a truly next generation PSS. aiRESTM is currently under implementation with a start-up American airline addressing the LCC market needs. aiRESTM is the most functional, technologically advanced LCC system in the market place. Later versions, which address the needs of other types of carriers, are under development. For iCargo, our new generation cargo management solution, we have two customers, both major international carriers (Nippon Cargo Airlines and All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd). This clearly signifies the beginning of a trend towards adopting new-generation IT systems to replace legacy systems.

ACEXC: Last week you have announced signing up Air New Zealand for iCargo systems.

Please Comment.

V.K.Mathews: Yes, we have signed an agreement with Air New Zealand to provide our Cargo Management System, iCargo. The airline is among the top 50 of the world’s air freight carriers based on freight tonne-km. It is also the third major carrier, after Nippon Cargo Airlines and All Nippon Airways, to sign up for iCargo.

Incidentally during the time of this announcement we won an award for the ‘Emerging Cargo IT Systems Provider of the Year’ award at Air Cargo India event 2008 held at Mumbai.

ACEXC: What is the significance of airline moving away from the legacy system to implement iCargo system? What are the benefits the airline would have in implementing this iCargo system?

V.K.Mathews: Legacy systems are old computer system or application programs that continue to be used because the user (type or region) does not want to replace or redesign it. This could be due to various reasons, one of which could be a general lack of understanding of the system. These systems are antediluvian and hence the way the system works is not well understood. The costs of redesigning the system are prohibitive because legacy systems are large and complex.

On the other hand, iCargo is a new-generation Cargo Management System that is robust, flexible and scalable. It can support the growing and changing business needs of an airline while reducing cost of ownership and operation of the system. The value proposition of iCargo is that it helps airlines and ground handlers enhance cargo business profitability, accommodate changing customer service demands and respond quickly and effectively to changing market conditions and business situations, leveraging new-generation technologies. At the same time it reduces their total cost of spend on IT support and infrastructure. It is an integrated system which comprehensively addresses cargo reservations, capacity control, rating, load planning, cargo terminal operations, Ground Handling, Revenue Accounting and Yield Management requirements of cargo carrying airlines. In short it supports the entire logistics supply chain from shipper to consignee, via the world-wide-web.

The product is an inevitable and viable migration option for airlines, from the current legacy systems. The system also provides enhanced web-enabled features that offer better product distribution.

iCargo was developed in collaboration with six major cargo carriers, who were the Core Group of Influence (CGI).

ACEXC: What is the potential you see in partnering with Indian customers for your services? What is your current revenue mix Domestic: International?

V.K.Mathews: As the Indian Civil Aviation is growing at a rate of 18 per cent annually, we see this as the best time to sell our products in the country. With each airline trying to match world class standard, our new-generation software products will surely help them scale their businesses to newer heights.

As of now we are targeting all the airlines in the country. Very soon we will make an announcement of client wins in this domain.

ACEXC: Can you please share with us some path breaking breakthroughs your customers have experienced in implementing your services?

V.K.Mathews: Our customers use our solution to improve productivity with optimal use of resources, adapt to the changing environment and stay ahead of competition by retaining their competitive edge. Our solutions assist in redefining businesses by managing mission-critical operations of airlines, airports, seaports, travel and tour companies, cruise lines and oil and gas companies around the world.

Some instance where our solutions have responded well for mission criticality:-

• London’s Heathrow, World’s busiest airport- handling 67.3 million passengers and 471,000 aircraft movements every year; Even before the fifth terminal opens this year, it stands 264 aircraft at a time and checks-in passengers at 531 desks for 90 airlines flying to 180 destinations worldwide- runs on our system. Without a precise, automated, mission-critical system to manage its heterogeneous operations, it would be a logistical nightmare.

• Our Staff Travel System iFly handles a total of 30,000 staff travel requests at three airlines (South African Airways, Air New Zealand and Qatar Airways).

• iLogistics, Global Logistics Management System enables rationalization of resources and increases cost efficiency by facilitating sharing of resources between companies operating in the same area, resulting in lower costs to each company. This has since been a key best practice in the oil and gas industry- A novel concept to save resources and in turn save energy.

The IBS Group (IBS) is a leading global provider of new-generation IT solutions to the Travel, Transportation and Logistics industries. A specialist in the domain, IBS offers a range of products and services that manage mission-critical operations of major airlines, airports, oil and gas companies, seaports, cruise lines and tour operators world-wide. SEI CMMI Level 5 and PCMM Level 5 assessed, ISO 9001:2000, TickIT and ISO 27001:2005 certified, IBS operates four software development centers across the world. With some of the world's leading corporations as customers, IBS has business operations in the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, supported through 11 global business centers.