Mark Wang says that the mobile business will be a key focus area for Sybase

Though it has had a presence in India for a while now, Sybase is now looking at extending its reach—this will be done through a two-pronged approach, which involves expanding the partner-base and also the product profile of the company, says Chris Ann Fichardo

After establishing itself in the database market, despite tough competition from the likes of Oracle and IBM, Sybase has decided to take its expertise one step further. The company plans to tap its existing user base and work closely with partners, using their domain expertise to penetrate niche markets.

Sybase is also looking at increasing its channel business. In fact, the company has recently tied up with CMC to extend its products, enterprise solutions and services to corporate customers in India. There are also plans to extend this partnership to other Asia Pacific countries. In India the company is looking at extending this partnership route to other solution providers as well.

According to Mark Wang, senior vice president of Sybase, the company plans to change its direct to indirect sales ratio from 60:30 to 30:60 within a year or so. Towards this end, the company, which is in talks with solution providers, plans to announce these tie-ups shortly. Wang says that the rethinking of the company’s marketing strategy was the result of a more aware and sophisticated channel.

He added that in India the company plans to strengthen its presence in the banking sector. Sybase already has a presence in the banking sector with clients like Indian Overseas Bank, HDFC Bank, Bank of India, Federal Bank and Development Credit Bank.

The trodden path
Sybase delivers open-architecture enterprise infrastructure software and works on the philosophy ‘Everything works better, when everything works together.’ With leading Enterprise Portal (EP), mobile and wireless solutions, integration products, and high performance database management systems, Sybase is one of the largest independent software companies in the world.

According to Wang, Sybase has three main areas of business—e-business, v-business and m-business. Its e-business infrastructure products include enterprise integration, business intelligence, and database solutions. Sybase was the first company to deliver an enterprise portal and a second generation EP as well. On the v-business front, Sybase offers integration solutions for the financial, communications, healthcare and government sectors. Its m-business solutions are offered through its subsidiary iAnywhere Solutions, which offers solutions from mobile e-mail to sales force automation, field service and customer relationship management.

On the financial front too the company has managed to hold its own despite the turmoil in the IT arena. For 17 consecutive quarters, Sybase has reported operating profitability on a pro forma basis and has cash reserves of nearly $403 million. For the third quarter of 2002, Sybase reported pro forma net income of $25.2 million versus $20.0 million for the same period in 2001. While its net income for Q3 stood at $11.3 million, compared to a loss of $7.1 million recorded in the third quarter of 2001. The company attributes its financial success to its good business model, right philosophy and strong products.

On the worldwide front, Sybase’s customer and partner wins in the third quarter include AT&T Wireless, Salomon Smith Barney, Heineken, Indiana University, ING, Nortel Networks and the US Navy.

In Asia Pacific, its significant customer wins include Guang Dong FuShan Mobile, Gui Zhuo Telecom, Chung Hwa Telecommunications, the Taiwan National Fire Administration and the Taiwan National Police Administration Ministry; Hyundai Securities in Korea; Concorde Travel, Franklins Supermarkets, Travelex in Australia, and HDFC Bank in India.

Going forward
Sybase has been delivering IT solutions to enterprises in India since 1989 and currently serves 2,000 customers in the country. It achieved a growth rate of around 26 percent in 2001 and is targeting a 30 percent growth rate for the next financial year. It has a significant presence in the Asia Pacific region too, with 20 offices in 11 countries. According to Wang the company will enhance its focus in the m-business segment as the sector is projected as having an extremely lucrative growth potential.

At its recently concluded Asia Pacific User Conference, held in Beijing, the company announced its new range of product offerings. These include the Borland JBuilder 7 Enterprise-Sybase Edition, PowerDesigner 9.5 and the Chinese version of the SQL Anywhere Studio.