Aerosoft plans expansion move
July 1, 2004
 
NEW STRAITS TIMES - SOFTWARE development and consultancy company Aerosoft IT Sdn Bhd has outlined a strategy to grow its business this year, which includes plans to expand its operations overseas.

Its group chief executive chairman Ahmad Fadzidin Arshad said the company is working with partners in Brunei, Taiwan, Vietnam, Dubai dan Hong Kong to finalise details on its expansion into these markets.

The efforts include assessing market requirements and finding ways to position Aerosoft's offerings in integrated human resource system to meet these requirements such as localisation work on its software, he added.

Locally, the company has carried out the implementation of its Smart HR system in some 100 sites, mainly in the trading and manufacturing sectors.

Also in the pipeline is the setting up of a research and development (R&D) centre in Cyberjaya by year-end, which will cost an initial investment of RM500,000, said Ahmad Fadzidin.

"We are in the midst of enhancing our Smart HR, currently targeted at the small and medium enterprises, to suit the higher-end enterprise market," he told Computimes in Kuala Lumpur last week.

The centre, when ready, will be able to actively pursue the company's R&D direction, he added.

Aerosoft is also looking to hire an additional 20 employees, including 10 technical staff who will be running the operations at the R&D centre.

To date, the company has invested RM300,000 in the development of the software.

According to Ahmad Fadzidin, Aerosoft plans to finance part of its expansion this year through funds provided by venture capitalists including some RM2 million in seed funding , which it is applying from Malaysia Venture Capital Management (Mavcap).

"Mavcap is the process of evaluating our application and we hope to get an answer soon.

" Set up in 2001, Aerosoft received the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) status and was a recipient of the Cradle Investment Programme from Mavcap last year.

It became Telekom Malaysia's e-business partner in the same year by delivering its human resource system via the application service provider (ASP) model and hosted by Telekom's data centre.

Apart from ASP, Aerosoft's Smart HR, which comes in 12 modules, can also be implemented in a client-server environment. Among the modules are Human Capital Management Biodata, Payroll Management, Leave Management, Bonus, Appraisal, Increment, Recruitment, Medical and Vehicles Maintenance Tracking.