May 30 2007
A Thame-based construction project management software company, Asta Development plc, has demonstrated its adaptability to different markets by successfully completing a series of three high profile seminars in India and then moving swiftly on to run similar events in Australia.
Hosted by the national Construction Industry Development Council, the Indian seminars took place throughout April in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and covered managing projects, controlling costs and allocating resources in construction, civil engineering and housebuilding developments. Despite the first seminar clashing with a public holiday, over 97 senior representatives of the construction industry attended the events.
This move into the Indian market was the culmination of three years' work by Asta Development with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). In 2004 Asta Development joined UKTI's Passport to Export initiative to learn more about the principles of exporting, and then in 2005 it commissioned research through UKTI's Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) to investigate the Indian market place. The objectives of this research were to identify some prospective partners and to assess whether there was a market in India for Asta's construction project management software product. As a result of this research, and subsequent introductions by the British High Commission, in 2006 Asta Development formed a partnership INS E Solutions Ltd, the Delhi-based software development and support company.
Delegates at the seminars included representatives from Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS), a leading Indian infrastructure development and finance company, and Ansal API, a major Indian real estate construction and management firm. Both of these firms have recently purchased the Asta Powerproject software from INS E Solutions to manage their construction projects.
Graham Dix, International Business Consultant for Asta Development commented: "Using the research and introduction services of UKTI proved an excellent and cost effective way to explore the opportunities in the Indian market and then establish local partnerships. The success of the seminars, and the business already gained, are a testament to the value of working with UKTI and are a great start to what should be a long relationship between Asta Development, our partners at INS E Solutions, and the Indian construction industry."
And having also used UKTI to research the Australian market, Asta has kicked off a similiar process there with a series of events in 11 locations across the country. Joanna Kaptein, Marketing Manager of Asta Development explained: "Our experience in India proved to us that to expand our business overseas we need a presence in the field in these new markets to transfer knowledge to our new partners to ensure that they can effectively sell, train and support customers who purchase our software. By using UKTI to help us research each potential new market carefully, we have been able to concentrate our resources on the areas most likely to generate and sustain profitable business for us."
Peter Warren, International Trade Adviser at UKTI said: "Asta Development made wise use of UKTI's services. It found out about the basics of exporting, thoroughly researched its prospective marketplaces, and then used our networks overseas to make quality contacts and build partnerships. I am pleased to see this approach is bearing fruit. Apart from being good news for Asta, it also demonstrates to other businesses the value of this process."