In the offing are a series of tie-ups with major computer and consumer electronics companies, including Philips, 3Com, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq and LG to offer software for mobile computing.

Speaking to The Financial Express, River Run Software Group vice-president Sanjeev Chawla said the company plans to join hands with service providers and help OEMs position themselves in India.

River Run is a leading provider of software solutions for mobile computing and hand-held devices. The worldwide market for hand-held computer devices is estimated around 5.7 million and the demand for such devices is expected to go up to 21 million by 2003.

Chawla said several hand-held computer makers are eyeing the Indian market and are expected to roll out their marketing and support programmes over the next few months. River Run plans to work inclose tandem with these players to develop the market for these devices.

Chawla sees a ready market for the devices in distribution-oriented businesses such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare and softdrinks. The defence forces are also evaluating the use of mobile computing devices, said Chawla.To begin with, focus would be on retail sales, which would be supplemented by demand by individual enterprises. Chawla pegged the market for the devices at around 6,000 units in the first year.

River Run has already invested around $10 million for developing software suites, said Chawla. As part of market development effort in the country, the company plans to spend around $5 million over the next one year in setting offices in several cities, Chawla added.

Efforts are also on to make the software suites and products available in several European languages including French, German and Italian by the end of this year. The company is also in the process of entering into alliances with European companies to market thesoftware in Europe. The solutions are presently available in English and Japanese.

Chawla said that development efforts were currently on to web-enable the software suite.

Leading consumer electronics and IT companies such as 3Com, Philips and H-P have been offering personal digital assistants and hand-held devices in several markets worldwide. The other components of mobile computing involve networks and network access and the different forms of information stored in the corporate information system. River Run's solutions for mobile computing encompasses all the components, said Chawla.

River Run has been in the business of providing remote access solution since 1991. It is a multi-location company with corporate office and support centre in the US and a business centre at Noidan near here.