German enterprise software maker SAP AG is in an overdrive to bring in the much-needed efficiency in the Indian public services sector. SAP wants to play an important role in the modernisation programmes of various government set ups by deploying latest IT solutions. ?Our focus is on better well being of people,? says Michael Pittelkow, head, public services industry business solutions, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), SAP. As the company plans to extend its public sector footprint in the Indian market, Pittelkow discusses with Diksha Dutta, the company?s plans to tap the Indian public services market. Excerpts:

How important is the public sector business for you and what does it comprise?

I do not think that we are a technology company, but we are a business processes company and have always focused on industries and business processes. We have 26 industries and out of those 4 represent public services. Our public services sector includes ministries, local government, districts, states, police forces, defence, healthcare, higher education research in universities and colleges.

In India, the examples of public sector services would be the Rural Development Act and the move to Goods and Services Tax (GST), which are also trends across the globe. We emphasise on public sector in social services, social care and social benefits. There is a special focus on public security, internal security, law enforcement, helping police to investigate a crime, helping intelligence agencies to avoid crimes and attacks. Public sector is one of our growth areas and we have a lot of focus on it.

We also provide solutions for tax and revenue management in developed and developing countries. In the healthcare area, we focus on patient management as well as clinical systems.

We are in discussions in a big state in the Middle East to transform their healthcare system.

In defence, we have specialised solutions that we call DFPS (defence forces and public security). Besides ERP, we also do state treasury and human capital.

What is your focus in the public services market here?

We want to focus on the national e-governance plan. It is a very impressive plan. But we see some areas where we can add value. This would include public security, jurisdiction, municipalities and rural development. Another important area is to provide people with bank accounts and to concentrate on financial inclusion.

And your initiatives in the Indian market…

Some of the collaborations have been there over the past two to three years. We are strong in the regional corporation market. With the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), the citizen constituent services runs the SAP software. We are in the process of implementing the solution for Bhopal Municipal Corporation. Work is in progress at Thane. Depending on the complexity, these implementations would extend from 6 to 18 months. We are also working with Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCCMMF), Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board ,Indraprastha Power Generation Co. Ltd (IPGCL),

Delhi Transmission Company Limited (DTL),Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

Where does India stand in competition with other countries in public sector services?

I am very impressed with the speed here. In terms of IT in government sector and in public services, I think India is faster than North America and Europe in transformation from manual processes to automatised.

First, in terms of business value which means understanding the purpose of implementing a solution, there is a lot of concentration. Second, the value of time to meet deadlines in the government projects where lots of money is involved?it is important for governments all over the world to speed up.

What is the scenario in the public services market in terms of adoption of IT?

In the overall public services market, hardware represent the largest proportion of spending by IT category, representing 57.3% of total public services spending. On the other hand, public services enterprise application software spending amounted to $246 million in 2006, with revenues increasing at a CAGR of 20.8% from 2006 to 2010.

Software represented 19.6% of total public services spending in 2006, with revenues of $421million. It is estimated that ERP represented 15.3% of software spending in 2006, and that CRM represented 3.1% during the same period.

What is the fastest growing segment in the public sector?

Globally, the fastest growing are healthcare and public security clearly. And in the next few years, I expect the social services and social benefits also to grow fast. On the other hand, developing nations will be capable to take care of their citizens more properly. The aging population will be an additional market of the future in healthcare. In India, the market is public security, rural development and municipalities. There is also an increasing need of collaboration among agencies as well as government-to-business as well as the increasing demand of mobile solutions.

What are the challenges you face in the Indian market?

The main challenge, which is not just unique to India, is the federal structure of a country. Second, the contrast between the urban areas and the cities is a challenge to us in regards to the set of the solutions that we provide in the other countries.