SINGAPORE-BASED ASP JustLogin Pte Ltd said its expects this year's
revenue 'to be at least four times better than last year's' and is
focusing on selling to MNCs, rather than SMEs.
'Our revenue has been growing at more than 50 per cent a quarter in the
last three quarters,' says Kwa Kim Chiong, co-founder and CEO of
JustLogin. 'However, revenue growth next year is expected to be slower,
and is projected to be in the region of $3 million, most of it being
from recurring services.'
The company has 30 corporate clients, including AT&T Asia-Pacific (in 13
countries), ST Electronics, Allianz, National Science & Technology
Board, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Singapore
Confederation of Industry, and Mediacorp News. 'We are now talking to a
few blue-chip organizations that are likely to sign up in the next two
months,' Mr Kwa said.
JustLogin broke even in June this year, but its expansion into Hong Kong
and China has pushed it into the red again. 'Our priority now is to work
aggressively on sales while containing costs,' Mr Kwa said. 'We expect
to break even by mid-2002.' Its biggest investors today include ST
Electronics, and OCBC Bank.
The homegrown ASP started operations in February 2000 to help office
administrators conduct surveys and manage human and office resources,
and is focusing on MNCs rather than SMEs.
'MNCs seem to understand and value our applications more,' Mr Kwa said.
'It seems easier for them to adopt outsourcing as a business strategy.
For SMEs, we'll probably focus on the low-end apps such as e-mail.'
JustLogin has 14 applications that range in cost from $5 to $30 per
month per user. On average, the cost to a client is about $15 per user
per month. Mr Kwa says the company has been beefing up its R&D team in
the last three months. It now employs 25 people in all.
'We're engaged in building intellectual property, with 70 per cent of
our headcount in R&D,' he says. 'We have invested more than $2 million
since 1999 on application development. I believe our office
collaborative suite is one of the most comprehensive in the market.'
On trends in the ASP industry, he says: 'The strength of the ASP model
has never been in question. The current crisis, however, will not make
it easy for ASPs to establish themselves. I think we can expect to see
consolidation in the ASP industry next year. The winners will be those
with the right business fundamentals and which offer a solid product.'
He expects broadband prices to drop drastically in the next two years to
levels similar to Hong Kong or Shenzhen in China: 'The widespread
adoption of broadband by businesses will be the key driver of growth in
the ASP industry. If every business has broadband access, it will be
easier for us to sell our services.'
