In Limelight - Part 2

Tell us about yourself.

I am Divya Prasad, originally from Mysore. I have done my B.E in Electronics & Communications, Mysore. I also have an MBA from Kuvempu University. I have been at IDS Next for more than 2 years and have a total of 9 years of experience in the field of software product development. 

What kind of projects do you handle at IDS Next?

I lead the mobility team and have been instrumental in developing all our mobile apps for restaurants and last-minute hotel room booking. As the Associate Project Manager, it is absolutely my responsibility to ensure that my team is second to none when it comes to delivering best-in-class apps that have got rave reviews from within the hospitality industry. Our apps are available on all mobility platforms. Besides managing a wonderful team, I also spend considerable time writing code.  

How did IDS Next happen? 

Before joining IDS Next, I was working at a leading multinational IT firm. I personally thought that my growth could be compromised if I continued working in a service based IT Company. That is why I opted to join IDS Next, a product based IT firm, which would provide me the scope to learn and grow. Moreover, I was keen to work here as I wanted to excel in a particular domain and IDS Next was keenly getting into app development. 

How do you like working at IDS Next?

Well, it’s quite encouraging and happening here. I feel my skill set is used as I play a crucial role developing some of the mobility apps. I had come to this company as a team lead and I was the only person in the mobility team. Under the guidance of my boss, Sachin Das, I have developed a 9 member strong mobility team. As I proved my mettle, I also got promoted.

Hospitality IT is still considered a niche domain and my stint so far with the company has helped me learn a lot. Here, I have multiple roles to play and multiple responsibilities to oversee. 

What about work recognition?

My hard work and dedication have certainly drawn attention from the management. That’s why I was awarded the ‘Exceptional Service’ award for 2 consecutive years. 

Want to say something to potential employees? How would you recommend IDS Next to them?

I might sound clichéd, but I would say if you want to build up your expertise in a domain like hospitality IT, IDS Next is the place for you. This place teaches you, helps you expanding your horizon of knowledge and most importantly rewards you.

In Limelight - Part 1

I am Sunil Datta. I have done B.Sc in Electronics from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupathi and M.Sc in IT from Bharatiar University, Chennai. I am a part of IDS Next’s Client Engagement Group (CEG) for the last three and a half years. 

What are the interesting stuff you do at IDS Next?

I am primarily responsible for offering post product service to our clients across Karnataka. I interact with customer’s right from collecting product cost to convincing them to upgrade to new version of our software. I also periodically visit our clients’ property based on the SLA and client requirements.

In order to ensure that our clients are leveraging our Hotel ERP to the fullest, I conduct trainings and appraise them on the new features in our solution. Collecting AMC is another important aspect of my JD here at IDS Next.

I also coordinate the IDS Next Advantage Academy initiative. In this role, I work with hotel management colleges across India to offer their students a qualitative exposure to IDS Next software. I impart module wise training on our Hotel ERP to faculty members of these colleges. Our objective is to equip fresh graduates in our software so here is to make maximum number of hotel management graduates ready for the rigor of the hospitality industry.

Does your role at IDS Next help you grow personally?

I love technology and I am a ‘techie’ sort of guy. Be it imparting training on our Hotel ERP to our clients or faculty members of hotel management colleges, I talk technology. In order to make our clients understand our new product features, I need to first develop a strong sense of appreciation towards technology. To accomplish my job, I spend a lot of time understanding the vast feature set of our products and solutions. Over the years, I think I have become a subject matter expert on our product. Working in IDS Next is strictly all about technology and that’s what I love here.

If you look at my profile, you would understand that I work in a very challenging environment as I need to live up to my company’s expectation and at the same time; we need to keep up our services as part of the service industry. No doubt, working in IDS Next has added tremendous value towards my personal growth.

How did you come to join IDS Next?

I was working as an IT Manager of a hotel which used IDS Next’s hotel management software. That’s how I came to be acquainted with the company and was so impressed by our robust software that I wanted to join. Thus when I got an offer, I did not look back but grabbed it with both hands.  As I have already said that I love technology and thought that working for IDS Next would give me that much needed platform to look at hospitality technology from up close. I would say that I have both an insider and outsider’s perspective of their software.

How has your contribution to IDS Next been recognized?

The management at IDS Next is prompt to recognize its employees’ efforts. I had been awarded with ‘Extra Mile’ award by the CEO as a token of appreciation towards my work. On several occasions, I have helped a client even when it was not part of my KRAs. I have a free hand working in IDS Next as long as it is pertaining to offer excellent service to our clients. Colleagues in sales, marketing and product development team are always there to back me in my effort to do better.

How does your day start at IDS Next? 

My day starts with checking of mails. I line up my tasks as per their importance and timeliness. It is followed by a brief discussion with my manager, Mr. Varadharajan. Sometimes, he also asks me to incorporate some additional task into my list of assignments. My profile is mostly a field job and that’s why I spend maximum time at clients’ sites.

Would you like to say something to freshers or those aspiring to join IDS Next?

If you want to grow professionally while learning new things, IDS Next is the right place. As the Hospitality IT industry is growing, IDS Next as a global leader in this sphere has lots of scope to grow immensely. If you get a chance, do join us and grow with our company.

Top Tech Predictions to Influence Hospitality Industry in 2015

Come December and every industry eagerly awaits predicted trends for the coming year; 

The hospitality industry is no different and has its own set of trends, those that will significantly influence the industry in the year to come, and those that hoteliers need to watch out for.

As a hospitality technology company, at IDS Next, we conferred with our business heads in Africa, Middle East, Asia, Asia Pacific and South East Asia, tapped into their exposure and observations and so, here we are, with our very own set of top trends for the hospitality industry in 2015!

As hoteliers, you may have heard of some of these before, but now, they are well underway to being fast flowing, furious trends that are shaping the hospitality industry and your hotel should promptly adopt these technological changes or may run into the risk being left behind. Read More

Published In: 4 Hoteliers 

By: Lilian D'Costa

IDS Next Middle East Achieves Milestone of 500 Customers

The company has a presence across star category, in hospitality segments like hotels, resorts, service apartments, boutique hotels, restaurants and clubs.

IDS Next Business Solutions Pvt Ltd, a global leader in providing Hotel ERP and software solutions to hospitality and leisure industries, today announced that they have successfully acquired their 500th customer in the Middle East region. The company has software users across Middle East, including in United Arab Emirate, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman.

“In the last two years, our customer base has more than doubled, and our direct presence in the region has helped us build a formidable reputation for offering robust, seamlessly integrated hotel software for every hospitality segment,” said Brijesh Surendran, Senior Vice President – Sales & Operations, ME, CIS & Turkey at IDS Next. Read More

Published In: IDS Next Middle East Microsite 

Is Your Hotel in Australia and New Zealand Ready for the Cricket World Cup 2015?

For cricket crazy Australia and New Zealand, the World Cup scheduled early 2015 holds a special attraction, and the fever is already picking up.

Hotel room bookings in both countries are on the rise, and so are room prices! Not surprisingly, an estimated 30,000 and 70,000 tourists are expected for the mega sporting event, and authorities are concerned that there may be a shortage of rooms.


For hotels in both these countries, it is the right time to grow their business by attracting more and more customers to their properties during this sporting extravaganza. A hotelier should promptly adopt a smart and robust hotel management software that would help them to streamline complex operations in order serve their guests effectively. Read More

Published in: IDS Next Oceania Microsite 
By: Jacob KI

New Solution Launched to Reduce Hotel Check-In Time

While check-in kiosks and other methods of avoiding the front desk have been around for a while, integration of mobile technology into check-in is seeing a speedy adoption.

IDS Next Business Solutions recently launched Easy Check-in, a mobile solution as part of their ‘Easy’ series. The app enables a hotel to drastically reduce check-in time for their guests. Easy Check-in enables your hotel staff to walk your guests directly to their rooms after a tiring journey. Read More

Published in: Voyager's World / IDS Next 

FortuneNEXT 6i R&B: The Complete Software for Your Restaurant Business

Information Technology has an overwhelming impact on hospitality business and restaurants are adopting various software solutions to effectively manage their operations and serve diners better. 

Importance of Restaurant Management Solution

Restaurant management may vary across multiple management styles, but the only common goal they have is to effectively and efficiently run the restaurant while serving guests better to realize maximum profit. It’s a fact that a restaurant’s profitability either rises or falls depending on how well it is being managed. Considering various deficiencies of manual management, we can say that managing a restaurant manually can only lead to confusion and ultimately increases the chances of revenue pilferage and leakage.Read More

By: Debi Prasad Sarangi

Published in: Apsense.Com  

Ethiopia Hotel Industry Prepares for a Growth Spurt

Landlocked Ethiopia is rapidly shedding the vestiges of its morbid past and coming into its own as a prominent tourist destination in the African continent.

Facilitating the move is the Ethiopian government which is investing in the construction of roads, railways and airports to improve access to tourism sites. Also being given out are duty free privileges and incentives to encourage the private sector to construct and operate hotels, resorts and recreation facilities. Besides agriculture the government is seriously looking at tourism to play a crucial role in generating foreign exchange and jobs.

Unlike some of its neighbors, namely Kenya and Tanzania, Ethiopia has been experiencing a relatively peaceful phase and its attractiveness as an upcoming tourism destination can be noted by the increasing number of tourist entering the country. Read More

By: Rajesh P Yadav

Published in: IDS Next Africa Microsite

Tourism Arrivals Increasing in Sri Lanka

The tourism industry in Sri Lanka is looking sunny. According to a recent study by HVS, a prominent hospitality research organization, approximately 1.1 million visitors have been into the country till September 2014. International arrivals to Sri Lanka were an impressive 22% up from the same period in 2013. The increased number of tourist was from regions like Eastern Europe, the Middle East and countries like China.

The single largest growing feeder market during this period was Indonesia. Tourists from this country increased almost 500% from 2,900 to 17,300 arrivals. With a target of 2 million international arrivals in 2015 and 2.5 million in 2016, Sri Lanka is slated to become one of the region’s premier tourist and leisure destinations. In response to the increasing demand of quality accommodation on the island nation, many international hotel brands are expected to enter the market in next few years.Read More

By: Nandika Udupihilla

Published in: IDS Next Sri Lanka Microsite

Ensure Your Hotel Software is Functioning Smoothly at All Times with AMC

Being a 24/7 guest facing industry, hotels need to have their software up and smoothly functioning at all times or risk inconveniencing their guest. Thus, timely maintenance is a vital aspect in the life cycle of hotel software.

As a leading software provider IDS Next understands this requirement and offers an Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) to ensure our software users are functioning at optimal capacity.

IDS Next’s AMC is a smart choice for hotels who are using IDS Next’s robust Hotel ERPs including FortuneNEXT 6i Enterprise, FortuneNEXT 6i Professional, FortuneNEXT 6i Express, FortuneNEXT 6i Genie and FortuneNEXT 6i R&B. Once you sign up for the AMC, depending on the product you use, your hotel or restaurant gets several benefits including periodic site visits to your hotel by our engineers. Apart from helping you optimize software usage, our AMC engineers also provide your staff with tips for improvement of software performance. They also appraise your personnel on various drill down features that enable you to extract more detailed reports, customize reports to your needs and collect more data on guest. Read More

Published In: IDS Next Blog

Wow Diners & Grow Your Restaurant Business with an e-Menu App

Rapid development in restaurant technology has played a decisive role in changing customers’ dining experience. Technology is becoming an important strategic asset for restaurants to improve services and maintain competitiveness in the market.

Restaurants are also experiencing the positive impact of several hospitality technology solutions in many ways. Today, they are not only adopting restaurant management software to automate their operations, but also looking forward to newer technology enabled solutions to take guest services to new heights. Read More

Published in: IDS Next Blog Section

Wow Your Diners With Easy Dine

Easy Dine is the newest and coolest e-menu app for restaurants and fine dining outlets. Apart from helping your staff to save time and reduce errors while taking orders from guests, the app plays a major role in enhancing guest experience at your outlets. Take a look at the latest illustration: 

Tips to Choose a Hotel Channel Management Software

Competition is increasing and visibility is critical for hotels to sell rooms. Thus, hotels are constantly on the lookout for channels they can leverage to distribute inventory. Managing multiple channels and rates; inventory and sales can be a herculean task. Smart, intuitive and cost-effective channel management software is thus the key to high hotel occupancy and profitability.

 

IDS Next Hotel ERP has seamlessly integrated with an intelligent and real-time distribution software. This intelligent distribution system serves as a single application for hotels to manage all channels. Hotels across all market segments can maximize bookings to grow revenue while reducing distribution costs. Read More

Published in: IDS Next Blog Section

World-class software for the nice needs of small hotels

PAX from IDS Next has emerged as the most compact yet powerful hotel management software for small and limited service hotels. Take a look at our latest illustration and know more about this world-class software:

IDS Next and Lords Institute of Management, Surat Organize Hospitality Industry Seminar

IDS Next Business Solutions Pvt Ltd in collaboration with the Lords Institute of Management, Surat organized a half day hospitality industry seminar on 7th October, 2014. The seminar titled ‘Leveraging Technology To Transform Guest Experience with IDS Next ’was attended by students pursuing diploma and certification courses along with faculty members of the institute and employees of Lords Plaza, Surat.

The initiative to hold the session in association with IDS Next Business Solutions Pvt Ltd was taken by Mr. Rishi Puri, Vice President, Lords Hotels & Resorts. The seminar commenced following the welcome address by Mr. Devendra Shah, Vice Principal of Lords Institute of Management. This was followed by an overview on significance of technology in the hospitality industry, presented by Mr. Shamitav Jana, Assistant Vice President, Lords Hotels & Resorts. Read More

Published in: IDS Next Website

Changing Tech Trends in Indian Hospitality Industry

As a global leader in the domain of Hospitality Technology Solutions, IDS Next keeps track of all types of developments happening in the industry. That is why, several media organizations seek our experts' comment on matters pertaining to this. Read one of such insightful column by Mr. Ronnie Sarkar, Sr VP - Sales & Operations published in Food & Beverage News Magazine.

Technology in general and hospitality technology in particular have tremendous potential to help hotels and restaurants in many ways. Apart from the advantage of being the crucial enabler that ensures higher degree of operational automation, few big advantages that hospitality industry can achieve through adopting technology include enhanced guest experience to serve their guests better, increased revenue and improved operational efficiencies leading to increased cost savings for themselves. Read More

Published in: Food & Beverage News Magazine

When Easy Pays

The Easy Dine app from IDS Next app enables your restaurant staff to focus on customer service rather than running around on the floor taking orders from diners and taking the KOT to the kitchen. With Easy Dine, your steward can take order and feed it directly into the mobile, while sending out a KOT without moving away from the guest's table. Easy Dine has been designed to ensure your hotel staff is more attentive to the needs of your diners, enhance efficiency, better manage service, and wow your guests. This obviously has a positive impact on your revenue too.

The Easy Dine app not only enables the taking of orders, but takes guest feedback too. “Easy is an intelligent, and user friendly range of solutions that has been developed to increase revenue, reduce costs and enhance guest experience for our customers" says Binu Mathews, CEO, IDS Next Business Solutions. He adds, "The tablet based Easy Dine solution comes equipped with artificial intelligence to ease restaurant operations and enhance guests' dining experience." Read More

Published in: Food & Hospitality World

IDS Next Launches Website for Small Hotel Software, PAX

IDS Next Business Solutions Pvt Ltd, a global leader in providing Hotel ERP and software solutions to hospitality and leisure industries, announced the launch of a dedicated and exclusive website for their small hotel software - PAX,   This hotel management software is primarily for hospitality properties in the one star and below category. Through this website, IDS Next aims to promote PAX among limited service hotels, bed and breakfast hotels, villas, gated communities, lodges and others.

Speaking on the launch of the PAX website Mr. Pradeepa Shetty, Vice President, Channel Sales said, “As a market leader, IDS Next strongly believes that limited services hotels should benefit from quality software that enables them to leverage online distribution channels like OTAs, automate and simplify guest service, plug revenue leakage and enhance profits. IDS Next launched PAX as there was a dearth of software for the specific needs of small hotels.” Read More

Published in: PAX website