The major challenge is risk management

Can you tell us how the idea for creating solutions for commodity trading

evolved?



The idea for developing specialized software for commodity trading came from

my personal experience as a commodity trader in Singapore. Most of the trading

houses were using outdated technology or spreadsheets which were prone to

errors. The lack of availability of a commodity trading solution, which is easy

to use and fulfills all client requirements, prompted me to create a solution

which can cater the needs of all commodity-trading companies.

How important is IT for commodity trading?



The major challenge for companies in commodity trading is to understand how

to manage their risk properly, as commodity price has risen twice in the last

three to four years. Our products help them to manage risks properly, to take

quick and real time decisions.

If you are using multiple systems, spreadsheet or a word document, there is a

lot of duplicity of data. Ekas system helps in using a single sheet to enter

the entire data. There are solutions which can help companies to manage their

profit and loss without much error in data. The major benefit of such a solution

is that the companies can cut their cost by reducing the number of employees.

How big is the market in India for the solutions you are offering?



The estimated Indian market is about $25-30 mn. In India we have not yet

started selling our products. We are planning to start it quite soon. India is a

growing market and we are in discussions with major commodity traders and

corporate houses. Indian companies are becoming global, so they also have to

adopt technology to manage the risks in commodity trading and operation.

Who are your major customers? Whats their response?



We are getting good responses from our customers. We develop our product on

a domain perspective, and users feel very comfortable in using it. Our product

is superior in terms of quality, as visibility and good domain knowledge has

been incorporated into it. Currently we are focusing on the global market and to

increase our customer base we have opened an office in the US and plan to open

another in Europe.

Pradeesh Chandran



pradeeshc@cybermedia.co.in