US-based Data-stream, a world's leading provider of enterprise asset management (EAM) solutions, announced in Shanghai that China will be crucial to the growth of the company in coming years.

The company wants to serve better the 200-plus clients it has developed since entering China in 2001. The firm, with over 60 per cent of the Fortune 500 as its users, has just opened its second support centre in the Asia-Pacific region outside Singapore with an investment of 3 million yuan (US$362,700).

It also launched worldwide the latest web-based version of its EAM software Datastream 7.8 Extended simultaneously at the start of this month.

"We will continue to invest steadily in China and our business here will definitely be doubled next year," said Stuart D. MacDonald, vice-president responsible for the international operations of Datastream.

He refused to identify specific investment or revenue volumes particularly in the Chinese market.

Datastream wants to build itself into the dominant EAM supplier.

However, MacDonald said that "the market performance was amazing, out of the expectations of every one of us."

Globally, Datastream has successfully consolidated its leading position, grabbing 56 per cent of the local market share and cash flow of the company has exceeded US$47 million up until today, recording 11 per cent yearly growth.

Compared with popular enterprise resource planning (ERP) which covers the horizontal management of the whole working process of an organization, EAM vertically focuses on the single point of tangible assets so as to maximize the benefits and minimize maintenance fees.

EAM targets "asset-centric" organizations of diversified industries and makes profitability easy. But in China, EAM is still in its initial stage as many Chinese enterprises, especially State-owned enterprises, have not yet a good understanding of it, said MacDonald.

"If China wants to be more efficient and competitive in the worldwide market, EAM will be very helpful," he said.

Data show EAM users will always get their investment in software returned in a year after its application.

Current EAM users such as Shenzhen Metro and Xiangtan Steel have made very positive comments on the software.

Source: China Daily