In the world of hospitality, being a technologist isn’t just about bringing a great product to market. Rather, it’s about having the foresight to chase continued evolution and innovation that keeps your product or service offering one step ahead of traveler demands and, respectively, the needs of hoteliers. In an ever-changing world, technology acts as a critical catalyst. With the right platforms and digital partnerships, hotels can effectively transform and scale their operations in a way that not only protects their bottom line, but earns them a reputation of excellence amongst guests in an increasingly competitive market.

For Binu Mathews, the Chief Executive Officer at IDS Next, leading by example has always been a core part of his vision for continued technological innovation. With this in mind, IDS Next has spent over 30 years developing, delivering and supporting cutting-edge, innovative technology solutions for the global hotel industry that empower hotels to increase revenues, optimize costs and above all – provide the ultimate guest experience.

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Mathews to discuss the continued growth and evolution of IDS Next, their recent rebrand, and what’s in store for the brand as we look to the future.

“We have accomplished many firsts in our three-plus decades of operations,” shares Mathews. “We became the first company to create all-in-one solutions and the concept of Hotel ERP, and we also became the first company in our markets to provide international-class support 24/7. With credit to these efforts, we became India’s largest hotel software company in our first decade of operations and Asia’s largest in 2009. Now, we are considered the leading provider of smart hotel software across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Oceania.” IDS Next’s offerings include highly integrated hotel management software, restaurant management software, central reservations, hotel channel management, mobile apps and mobile analytic solutions.

When I asked what he attributes much of this success to, Mathews noted the brand’s “Always Ahead” mindset, which has paved the way to an impressive service portfolio, including over 5,000 customers across 45 countries.

Of course, when the global hospitality industry came to a virtual standstill in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, that “Always Ahead” mindset had to shift accordingly. What did continued evolution mean in a marketplace that was disproportionately impacted by world events? How could IDS Next look to the future when the future suddenly seemed so uncertain?

“Over the last year and a half, we invested in a number of new regions while ushering in new contactless solutions, and improved upon our existing cloud solutions,” shares Mathews. “We’ve always been an industry leader in regards to the level of support offered to our clients and partners, and now we’ve evolved our support services to include automated channels including chatbot-based and knowledge-based support features built directly into our product.” Mathews goes on to explain that these new features allow hotel users to chat with IDS Next support agents in multiple languages, use chatbots to get updates on cases, and/or access the knowledge center for instant help.

“At the same time, we launched FX I/O – an integration hub that enables connections between our partners and between all our on-premise, mobile, and cloud PMS solutions,” shares Mathews. “We also used this time to completely rebrand our company, which should serve as a testament to our commitment to adapt, evolve, and find ways to serve our clients better.”

In fact, the rebranding had a very clear goal: to signify and highlight how IDS Next brings the best of the past and present to create the future of hospitality technology.

“Our new logo and tagline reflect the steps we take to advance the hospitality industry, fast forwarding accessibility to premium tech while being always ahead,” says Mathews. Beyond the logo and tagline, the IDS Next team also adopted a few core colors around the shade of orange that Mathews felt reflected the company over the years. “Orange really denotes many things, but mainly, it symbolizes creativity, energy, and happiness, which makes it the perfect color to represent our team,” explains Mathews. “Our website now offers a more user-friendly, customer-centric on-page experience, as we wanted to ensure it was easier than ever for customers and potential partners to find out our company’s offerings and get in touch with us.”

IDS Next also understands the hospitality industry’s numerous challenges, especially within the post-pandemic landscape. “Many hotels are struggling with the scarcity of hospitality skills,” notes Mathews. “Now, more than ever, we are seeing a need for core hotel systems to integrate with a variety of other solutions to maintain seamless guest experiences.” In this sense, great technology will empower hotels to maintain and improve upon their service offerings at a time when hoteliers are expected to do more with less staff support. As the preferred partner for regional and global hotel chains, including Wyndham Hotels, IDS Next expects to play an essential role in the recovery and, more importantly, the long-term success of the properties it serves.

“With this fresh look, we hope to expand our chain strategy and continue to create enterprise solutions for chains and groups,” shares Mathews. “We are in a unique position to provide cloud-based, on-premise, mobile platforms that talk to each other and offer increasingly intuitive and future-proof solutions for multiple brands and segments.”

About IDS Next

Founded in 1987, IDS Next became India's largest hotel software company in its first decade of operations and Asia's largest in 2009.

Today, IDS Next is the leading provider of smart hotel software across Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, Africa, and Oceania, serving over 6,000 customers in 45 countries with $10 million in daily transactions and 300,000 daily check-ins.

With the goal to redefine the way hotels operate through smart software solutions, IDS Next has been a trusted technology partner and preferred supplier to the international hospitality industry.

From contactless check-in, front desk, guest request and housekeeping management to payroll, finance, inventory management and procurement, IDS Next's award-winning software automates and streamlines front and back-office hotel operations, making sure all departments are covered.

With an open API approach, IDS Next integrates with over 100 of the world's leading, best-in-breed technology partners to ensure hotel operations run smoothly and securely to complement a hotel's existing systems and solutions.

Available in single modules and as an all-in-one solution, IDS Next's smart hotel software is designed by hoteliers for hoteliers through the company's in-house development team comprising 135 hospitality technology professionals and supported 24/7 by 90 customer services agents in 30 languages.

With all software PA DSS certified, front-of-house solutions GDPR compliant, and the business ISO 27001 certified, IDS Next's smart software solutions are accredited, certified, and compliant with the industry's most stringent standards for data protection and security.

Alan Young
Puzzle Partner Ltd.
705-718-5153
IDS NEXT