B4U is branching out into avenues less trodden.

The company has developed an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that offers integrated software solutions to media companies. 

Bramble, the system built up by B4U over the last three years, provides solutions to practically every task a media company undertakes, including scheduling, production, branding, agreement management systems, cinema database, library (including the rights to software and the period for which the rights hold), telephone directory and ad bookings.

Customisation of the system is an ongoing process, according software systems head Ravi Nair. Giving a comparative example of how comprehensive Bramble is, Nair points out that Star India paid Rs 600,000 for an ERP package called Scope that handles only ad bookings. 

Financial accounting and Human Resource Development are also being added to Bramble's scope, Nair says. 

As far as the safety aspect is concerned, the system operates through a lease line connected to a router, which is connected to a proxy server, which in turn is connected to the web server and thence to the data server. The firewall protection works at two levels - one at the router and the other at the proxy server, Nair says. The main server, says Nair, is regenerated every two hours.