Local Firm Offers Full Software Ownership Model for Greater Efficiency

Many companies in Indonesia still run their core business processes using enterprise software from foreign vendors under annual licensing schemes. This model forces companies to make recurring payments, while control over system development, customisation flexibility, and data management often remains dependent on the vendor. Founder and Director of PT Ilmuprogram Teknologi Informasi, Wahyu Amaldi, believes this dependency is increasingly critical to evaluate amid the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the enterprise sector. “The pattern is always the same. Companies pay every year, but when they want to change their own work processes, they have to wait for the vendor. Now the AI wave is repeating the same pattern, and the stakes are higher. Not only is the system rented, but the data is also sent out,” Wahyu said in a written statement on Wednesday (12/8). According to Wahyu, the use of licensed and foreign cloud-based enterprise software can lead to several consequences, including continuously rising operational costs, limitations in adapting systems to business needs, and challenges related to data storage location and regulatory compliance. In practice, companies also face the risk of vendor lock-in, a condition where migrating systems or integrating with other platforms becomes difficult and expensive. He added that every industry has different compliance standards, so companies must ensure their data and information system management aligns with applicable regulations, including the Personal Data Protection Law (UU No 27/2022) and relevant industry standards. Addressing these issues, PT Ilmuprogram Teknologi Informasi launched the Ilmuprogram Agentic AI Platform, an enterprise AI platform that connects AI agents with the company’s core systems and runs entirely on the client’s own infrastructure. Unlike public cloud-based AI services, company data and AI inference processes remain within the company’s environment. Wahyu stated that this launch aligns with the principle that Indonesian companies should have control over their own systems and data. “Indonesian companies should own their systems, not rent them forever,” he said. Beyond data sovereignty, the full ownership model also offers potential long-term cost efficiencies. An illustrative simulation by Ilmuprogram for a company with 100 users showed that the annual licensing model is initially cheaper in the first two years because the implementation costs for the ownership model are paid upfront. However, the break-even point is reached by the end of the second year, and by the end of the third year, the ownership model becomes approximately 13 percent cheaper, saving around Rp580 million. This difference widens to about 29 percent by the fifth year, or roughly Rp1.87 billion. The simulation assumed a licence fee of Rp750,000 per user per month, a 5 percent annual price adjustment, and specific implementation and support cost parameters. Wahyu noted that while the ownership model is not always cheaper in the first year and is often more expensive initially, the cost trajectory changes, with subscription costs rising annually while ownership costs decline after implementation. He stressed that these figures are illustrative and actual costs depend on user numbers, module scope, customisation levels, and infrastructure choices. Unlike the subscription model, the entire Ilmuprogram platform is handed over to the client along with the source code. Payment is made during the implementation phase, with no per-user licence fees or annual renewal obligations. The system can be deployed on the company’s own servers (on-premise) or on a cloud service of the client’s choice. This model gives companies the freedom to audit the system, develop new features with internal teams, or continue development with other technology partners. The Agentic AI Platform serves as an orchestration layer on top of a company’s existing systems. AI agents can understand commands in natural language, retrieve data from various enterprise applications, and execute actions automatically. The platform can connect with Enterprise Asset Management, Spending Management, Budgeting & Planning, CRM, Supply Chain Management, and SAP systems. The AI can assist in creating purchase requests, verifying budget availability, issuing maintenance work orders, and running cross-application workflows. This platform complements Ilmuprogram’s entirely in-house developed portfolio, which includes eight core enterprise platforms such as ERP, Enterprise Asset Management, Spending Management, and Budgeting & Planning, along with two field execution solutions and six industry-specific solutions for plantations, property, upstream oil and gas, mining, hospitals, and higher education. These solutions can be implemented as web applications, mobile applications, or SAP S/4HANA extensions using a Clean Core approach designed to remain safe during system updates. Ilmuprogram’s products are designed to comply with various standards and regulations, including Indonesia’s Personal Data Protection Law No. 27/2022 and IFRS 16.