We have the largest fiber optic backbone in India: TTSL, Enterprise Head

By Krishna Mukherjee

Tata Teleservices is aggressively eyeing to strengthen its enterprise product portfolio with an aim to become a one-stop-shop for delivering ICT solutions to large as well as SMEs customers across the country.

In an interaction with Voice&Data, Prateek Pashine, Head, Enterprise division, Tata Teleservices, he talks about the company’s robust network of channel partners and how the company is enabling enterprises to accomplish more through a broad range of ICT solutions.

Voice&Data: What big trends are you noticing when it comes to enterprise business these days? From which vertical are you witnessing the maximum demand coming from and why?

Prateek Pashine: Some of the key trends are:

--Enterprise Mobility: Today, enterprises understand the business imperatives of ‘connected’ and ‘mobile’ workforce. We are witnessing huge adoption of technology which is dramatically changing the way enterprise functions today.

Large scale adoption of smartphones, tablets and other devices is resulting into convergence of IT and Mobile Applications because users want to access business applications on their mobile devices as well. ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) is currently playing a big role in enterprise mobility. It is helping enterprises in improving the overall responsiveness of the employees, customers and partners alike.

--Social Media and Collaboration: Enterprises in India are beginning to see value in social media usage for business purposes. Social media is emerging as a great platform to engage with employees, customers, partners, community at large, and other key stakeholders on a much larger and open platform. It is helping enterprise in effective collaboration with stakeholders to develop ideas and seek feedback. Enterprises are embracing social media to keep themselves abreast of what their employees, customers, partners, etc. think about them.

--Adoption of Cloud: Since technology is changing by the day, CTOs are seeing the value of adopting technologies hosted on the Cloud. Businesses can not only reduce the risk of investment but also ensure a quicker go-to-market in terms of the technology adoption, besides avoiding the risk of technological obsolescence in on-premise deployment.

--The Internet of Things (IOT) and Big Data: With the proliferation of Internet, miniaturization of hardware devices and convergence technologies, IOT and Big Data are expected to see huge adoption over the years. In India, it is still in nascent stage and adoption has been limited. We believe that 2015 will see significant investments in IOT and Big Data projects. The government’s “Digital India” and Smart Cities initiatives will further drive the adoption of IOT technologies across industries.

As technology is becoming key differentiator and business enabler for enterprises, we are witnessing technology adoption across all sectors. At present, we are focusing on all business verticals.

Voice&Data: After SMAC, what all technologies are going to make a room for them?

Prateek Pashine: Over the next decade, IOT and M2M are expected to see huge adoption across sectors. It is expected to bring billions of data-generating devices online and connect a vast stream of data with people, processes and other devices. There are some niche applications such as asset tracking, vehicle tracking, meter reading, home automation, etc., that can benefit immensely.

We believe that the Government’s ‘Digital India’ and ‘Smart Cities’ initiatives will further drive adoption of IOT technologies across industries in the coming years.

Globally, IOT has seen deployments across Transport, Utilities, Retail, Logistics and Security. In India, deployments have happened primarily in the Utilities space. The other areas which have seen large deployments are in transport i.e. fleet management of large commercial vehicles and Taxis and Retail.

Voice&Data: How much the enterprise business contributed to the company in the last fiscal and how much revenue are you targeting this year? Please mention the factors for the same?

Prateek Pashine: We don’t provide revenue break-up. TTSL’s enterprise business is growing at the rate of 17-20% as against the industry rate, which is close to 8.5%.

Voice&Data: What would be your key differentiators, keeping in mind the fact that other telcos are strengthening their enterprise portfolio?

Prateek Pashine: Tata Teleservices has been building its enterprise product portfolio with the aim of becoming a one-stop-shop for delivering ICT solutions to large as well as SMEs customers across the country. The company’s depth of experience and domain expertise enables enterprises to accomplish more through a broad range of ICT solutions.

Some of the key factors that differentiate TTSL’s Enterprise business vis-à-vis competition are –

Understanding of customers -We have deep understanding of the customers. We have been operating in enterprise space for close to 20 years.

Customer reach – Through our vast network of channel partners we reach out to millions of SME customers spread across the country. We have close to 1,200 channel partners to offer ICT solutions to customers in over 60 cities across India. The company has set up a robust infrastructure which includes the largest fibre optic backbone in the country covering over 1,25,000 km covering major cities in India.

Lifecycle Management channel approach – To cater to specific need of customers on a regular basis we have developed ‘Lifecycle Management’ approach. With this approach we intend to take care of every requirement of the customers in a more engaged and persistent manner. Irrespective of the size of the SME customer, we provision for an individual account management which manages customer at a local level.

Customised solution – We engage our customers on a continued basis to understand the issues and challenges they face. We focus and prioritize to create/customise innovative and affordable product and services as per customer requirement.

Voice&Data: How is the rollout of 4G LTE going to influence the SME market?

Prateek Pashine: LTE is a native IP technology, with this technology customers can avail high speed data connectivity solutions. As a technology, LTE offers lower latency thereby making it relevant for customers.