'Enterprises should design scalable networks'

Shankar V Rao, senior product manager, multi-service networking
infrastructure group, Avaya, was in India for the launch of the company’s
multi-service network solution in India and to announce an agressive push in the
Indian data netwroking market along with its joint venture partner Tata Telecom.
Excerpts:

What have been the recent major developments in the data networking
market?

The commercial availability of 10-gigabit Ethernet switch, a very large
interoperable backbone switch, is a major development. There has been an
increasing demand in the market for converged voice, video and data solutions.
Video conferencing is getting popular, particularly with corporates. People are
now looking at flexible and scalable multi-service networks. More and more WAN
is happening on the VPN front. Wireless is also happening, especially in the
education and hospitality sector. But many of these have been constrained by the
lack of sufficient bandwidth.

How has been the Indian enterprises’ response to the converged voice and
data networks?

People are looking at these solutions seriously. Enterprises know that what
we offer saves investment in legacy networks. We are not giving proprietary
stuff. However, people too have concerns, especially on the regulatory front.
However, things are changing with the announcement to lift ban on Internet
telephony. Also, there are other concerns related to support and applicability
of the solutions in their surroundings. Then there are concerns about
interoperability and the roadmap to future.

But what about enterprises that don’t need pure IP now?

They should look for solutions that would protect their
investment in legacy networks and at the same time allow them to move forward.
What enterprises should keep in mind while designing a network is that they
should think in terms of its usage in medium- to long-term period. The network
should be scalable. The network design should be such that it fits into an
enterprises’ ability to manage the network. Designing is not just about
putting boxes together, it is about your business’ survival.

Most global vendors in India are on their own, while Avaya
operates through its partnership with Tata Telecom. Why so?

Tatas are very strong, stable and customer-oriented, so it
translates into a good marriage. It is an excellent relationship, so why
reinvent the wheel?

Ravi Shekhar Pandey