We are very excited about the new and upcoming technologies like 3G and WiMax

LG Electronics India is one of the leading technology innovators in the IT
and mobile communications business. LG is acknowledged as a trendsetter in the
Indian consumer durables industry. Daya Prakash, head, IT, LG Electronics India,
talks to VOICE&DATA about the company's investments in technology infrastructure
and green initiatives. Excerpts

What are the investment plans to improve your telecom infrastructure?

LGEIL's operations are spread across the country with operations at two
manufacturing plants, thirty-nine branch offices, forty-six stock points, and
over fifty-four offices. LGEIL's sales channel includes around 4,000 direct
dealers and distributors and approximately 12,000 sub-dealers. LGEIL provides
services to its customers with the help of third party service providers called
authorized service centers (ASC). It has 470 service centers for consumer
electronics and home appliance and 600 service centers for the mobile division.
There are over 5,000 service engineers working across service centers.

We are using diverse technologies to leverage growth, and support the LGEIL
business & operations, including-MPLS used for WAN connectivity across all LGEIL
locations; IPSec VPN Internet connectivity ensuring secure Internet usage;
hosting of websites in DMZ using dual Internet leased lines having border
gateway protocol (BGP) with load balancing to ensure connectivity at all times;
multiple DS3 connectivity for disaster recovery of ERP database between Noida
and Pune factory using Hitachi Universal replicator.

We are planning to consolidate and upgrade our servers, and at the same time,
we're looking forward to optimize our bandwidth. We are also positive about
storage upgradation, implementation of QoS on WAN connectivity, and Cisco NAC
implementation planned for network access control and security.

Are technologies like 3G and WiMax helping your business needs?

We are very much excited about the new and upcoming technologies like 3G and
WiMax, which will revolutionize the bandwidth penetration in remote areas where
connectivity options are not available. WiMax and 3G will provide robust
connectivity options and smooth communication channels.

At our end, we have WAN MPLS infrastructure connecting manufacturing plants
at Noida and Pune with branches, warehouses and remote area offices. Currently,
there are remote offices where connectivity infrastructure is not up to the
mark, because we had to rely on traditional radio/VSATs for backhaul
connectivity.

WiMax architecture would be a viable option resulting in lower network
costs-both capex and opex-and with efficiency resulting in more throughput and
higher speeds than radio/VSAT options. WiMax is scalable providing flexibility
to optimize bandwidth usage as per the needs of the business.

3G is a cellular technology which would help us streamline and strengthen
communication between dealers, distributors, services centers, and consumers
across countrywide locations. However, we are yet to witness and harness the
upcoming 3G technology, which can deliver expected outcomes.

What are the green initiatives taken by LG Electronics India?

LG has taken several initiatives in the past that minimize the impact on the
environment by reducing wastes and emissions, and create awareness among
employees through energy conservation programs at regular intervals.

The organization's increased attention to green initiatives have resulted
from a number of factors including-our strong commitment towards corporate
social responsibility, rising energy costs, and increased legislation. Our green
initiatives include minimizing IT waste; scraping and disposing IT equipments by
reselling components, server consolidation; and virtualization, hence minimizing
the number of servers used and electrical consumption; efficient data center
design concepts. We use RoHS compliant hardware in data centers. LGEIL is also
engaged with peers to advance smarter energy practices.

How do you cope with connectivity challenges in your branches/centers in
remote area?

Our communication infrastructure network comprises MPLS connectivity to all
branches, warehouse and remote area offices with central connectivity at
corporate office at Greater Noida from multiple service providers to ensure high
up-time and redundancy. The MPLS network is spread across the length and breadth
of the country, and presently integrates over 150 locations of the company.

Connectivity challenges in branches, warehouses and remote areas are being
currently tackled by having dual connectivity from multiple service providers
with different last mile options.

What is the ICT spend as a percentage of your turnover? How was it
affected during the downturn?

IT spend is 0.5% of the total turnover. During the downturn, the impact was
negligible at our end. Currently, the team consists of over 100 skilled
resources as per business requirements at LGEIL.

How is telecom making business more competitive?

The telecom sector represents one of the fastest growing sectors in the
Indian economy. Launch of 3G services by leading operators will boost
collaborative computing, IPTV, video and voice multi-casting, which will enhance
co-ordination between distributors, dealers, service centers and consumers to a
greater extent.

Currently, we are using multi-point videoconferencing across all our regional
locations and branches using MPLS connectivity with a central hub at corporate
office. The use of 3G will help and optimize bandwidth costs and quality of
video/voice transmission.

Another example on the application side, we at LGEIL developed CSNET (web
based application) which provides platform to integrate communication and
co-ordination between dealers, authorized service centers (ASC), call centers
and consumers. 3G infrastructure will strengthen mobility of applications
ensuring greater collaboration and exchange of information on real-time basis.

What are the key trends in enterprises communications?

The key trends in enterprises communications include cloud computing and
cloud based services, which will be an important part of any large enterprise's
IT infrastructure strategy moving forward. The top five technologies that are
going to make a mark in the future are-cloud computing, virtualization,
communication enabled business processes, mobility, and software as a service (SaaS).

Wireless has grown rapidly in the past few years. What issues and
challenges have cropped up, especially in terms of network security and
management?

Proliferation of wireless has been phenomenal in the last few years,
creating new business opportunities, but it has posed increasing security risks
as well. Wireless networks are insecure; they are prone to attacks from
outsiders. Bluetooth enabled devices are a threat to wireless networks.

Akhilesh Shukla

akhileshs@cybermedia.co.in