Speaking to The Financial Express at the launch of ECLIPS in Mumbai, Mr TTL vice-president (marketing) Ajit Kumar Thatte said: "We are in talks with quite a few systems integrators, including some who have a base in the US and Australia, but are operating in India. In fact, by March we should have 4-5 such alliances in place."

Sources said that a memorandum of understanding had already been signed with NIIT about two months ago. The company is also in talks with top foreign consultants for a tie-up to sell the product to the latter's clients. The company is also looking at technology developers as a possible third sales channel.

Explaining the logic of alliances, Mr Thatte said: "We expect to bring to the table through these alliances complimentary strength. We will be tying up with those people who have complimentary skills. Those having a system integrating capacity, software development capacity, technical management capacity or project management capacity seem to fit the bill."

Partnerships become critically important for TTL which is now seeking to reposition itself as a total solutions provider of enterprise class solutions. "We are clear that we cannot deliver everything that the customer may require on our own," he said. Tata Telecom is looking at a 15 per cent to 20 per cent slice of the Rs 2,000 crore Indian business communication market, that is, a turn over of Rs 350 crore. The markets being eyed for ECLIPS include, the MNCs, corporates, the hospitality sector including 5-star hotels, the financial sector, defence, the Railway and the government sector, according to TTL director (marketing) Amit Sinha.