BT has been present in India since the early eighties. It has a large presence though an indirect workforce which supports the different market units of BT Group such as BT Retail, BT Global Services, BT Wholesale and Openreach. Outside the UK, India is the only country that plays a large role in supporting BT. ?We also tap the talent here for cost innovation,? says Sudhir Narang, managing director, BT India.

He is responsible for all sales and business operations and the delivery of the BT Global Services strategy, as well as promoting the company?s presence and services in the Indian sub continent.

In a recent interaction, he tells Sudhir Chowdhary the company?s plans for the Indian market. Excerpts:

How has BT India performed in comparison with the operations in other countries?

India is creating a strong position for itself in the world economy, courtesy a very strong domestic consumption and as a cost/business innovation location. Multinationals are expanding and growing their operations in India. Having said that, BT?s business model is to help companies globalise as we manage their network and IT services which is critical to their operations globally, as they expand into newer and dynamic markets such as India.

BT is positioned as a true managed service provider with a strong professional services focus and capabilities. We are seeking more large managed service deals within the region. One such mega managed service deal within the region has been with DHL; a five year managed service contract for the provision of telecom services across 15 countries and more than 1,000 sites in Asia Pacific. BT has built up a number of strong partnerships with technology partners, as well as channel partners to accelerate its service delivery in the region.

What is the strategy for BT in India?

BT has been present in India since the early eighties. We have a large presence though an indirect workforce which support the different market units of BT Group such as BT Retail, BT Global Services, BT Wholesale and Openreach; this is managed though our sourcing partners. This apart, BT has created a Global Operations Centre which is run as a captive unit offering various skills to support our global operations. We then have our own domestic sales and support field force to handle our customers. Outside the UK, India is the only country that plays a large role in supporting BT.

While India is a strong sourcing base for BT, we also tap the talent here for cost innovation. The development that is undertaken results in creating intellectual property for software services and management of our global platforms. Strictly from a business angle, our global service customers are expanding in India and we are here to support their growth.

What is the role of BT Global Services within the BT Group?

BT Global Services is a managed networked IT services business that operates globally and delivers locally to help our customers succeed. BT manages and delivers voice, video or data related services on a global scale. These services could be with respect to your IT operations, or these services could be ranging from layer 1 to layer 7 of your communication needs.

BT Global Services works closely with CIOs and CEOs of the organisations to understand how we can help them bring in operational efficiency and cost transformation. For instance, take the example of mobile force. A CIO may need to decide if he really wants to get the working/operational tool on the mobility devices of his employees for efficiency, but still port it back to main server and handle it globally through his global operations. BT Global Services helps the CIO by enabling such solutions, and globalising their operations.

But security a big issue on the minds of CIOs…

Let us put it this way. Is security important to them?yes. Is it an issue?no. As now, they know there are technologies available and they can handle it. However, the process in continuous. This is because they understand the technological options available to them. They create various security walls and applications on top of their applications.

Are you also targeting Indian companies that are going overseas?

A major advantage we have brought for companies who are going global is that we have fully developed platforms in regions where they are scaling up. So we are able to help them not only in terms of telecom infrastructure, but also in terms of the regulatory environment and local knowledge.

What will be the key trends that will drive the enterprise telecom market in India?

Network management is moving away from the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to the partnership model. The process is taking its own shape in the different industry segments. IT-ITeS segment understands the flavour of outsourcing; they understand concepts and commercials of outsourcing thus they are ahead in adopting the total outsourcing models?which means technical and commercial models. A few of the industries that have gone global like manufacturing and pharmaceuticals have started adopting these kind of models. Some of the domestic industries are still picking up and they will also follow this trend.

Are Indian enterprises adopting unified communication?

Unified communications has evolved over the years, starting as a technical challenge to eliminate the need for different devices and networks required for fixed or mobile devices supporting voice and data. There were immediate savings for businesses that moved to IP telephony, as companies simplified their network infrastructure to carry both voice and data to employees’ desks. Further significant benefits have been realised, as links between networks and devices became easier to manage improving collaboration.

Interoperability across different hardware platforms will allow for greater penetration and adoption.