Nitin Bharadwaj Vyakaranam VP, Global Marketing and Alliances, Prithvi Information Solutions talked to KTP Radhika about the growth opportunities in the 4G space and the company’s strategy to leverage the same
Tell us a bit about Prithvi Information Services and your service portfolio.
Prithvi is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company, which specializes in telecom engineering products, telecom services, business intelligence, infrastructure services, system integration, mobile platforms and enterprise resource management. Telecom is one of the most important and fastest growing areas for us. We manufacture network backbone telecom products including DWDM boxes, customer premise equipment. We also design and plan the telecom network, build it and manage networks across the globe. We also are into the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAX space. Apart from telecom, we provide solutions to retail, BFSI, healthcare and manufacturing.
3G is here and 4G has made its entry. Where do you see the growth opportunities?
Data usage is exploding and the world is moving towards 4G. The growing demand for LTE solutions in India has stimulated the prospects for technology services companies. However, in India, we still have legacy 2G. The typical telecom network in the country is not an IP network. We still use legacy technologies. Unless we move to IP, we cannot bring in the next generation advances that exist in the network in western countries, Japan or even in China.
This provides us with a great opportunity for investment and growth. We expect a lot of investments in new infrastructure for 4G. It could be LTE, WiMAX or any other new technology that could come through. We will be able to support all those moves. We are already in the LTE space in the US and will be working with operators for LTE in India as well. We are already into the WiMAX space in India.
What are your strategies to leverage these opportunities?
Our strategy revolves around data, process and mobility. We will try to bring in these three concepts into all of the services that we provide. Data is the core of any business. The information age started ten years ago and this has led to data outflow. However, it should be processed with better intelligence solutions in order for it to help in decision making. We are working in the space of data analytics, data mining and so on. Business process management, enterprise process management etc come under the process section. In India, people are talking about automating processes. This is not enough. To get best use of data, there should be a smart process, which can learn and do things by itself. The third area is that of mobility. It helps you take a decision from anywhere in the world. Prithvi is into every area of the telecom business and can understand the end to end need of the client. This helps us come up with specified solutions. We have marketing strategies for these. We do roadshows with the telecom clients and also conduct workshops for clients in order to educate them, solve their problems and adopt a collaborative approach towards providing them with solutions. This is done because these solutions are cutting edge solutions that are new to the market.
How important is Indian market for you?
Last year, we had a global turnover of Rs 1,650 crores and India accounted for 30% of that figure. India is our second biggest market after the United States. For IT services, India is our biggest market. We see a lot of growth opportunities in India and we partner with almost all of the major OEMs and service providers in the country. We are also doing rural WiMAX projects in India
What is your take on Cloud computing and how will it help the telecom industry?
Cloud Computing provides a new enterprise service opportunity for the telecom sector. Today we can see that there is a gradual transition towards the Cloud and it will help customers rationalize their infrastructure costs and help them function better. Telecom is a hyper competitive market. The Cloud is a way for telecom players to reduce their costs. For instance, telecom providers have their own app stores, an important source of revenue. Moving to the Cloud will help them service more customers and garner more revenue. It will also boost their application portfolio.
Has BYOD been accepted widely?
Advances in 4G will bring about a lot of mobility. Many people will move on to tablets and smartphones. Globally, the industry is acknowledging BYOD. However, the Indian environment is not prepared for it yet.
