e-Governance: Progress all around
IT spending by the Indian government increased 30 percent to reach Rs 6,934 crore in 2005-06. Some interesting projects are getting underway as part of the national e-governance plan. e-Governance as a phenomenon is undoubtedly on every IT vendor’s radar. By Faiz Askari
With the country set to grow at about nine percent in the coming years, bottlenecks in terms of regulations and delays associated with dealing with public agencies are increasingly in the spotlight. e-Governance has become synonymous with revamping public service delivery of services ranging from those targeted at the average citizen to those of interest to business and industry. To a large extent, the expectations from the industry and the citizen revolve around service delivery within pre refined time frames, doing away with excessive documentation, simplifying procedures, creating a single window or single point of contact for interfacing with multiple government agencies, and reducing interfaces with regulatory agencies with concomitant reduction in the scope for corruption.
R Chandrashekhar, Additional Secretary, Department of IT, Government of India says, “A sizeable number of successful pilots and some cases of full scale rollout of e-Governance projects in certain sectors have fuelled the imagination of the industry and the public with regard to the potential of e-Governance.”
Under pressure from the people to improve the delivery system, there is a sense of urgency even within the government to put appropriate systems for e-Governance in place. Chandrashekhar says, “In addition to the demand placed for improved delivery of services, the demands placed on the State with respect to enforcement and national security have also increased steeply over the last few years. A robust system for data analysis and decision-making are vital for combating money laundering, commercial frauds and threats to national security. On the other hand, a comprehensive and accurate citizens’ database is critical for ensuring that the benefits of various poverty alleviation and development schemes reach the deprived sections of the population with reduced leakage and increased accountability.”
The National e-Governance Plan, approved by Cabinet in May 2006, is a programme that weaves together 27 Mission Mode Projects and eight infrastructure and other support components that collectively address some of these demands of the business, citizens and the government.
The triple PPP model
Giving an insight into the importance of the public private partnership in taking e-Governance applications to the masses, Aruna Sunderajan, CEO, Community Service Centres says, “There is an immediate need for a public access network, I see this as one of the major challenges. ICT will be imperative in enabling rural and underserved communities through access to knowledge services.”
While highlighting the change in the government’s approach towards work, Sunderajan says, “India is facing an increased economic and social disparity. Even the government changed its focus on development this year, citing the example of the Planning Commission’s goal of ‘faster and more inclusive growth’. By leveraging ICT as a tool, the industry can play an instrumental role in the sustainable development of the nation through e-Governance.”
Industry perspective
From the IT industry perspective, the government segment has emerged as the fourth largest customer vertical after BFSI, telecom and manufacturing.
Chandrashekhar says, “The increased spends on e-Governance in the recent past have largely been limited to purchase of hardware and networking products and off-the-shelf system software. The coming three to four years are likely to see a shift towards delivery of e-Governance services. The IT industry will need to develop domain expertise in e-Governance in general along with specific aspects of project execution of relevance to the delivery of public services and maintenance of mission critical government systems.” With the emphasis of National e-Governance Plan on delivering services, adherence to committed service levels, and process reengineering, change management and capacity building within the government, there is considerable growth potential in the area of consulting for e-Governance.
George Paul executive vice president at HCL says, “India’s march towards adoption of e-Governance has been both steady and encouraging. We are happy to acknowledge the widespread realisation, across levels of departments in governments at the centre and state levels of the benefits of IT adoption in delivering better and efficient governance to the citizens.”
Read Full story: http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20070409/market01.shtml
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Ethernet trend
Ethernet for Mission Broadband
Government agencies and industry stakeholders are under pressure to make the Broadband Year a success and Carrier Ethernet is the technology that can help them do just that. By Faiz Askari
"Although India is relatively new to the Carrier Ethernet revolution, the growth potential is outstanding"- Nan ChenPresident of MEF
The spotlight is upon broadband penetration in India what with 2007 having been declared as the Broadband Year, the Government is looking to achieve some rather aggressive targets.
Looking at what happened in the past vis-à-vis broadband penetration in India, it is clear that we have been struggling. On the positive side, Indian telcos have identified Ethernet as a potential driver for broadband penetration. Recently, the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) introduced Carrier Ethernet into the Indian telecom market.
Although a late starter, India will be compared with regions that have experienced explosive growth in Carrier Ethernet deployment over the past 18 months. At the same time, analysts unanimously see India as one of the potentially top global Carrier Ethernet growth markets over the next five years.
During the past one and a half years, Carrier Ethernet has become one of the biggest potential areas in the telecom markets of North America, Europe and parts of Asia. As per market reports from Infonetics Research, the Carrier Ethernet equipment market is expected to expand a further $49.6 billion over the next five years. Worldwide revenues for Ethernet Services grew to $5.9 Billion in 2005 and are expected to grow 280 percent by 2009. Cumulative services revenues from 2005 and 2009 are expected to be worth $69.2 Billion, of which $28.9 Billion will be from the Asia Pacific.
By looking at such aggressive global Ethernet market stats, Nan Chen, President of MEF says, “Although India is relatively new to the Carrier Ethernet revolution, the growth potential is outstanding.”
For Full Story: http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20070409/market03.shtml
Government agencies and industry stakeholders are under pressure to make the Broadband Year a success and Carrier Ethernet is the technology that can help them do just that. By Faiz Askari
"Although India is relatively new to the Carrier Ethernet revolution, the growth potential is outstanding"- Nan ChenPresident of MEF
The spotlight is upon broadband penetration in India what with 2007 having been declared as the Broadband Year, the Government is looking to achieve some rather aggressive targets.
Looking at what happened in the past vis-à-vis broadband penetration in India, it is clear that we have been struggling. On the positive side, Indian telcos have identified Ethernet as a potential driver for broadband penetration. Recently, the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) introduced Carrier Ethernet into the Indian telecom market.
Although a late starter, India will be compared with regions that have experienced explosive growth in Carrier Ethernet deployment over the past 18 months. At the same time, analysts unanimously see India as one of the potentially top global Carrier Ethernet growth markets over the next five years.
During the past one and a half years, Carrier Ethernet has become one of the biggest potential areas in the telecom markets of North America, Europe and parts of Asia. As per market reports from Infonetics Research, the Carrier Ethernet equipment market is expected to expand a further $49.6 billion over the next five years. Worldwide revenues for Ethernet Services grew to $5.9 Billion in 2005 and are expected to grow 280 percent by 2009. Cumulative services revenues from 2005 and 2009 are expected to be worth $69.2 Billion, of which $28.9 Billion will be from the Asia Pacific.
By looking at such aggressive global Ethernet market stats, Nan Chen, President of MEF says, “Although India is relatively new to the Carrier Ethernet revolution, the growth potential is outstanding.”
For Full Story: http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20070409/market03.shtml
Saturday, March 24, 2007
PCs & Workstation
PCs-the great enabler
Increased IT adoption on account of a plethora of e-governance initiatives, both central and state, lower prices and rising demand from B and C class cities are some of the factors that are boosting PC sales. By Faiz Askari
The emergence of the SMB segment and the rapid growth of the PC market in class D and E cities were two talking points in 2006. The affordability of computers and the resultant boom in PC adoption has been the biggest change in the Indian PC market in recent times.
Princy Bhatnagar, GM, Transaction Brand, Lenovo India Pvt Ltd says, “The market is growing rapidly. People are becoming more demanding. We have received an excellent response to the new features or technologies introduced by us in the last year—the Jog Dial, Face Recognition and Dolby Home Theater.”
"PCs are acting as entertainment centres with TV functionality, supported by the digital sound experience and large screen displays"
- Princy BhatnagarGM, Transaction BrandLenovo India Pvt Ltd
With the price differential between a branded PC and an assembled one dwindling, brands have the edge now. Rajendra Kumar, Executive Vice President, HCL Infosystems Limited says, “The government’s policy on levies and duties has meant that organised players are able to offer PCs at a price that is comparable to PCs from local assemblers. In terms of content, the growing availability of broadband nationwide has also added thrust to the demand for PCs.”
Increased IT adoption on account of a plethora of e-governance initiatives, both central and state, lower prices and rising demand from B and C class cities are some of the factors that are boosting PC sales. By Faiz Askari
The emergence of the SMB segment and the rapid growth of the PC market in class D and E cities were two talking points in 2006. The affordability of computers and the resultant boom in PC adoption has been the biggest change in the Indian PC market in recent times.
Princy Bhatnagar, GM, Transaction Brand, Lenovo India Pvt Ltd says, “The market is growing rapidly. People are becoming more demanding. We have received an excellent response to the new features or technologies introduced by us in the last year—the Jog Dial, Face Recognition and Dolby Home Theater.”
"PCs are acting as entertainment centres with TV functionality, supported by the digital sound experience and large screen displays"
- Princy BhatnagarGM, Transaction BrandLenovo India Pvt Ltd
With the price differential between a branded PC and an assembled one dwindling, brands have the edge now. Rajendra Kumar, Executive Vice President, HCL Infosystems Limited says, “The government’s policy on levies and duties has meant that organised players are able to offer PCs at a price that is comparable to PCs from local assemblers. In terms of content, the growing availability of broadband nationwide has also added thrust to the demand for PCs.”
MAIT found that 2.96 million PCs and notebooks were sold between April and September 2006, 19 percent more than in the same period during the last fiscal. Consumption of desktops grew by 8 percent. PC sales are projected to cross 6.5 million units in fiscal 2006-07.
India has one of the lowest PC penetration rates in the world at 18 per 1,000. Rajan Anandan, Vice President & General Manager, Dell India says, “In comparison China has 61 per 1,000, Brazil 142 per 1,000 and Russia 155 per 1,000. Although the industry sold an estimated 5.8 Million PCs in 2006, the size of the market remains relatively small when compared to China’s 22 Million plus.”
Complete Story:
Technology Feature
Voice over IP: Security issues to the fore
With the growing acceptance of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in India, enterprises have changed their way of communicating within and outside the organisation. Enterprises in India, as well as those in the rest of the world, have successfully used this technology and derived cost savings and other benefits from it. VoIP has now been adopted universally as a reliable technology alternative by which voice is transmitted over a data network. While the acceptance level of VoIP has gone up, threats are looming large with voice spam being a significant blight on the horizon. Questions remain as to how a flood of voice spam will affect the market for VoIP and how vendors selling VoIP equipment are going to tackle this challenge. By Faiz Askari
It’s boom time for VoIP in India. Nagendra Venkaswamy, Managing Director (India & SAARC), Juniper Networks says, “India has the potential to be the world’s largest market after China, due to rising broadband penetration, a huge market and the importance placed on cost savings.”
Nagendra Venkaswamy
Agreeing to the fact that VoIP is growing rapidly in India, Jayesh Kotak, Vice-president, Marketing, D-Link India highlighted another aspect of the technology, “There is no doubt that VoIP is a growing segment. However, SMBs have not been able to benefit much from this technology. The government has allowed logical partitioning, but the benefits will only be widely enjoyed when VoIP is fully deregulated.”
Minhaj Zia, Business Development Manager, Cisco Systems India & SAARC explains, “The market for VoIP services in Asia, including Japan, will grow by $one billion per year between 2005 and 2009, topping $10 billion in 2009.”
The proliferation of VoIP services across Asia-Pacific will rise as telecommunications markets open up. According to the latest report by Frost & Sullivan, this move coupled with the increasing differential between PSTN (public switched telephone network) and VoIP tariffs will ignite VoIP services to revenue growth rates exceeding 320 percent y-o-y.
Complete Story: http://www.networkmagazineindia.com/200612/coverstory04.shtml
With the growing acceptance of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in India, enterprises have changed their way of communicating within and outside the organisation. Enterprises in India, as well as those in the rest of the world, have successfully used this technology and derived cost savings and other benefits from it. VoIP has now been adopted universally as a reliable technology alternative by which voice is transmitted over a data network. While the acceptance level of VoIP has gone up, threats are looming large with voice spam being a significant blight on the horizon. Questions remain as to how a flood of voice spam will affect the market for VoIP and how vendors selling VoIP equipment are going to tackle this challenge. By Faiz Askari
It’s boom time for VoIP in India. Nagendra Venkaswamy, Managing Director (India & SAARC), Juniper Networks says, “India has the potential to be the world’s largest market after China, due to rising broadband penetration, a huge market and the importance placed on cost savings.”
Nagendra Venkaswamy
Agreeing to the fact that VoIP is growing rapidly in India, Jayesh Kotak, Vice-president, Marketing, D-Link India highlighted another aspect of the technology, “There is no doubt that VoIP is a growing segment. However, SMBs have not been able to benefit much from this technology. The government has allowed logical partitioning, but the benefits will only be widely enjoyed when VoIP is fully deregulated.”
Minhaj Zia, Business Development Manager, Cisco Systems India & SAARC explains, “The market for VoIP services in Asia, including Japan, will grow by $one billion per year between 2005 and 2009, topping $10 billion in 2009.”
The proliferation of VoIP services across Asia-Pacific will rise as telecommunications markets open up. According to the latest report by Frost & Sullivan, this move coupled with the increasing differential between PSTN (public switched telephone network) and VoIP tariffs will ignite VoIP services to revenue growth rates exceeding 320 percent y-o-y.
Complete Story: http://www.networkmagazineindia.com/200612/coverstory04.shtml
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Cabling: 10G on tap
Cabling: 10G on tap
10 Gbps over fibre has been around for a long time in the backbone. Now, as 10 Gigabit Ethernet over copper (10GbE) emerges into the sunshine, it is proving to be a viable alternative to expensive fibre optic cable. The cost differential is on account of the fact that 10G on fibre uses active components that cost eight times as much as passive ones making fibre too expensive for large-scale implementations of 10Gbps Ethernet. That’s why a copper solution was sought. 10GBASE-T is being touted as that solution. By Faiz Askari
10GBASE-T doubles the bandwidth offering a 500 MHz ‘channel’ (end-to-end) and it can work up to 330 feet offering fibre-equivalent throughput of 10 Gbps. In comparison, Cat 6 offers 250 MHz over 10 metres topping out at 1Gbps. The ratification of the IEEE standard is an important milestone as it removes specification uncertainties for the manufacturers of 10GBASE-T switches and will lead to the commercial availability of electronics within the year
10GBASE-T doubles the bandwidth offering a 500 MHz ‘channel’ (end-to-end) and it can work up to 330 feet offering fibre-equivalent throughput of 10 Gbps. In comparison, Cat 6 offers 250 MHz over 10 metres topping out at 1Gbps. The ratification of the IEEE standard is an important milestone as it removes specification uncertainties for the manufacturers of 10GBASE-T switches and will lead to the commercial availability of electronics within the year. For customers, the promise of near-term 10GbE electronics is critical in their selection of 10G Ethernet cabling system over lower performance cabling alternatives.
In terms of capability and uniqueness, in the 10Gbps network, transmission protocols like 1000Base-T need only 65 MHz of the available 200 MHz (in Cat6). This makes a Cat6 cabling solution quite stable at 1 Gbps. On the contrary the 10GBase-T will need the full 500MHz of a Cat6a-augmented solution. This means that a bad Cat 6a solution will fail faster. It also makes it riskier for customers who are going in for a Cat 6a solution, that does not provide greater headroom.
With regard to 10 GbE networks being considered a substitute for optic fibre, Shenoy states, “I disagree from the standpoint that says that fibre will be replaced by 10 GbE in the near future. I think both fibre and copper will co-exist. They have different uses and capabilities.”
Tamhane has a similar view, “10GbE transmission includes all types of fibres 10GBase SR addresses multimode fibre at short wavelength (850nm), 10GBase LR is using both multimode as well as single mode at 1310 nm wavelength and 10GBase ER is the extended range of beyond 40 km using single mode fibre at 1550 nm.”
As to whether 10GBASE-T will be an alternative to fibre optics, the answer is a clear ‘no,’ because both the media have their specific applications. The environment where one expects reasonable low electronic noise, shorter distances, less MAC (moves, adds & changes) and cheaper solutions may move to 10 GbE.
Copper vs FTTD
As to whether 10GBASE-T will be an alternative to fibre optics, the answer is a clear ‘no,’ because both the media have their specific applications. The environment where one expects reasonable low electronic noise, shorter distances, less MAC (moves, adds & changes) and cheaper solutions may move to 10 GbE
The idea of fibre to the desktop (FTTD) has been around for quite some time. Early proponents of FTTD cited problems with UTP systems and limited distances as reasons for their recommendations. There are 10GBASE-X fibre applications, and in fact, those needing 10G bandwidth have had fibre options for some time now. In evaluating copper versus FTTD, it is important to include overall network costs (including electronics), not just cabling costs.
Fibre components for 10G are expected to settle at a cost that is roughly 10x the cost of a gigabit port. On the copper side, however, the cost will be about 3x the cost of a gigabit port or roughly one third the cost of a 10G fibre port. All PCs shipping today come with 10/100/1000 Mbps copper network interfaces. In order to use FTTD, that investment will go to waste and a new fibre card will need to be procured. The same cost differential applies. It is also noteworthy that the 10GBASE-T copper chips will auto-negotiate from 10 Mbps up to 10 Gbps. This means that one chip will be used for all network connections. It is far less expensive to mass produce one chip than several varieties. As 10GBASE-T chips begin mass production, they will begin to surface in server NICs, switch ports etc.
10 Gbps over fibre has been around for a long time in the backbone. Now, as 10 Gigabit Ethernet over copper (10GbE) emerges into the sunshine, it is proving to be a viable alternative to expensive fibre optic cable. The cost differential is on account of the fact that 10G on fibre uses active components that cost eight times as much as passive ones making fibre too expensive for large-scale implementations of 10Gbps Ethernet. That’s why a copper solution was sought. 10GBASE-T is being touted as that solution. By Faiz Askari
As the density of devices in enterprise networks and data centres rises, there is an emerging need for low-cost, 10GbE over twisted-pair cabling. 10GbE copper cabling system has been verified to comply with the newly-ratified Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) 802.3an 10GBASE-T standard for 10GbE transmissions over a copper cabling system. The 10GbE over copper system was the first UTP (unshielded twisted pair) augmented Category 6 cabling system to fully comply with the IEEE 10GBASE-T standard. A 10GBASE-T standard that is in the works will support 10GbE over new wiring at distances of up to 330 feet and existing wiring at distances of up to 182 feet.
10GBASE-T doubles the bandwidth offering a 500 MHz ‘channel’ (end-to-end) and it can work up to 330 feet offering fibre-equivalent throughput of 10 Gbps. In comparison, Cat 6 offers 250 MHz over 10 metres topping out at 1Gbps. The ratification of the IEEE standard is an important milestone as it removes specification uncertainties for the manufacturers of 10GBASE-T switches and will lead to the commercial availability of electronics within the year
10GBASE-T doubles the bandwidth offering a 500 MHz ‘channel’ (end-to-end) and it can work up to 330 feet offering fibre-equivalent throughput of 10 Gbps. In comparison, Cat 6 offers 250 MHz over 10 metres topping out at 1Gbps. The ratification of the IEEE standard is an important milestone as it removes specification uncertainties for the manufacturers of 10GBASE-T switches and will lead to the commercial availability of electronics within the year. For customers, the promise of near-term 10GbE electronics is critical in their selection of 10G Ethernet cabling system over lower performance cabling alternatives.
The 10 Gigabit Ethernet Standard is an extension of the basic IEEE 802.3 standard protocols to a wire speed of 10 Gbps. As an extension, 10G is still fully Ethernet compatible and retains the key Ethernet architecture, including the Media Access Control protocol, the Ethernet frame format, and the minimum and maximum frame size. Just as Gigabit Ethernet followed the standard Ethernet model, 10G continues the evolution in speed while using virtually the same architecture that’s been used in other Ethernet specifications. 10G can be deployed with existing network equipment retaining the existing principles of network operation and management.
Rajesh Shenoy
Rajesh Shenoy
There are specific cases—for e.g. data centres, SAN—where there are genuine requirements for such transmission rates. As of now, though, penetration is low. Rajesh R Shenoy, Business Head, Building Network Group, Belden explains, “Today customers are waiting for a switch manufacturer to come out with a robust 10Gbase-T switch. People are waiting to hear from switch vendors. Cisco and Foundry seem to be ready for a launch in the coming months. With this the market may move forward. This segment has good prospects in the near future.”
Gaurav Sharma, Senior Consultant, WAN specialist, Network Solutions comments, “10GbE over copper’s popularity is definitely picking up in India. A lot of interest has been generated for this in the last year or so. As modern day applications are bandwidth-hungry and require lower latency, enterprises and financial institutions including banks are evaluating 10GbE as a solution for their data centres or Storage Area Networks (SANs) as it merges with the existing Ethernet infrastructures.”
Gaurav Sharma, Senior Consultant, WAN specialist, Network Solutions comments, “10GbE over copper’s popularity is definitely picking up in India. A lot of interest has been generated for this in the last year or so. As modern day applications are bandwidth-hungry and require lower latency, enterprises and financial institutions including banks are evaluating 10GbE as a solution for their data centres or Storage Area Networks (SANs) as it merges with the existing Ethernet infrastructures.”
Although, at this point of time, 10Gbps over copper has found few takers in India, once support over active devices, especially switches, becomes available, the technology should take off.
Eliminating external noise
Milind Tamhane
Eliminating external noise
Milind Tamhane
10GBASE-T solves an important issue with Cat6. As transmission rates climb and signals extend into higher frequencies, other noise sources come into play; external noise source and alien crosstalk (ANEXT) that’s caused by signal coupling between adjacent cabling channels. Although the magnitude of alien crosstalk is usually less than crosstalk (NEXT) within the cable, its effect on channel capacity is greater because it is more difficult to suppress ANEXT through digital signal processing techniques commonly used in today’s equipment.
Says Milind Tamhane, Vice-president, Manufacturing, D-Link India: “These are more robust cables, predominantly shielded varieties though there are solutions with UTP, that are popular in India. More systematic cable dressings to avoid alien crosstalk, superior jacks and plugs are required.”
Drivers for 10GbE
Demand for bandwidth has shot up as a result of the way businesses are using networking to improve productivity. The development of enhanced client-server applications, and convergence of voice, data, and video have also fuelled this demand. Sharma of NetSol explains, “The high demand for bandwidth has resulted in an increased demand for higher speed switches and routers. To help fill this gap, the IEEE has formed a task force to develop a standard for 10GbE over structured copper cabling.” Tamhane of D-Link points out, “Issues like a 10-fold speed boost in connectivity and the convenience of using copper, are key drivers for this technology in the Indian market.”
Bandwidth-hungry applications, proliferation of data centres, switches with the 10G capabilities and faster speed and higher uptime are all factors that are expected to boost the adoption of 10GbE.
Higher bandwidth and ‘future proofing’
LAN backbones are expected to adopt this technology at the earliest. 10GbE will encompass all IP networks across the enterprise. It is the preferred LAN backbone connectivity option today. With 100 Mbps Ethernet to each desktop and 10GbE connecting the wiring closet switches to the backbone, 10 GbE provides a scalable interconnection between the LAN backbone switches. Most enterprises are already migrating to 10GbE on the desktop. It is the preferred interconnect for most enterprises and is expected to be deployed for applications such as video streaming to the desktop, aggregations between server farm and service provider data centres, data centre communication from LAN switches to storage networks, and grid computing. It is consequently being adopted in desktop and server farms, on campuses.
Dabinder Singh, Head, IT, Greenply Industries says, “10GbE copper technology is perfect for load balancing and we are also evaluating the technology for last mile connectivity at selected locations. The technology is helpful where zero delay is required for resource-intensive applications such as ERP, CRM or SCM.”
Daya Prakash, Senior Manager, IT, LG CNS Global adds, “10GbE over copper will help speed up throughput and in case the Internet Service Provider uses this technology it will help provide optimum reliability to users. This technology can be a boon for mission-critical applications such as ERP and for messaging and collaboration. It is also beneficial for video streaming.”
In the Indian scenario, 10GbE is already being used within buildings for LAN uplinks. For example, 10GbE uplinks from the switches to the core are expected to happen in six to eight months. In the case of inter-switch links, situations where two large Ethernet switches have to communicate, 10GbE is a must
In the Indian scenario, 10GbE is already being used within buildings for LAN uplinks. For example, 10GbE uplinks from the switches to the core are expected to happen in six to eight months. In the case of inter-switch links, situations where two large Ethernet switches have to communicate, 10GbE is a must
In the Indian scenario, 10GbE is already being used within buildings for LAN uplinks. For example, 10GbE uplinks from the switches to the core are expected to happen in six to eight months. In the case of inter-switch links, situations where two large Ethernet switches have to communicate, 10GbE is a must. On the server side NICs will be 10GbE. In green-field set-ups large businesses will consider 10GbE on copper to ‘future-proof’ their network because it is difficult to replace cabling inside walls and in ducts under floors. The rationale behind this is that cabling will last for at least eight to 10 years and will support four to five generations of equipment during that time.
10GbE over copper is expected to bring in change in IP SANs that will move towards 10GbE as it offers a simplified and cost-effective interconnect mechanism when compared to other technologies that are available. Cabling vendors are of the opinion that the adoption of 10GbE over copper will make high-speed IP SANs a viable option.
An alternative to fibre?
In terms of capability and uniqueness, in the 10Gbps network, transmission protocols like 1000Base-T need only 65 MHz of the available 200 MHz (in Cat6). This makes a Cat6 cabling solution quite stable at 1 Gbps. On the contrary the 10GBase-T will need the full 500MHz of a Cat6a-augmented solution. This means that a bad Cat 6a solution will fail faster. It also makes it riskier for customers who are going in for a Cat 6a solution, that does not provide greater headroom.
With regard to 10 GbE networks being considered a substitute for optic fibre, Shenoy states, “I disagree from the standpoint that says that fibre will be replaced by 10 GbE in the near future. I think both fibre and copper will co-exist. They have different uses and capabilities.”
Tamhane has a similar view, “10GbE transmission includes all types of fibres 10GBase SR addresses multimode fibre at short wavelength (850nm), 10GBase LR is using both multimode as well as single mode at 1310 nm wavelength and 10GBase ER is the extended range of beyond 40 km using single mode fibre at 1550 nm.”
As to whether 10GBASE-T will be an alternative to fibre optics, the answer is a clear ‘no,’ because both the media have their specific applications. The environment where one expects reasonable low electronic noise, shorter distances, less MAC (moves, adds & changes) and cheaper solutions may move to 10 GbE.
Copper vs FTTD
As to whether 10GBASE-T will be an alternative to fibre optics, the answer is a clear ‘no,’ because both the media have their specific applications. The environment where one expects reasonable low electronic noise, shorter distances, less MAC (moves, adds & changes) and cheaper solutions may move to 10 GbE
The idea of fibre to the desktop (FTTD) has been around for quite some time. Early proponents of FTTD cited problems with UTP systems and limited distances as reasons for their recommendations. There are 10GBASE-X fibre applications, and in fact, those needing 10G bandwidth have had fibre options for some time now. In evaluating copper versus FTTD, it is important to include overall network costs (including electronics), not just cabling costs.
Fibre components for 10G are expected to settle at a cost that is roughly 10x the cost of a gigabit port. On the copper side, however, the cost will be about 3x the cost of a gigabit port or roughly one third the cost of a 10G fibre port. All PCs shipping today come with 10/100/1000 Mbps copper network interfaces. In order to use FTTD, that investment will go to waste and a new fibre card will need to be procured. The same cost differential applies. It is also noteworthy that the 10GBASE-T copper chips will auto-negotiate from 10 Mbps up to 10 Gbps. This means that one chip will be used for all network connections. It is far less expensive to mass produce one chip than several varieties. As 10GBASE-T chips begin mass production, they will begin to surface in server NICs, switch ports etc.
Challenges ahead
In any growing market, identifying initial challenges and how to deal with them is a decisive factor in a technology’s future. 10GbE networks are gaining ground but some challenges remain to be tackled.
Highlighting key elements that need to be worked upon, Shenoy says, “Customer awareness is low as to what a real 10GbE solution is. Customers take a call on the basis of market perception rather than the technical reality. This could hamper adoption of this technology in the long run. 10GbE vendors should show the path by telling the customer what the pros and cons of going for a Cat6a solution are as the technology hasn’t been ratified yet.”
Sharma states, “The future of 10GbE market is definitely bright in India. To quote the data from a survey done in India, it was quite evident that nearly 50 percent of organisations understood the importance of upgrading their networks and considered future-proofing their backbone cabling infrastructure using the latest 10G Ethernet equipment.”
Convergence: Unified Communications
Large organisations will adopt unified communications, which is IP telephony, unified messaging, voice mail, Web conferencing and videoconferencing all rolled into one. These solutions reduce intra-office and long-distance communication costs. At the same time, they boost productivity by means of a range of applications such as e-conferencing and collaboration, call accounting and billing, and of course unified messaging, to mention a few. By Faiz Askari
When done right, unified communications (UC) can reduce downtime that’s implicit in any interaction. Consider this: according to an AT&T study, more than 70 percent of business calls are placed on hold for an average of 45 to 60 seconds each. The average executive spends 17 minutes each day on hold, and some 80 percent of phone calls end up in voice mail. UC curbs the wastage of time by letting users reach the right person at the right time through their preferred mode of contact. This goes way beyond slashing hold times or staying clear of voice mail. It means organising information faster and getting that information to the right person in a usable format when the recipient needs it most.
Dabinder Singh, Head, IT, Greenply Industries says, “Through UC, costs are significantly reduced. If there is an organisation having 40 to 50 locations across the country, all their telephones will be treated as an intercom and there will be a single Internet connection to link multiple offices. Basically, there will be a single access point and the end-result will be an integrated network.”
Checklist
Technologies such as packet switching, firewall/NAT traversal and encryption. Bridging products to bridge analog and digital telephony, and provide support for PSTN, ISDN, IP (H.323 and SIP) networks. Devices encompassing a wide variety of computers, laptops, phones and PDAs. Standards such as SIP for call signalling, or IMS to architecture a converged solution.
Sourav Roy, IT Infrastructure Manager, LG Electronics India says, “A single integrated network is easy to manage as there are no multiple tools or network infrastructure to manage. In the long run it can be a great cost-saver for organisations as they will have to deal with a single ISV rather than multiple providers.”
Although that’s always been a business goal, and stand-alone tools that work towards that end have long been available, leading applications vendors are now investing in this space. By building UC into their software, they plan to embed voice, IM, video and presence into the fabric of business applications, with little change to the client desktop. Minimal change means lower cost and less resistance from both end-users and the bean counters.
According to Ranajoy Punja, Vice-president, Business Development, Advanced Technology, Cisco Systems India & Saarc, “UC solutions offer migration at an organisation’s preferred pace. By integrating with most major legacy PBXs and voice-mail systems, as well as mission-critical business applications, most leading IP players empower customers to migrate based on their business needs rather than on account of technological limitations.”
Adds Kiran Bhagwanani, Vice-president, APAC Sales, HCL Comnet, “High rates of VoIP adoption, availability of advanced services such as unified messaging, tele-presence and rich-media conferencing (RMC), along with the inherent benefit of having application integration and ease of use, are the driving factors for the growth of UC. Deployments of UC solutions help customers derive high levels of efficiency from resources, be more productive, and reduce costs.”
According to Yugal Sharma, Country Manager, India & Saarc, Polycom, “UC enables users to integrate some form of data conferencing using a companion PC, integrated software, or attached electronic whiteboard to bring photos, spreadsheets, drawings or text documents into a ‘meeting.’” Video streaming technology gives users the ability to hear or view a file in real-time without downloading it first. “Products today are equally adept at streaming video from a live feed or from archived files on a server. Streaming is fast becoming a highly effective way to sell, market, communicate or train employees over a corporate LAN as well as the Internet,” adds Sharma.
Notes Rajnish Gupta, Director of Marketing at Tadiran Telecom India, “UC is an area which has been and which will see a lot of activity in the near future. With the advent of new technology and bigger and stronger backbones, UC requirements will multiply manifold. There is a lot of work going on in this regard i.e. convergence of technologies and end-user equipment. There’s more activity from every side, be it voice equipment (PBX) manufacturers, cellular infrastructure manufacturers or data equipment (LAN switches, routers) makers.”
Factors Spurring UC Adoption
Reduced cost of communication: Enterprises can leverage IP telephony for voice communications in a CUG, and drive down expenditure on communications.
Improved employee productivity: Enhanced applications such as unified messaging and call centre solutions enhance employee productivity.
A single network saves on operational costs: It is also easy to manage. UC solutions allow enterprises to invest in a converged communication infrastructure that will deliver voice, video and data communications to the enterprise desktop. In fact, the use of IP-telephony to terminate voice traffic by enterprises is seen to be the market with the maximum potential in the future.
Integrated voice, video and Web collaboration: Integrate all three into the same conference.
Ad hoc conference service support: This is true regardless of the communications media being used.
Many technologies on a single platter
Enterprises today are looking forward to leading-edge technology, flexible conferences, lexible deployment, common management suites, highly scalable solutions, secure VoIP conferencing, embedded multipoint options and more in video conferencing solutions
India is one of the fastest growing UC markets in the Asia Pacific. Some technologies which are already available in the Indian market are IP telephony, unified messaging, video telephony, audio/Web/video conferencing, collaboration solutions, instant messaging and customer contact services, all integrated with each other and with the messaging and business applications.
Informs Punja, “Some new technologies which are being launched are presence- or location-based services using the SIP protocol, and tele-presence, which is high-definition, life-size video conferencing integrated with an IP telephony system. Enterprise mobility is another application which is going to see a lot of action next year with the launch of clients for cellular phones which provide all UC applications for a mobile workforce.”
Sharma says, “Enterprises today are looking forward to leading-edge technology, flexible conferences, flexible deployment, common management suites, highly scalable solutions, secure VoIP conferencing, embedded multipoint options and more in video conferencing solutions.” The system can be used for scheduled or ad hoc meetings, and plays a crucial role in enhancing productivity. Access to, and sharing of information, plays a vital role in corporate meetings as we have them today. Video conferencing enables easy sharing of any type of information, instantly arming the participants with the necessary and required knowledge. This in the long run is extremely important for swift analysis and decision making, bringing products to the market, and gaining an edge over competitors.
Comments Bhagwanani, “RMC supports a mix of voice, video, Web and data, with instant messaging capabilities and the ability to access systems from a mix of touch points. End-users in an RMC environment can be a mix of PSTN, IP, Web and video endpoints, and they all get a seamless experience with the system providing a unique end-user experience irrespective of the mode of connectivity.” Tele-presence is another area which is expected to grow in a big way. We have already seen a highly mobile workforce in India thanks to broadband and wireless data access, so the next obvious step is tele-presence to complete the enterprise-class tele-worker experience.
Convergence in action
UC’s potential is high in India, and with better telecom infrastructure, high bandwidth connectivity through MPLS, Metro Ethernet and broadband, and favourable regulations, we will soon see enterprise adoption of UC
UC is an important part of the convergence of computers, telephones and television into a single integrated information environment. Giving an overview of some of the differentiating factors in UC, Punja states, “UC includes IP telephony, unified messaging, voice mail, customer contact and audio, Web and videoconferencing solutions.”
Bhagwanani points out that while convergence is the differentiating factor, some of the critical aspects that need to be kept in mind are quality of service since most of the infrastructure is IP-based with the ability to interconnect to other systems using standard protocols. Most of the solutions available today have incorporated both these aspects, hence we will see a lot of UC deployments where customers can re-use their existing investments in voice and video and still avail of the latest converged services.
Convergence is part and parcel of UC. Some critical factors strengthening UC’s sales proposition are:
Issues such as security, reliability and ease of maintenance are critical in the case of UC. The other major area of concern that an IT manager should look into is the use of standard equipment i.e. equipment that conforms to standards as opposed to equipment that uses proprietary standards.
IT managers want UC solutions that offer lower TCO and high RoI. Punja says, “Operating a converged enterprise network requires optimisation to guarantee that all applications receive the service levels required to meet performance expectations. ‘Throwing bandwidth at the problem’ is not a solution. Rather, adequate bandwidth provisioning is an important aspect of quality-of-service.” Lastly, inter-operability is also a concern while adopting UC solutions because enterprises are increasingly adding value to existing servers or infrastructure by running UC applications on top of existing infrastructure.
States Sharma, “In terms of CIO priorities, there are several components of UC to carefully look into. These include the voice and data network infrastructure, handsets, end-points, enterprise audio, video and Web conferencing, and the software and services for integration and collaboration.”
A tough call
Even if the business office buys in [UC], choosing the right UC architecture isn’t going to be easy. Virtually every supplier targeting the enterprise market with IP PBX, Web conferencing, IM or videoconferencing equipment offers elements of an enterprise-grade UC solution. Competing vendors often partner with one another, creating more choices—and more complexity for the beleaguered IT department. Nor is the distinction between infrastructure and application vendors clearly delineated. Presence, for example, is a critical component both of the infrastructure and the application, and is provided by just about all UC vendors. Application and infrastructure vendors also provide session-setup and resource-location functions. However, the decision as to who will own these core UC system capabilities isn’t clear. For these reasons, businesses must begin their evaluation of UC architectures at the endpoint. Integration with a leading desktop supplier is critical if UC is to become a part of the business process and enjoy widespread adoption.
Concludes Bhagwanani: “UC’s potential is high in India, and with better telecom infrastructure, high bandwidth connectivity through MPLS, Metro Ethernet and broadband, and favourable regulations, we will soon see enterprise adoption of UC for their communication and productivity requirements.”
Large organisations will adopt unified communications, which is IP telephony, unified messaging, voice mail, Web conferencing and videoconferencing all rolled into one. These solutions reduce intra-office and long-distance communication costs. At the same time, they boost productivity by means of a range of applications such as e-conferencing and collaboration, call accounting and billing, and of course unified messaging, to mention a few. By Faiz Askari
When done right, unified communications (UC) can reduce downtime that’s implicit in any interaction. Consider this: according to an AT&T study, more than 70 percent of business calls are placed on hold for an average of 45 to 60 seconds each. The average executive spends 17 minutes each day on hold, and some 80 percent of phone calls end up in voice mail. UC curbs the wastage of time by letting users reach the right person at the right time through their preferred mode of contact. This goes way beyond slashing hold times or staying clear of voice mail. It means organising information faster and getting that information to the right person in a usable format when the recipient needs it most.
Dabinder Singh, Head, IT, Greenply Industries says, “Through UC, costs are significantly reduced. If there is an organisation having 40 to 50 locations across the country, all their telephones will be treated as an intercom and there will be a single Internet connection to link multiple offices. Basically, there will be a single access point and the end-result will be an integrated network.”
Checklist
Although that’s always been a business goal, and stand-alone tools that work towards that end have long been available, leading applications vendors are now investing in this space. By building UC into their software, they plan to embed voice, IM, video and presence into the fabric of business applications, with little change to the client desktop. Minimal change means lower cost and less resistance from both end-users and the bean counters.
According to Ranajoy Punja, Vice-president, Business Development, Advanced Technology, Cisco Systems India & Saarc, “UC solutions offer migration at an organisation’s preferred pace. By integrating with most major legacy PBXs and voice-mail systems, as well as mission-critical business applications, most leading IP players empower customers to migrate based on their business needs rather than on account of technological limitations.”
Adds Kiran Bhagwanani, Vice-president, APAC Sales, HCL Comnet, “High rates of VoIP adoption, availability of advanced services such as unified messaging, tele-presence and rich-media conferencing (RMC), along with the inherent benefit of having application integration and ease of use, are the driving factors for the growth of UC. Deployments of UC solutions help customers derive high levels of efficiency from resources, be more productive, and reduce costs.”
According to Yugal Sharma, Country Manager, India & Saarc, Polycom, “UC enables users to integrate some form of data conferencing using a companion PC, integrated software, or attached electronic whiteboard to bring photos, spreadsheets, drawings or text documents into a ‘meeting.’” Video streaming technology gives users the ability to hear or view a file in real-time without downloading it first. “Products today are equally adept at streaming video from a live feed or from archived files on a server. Streaming is fast becoming a highly effective way to sell, market, communicate or train employees over a corporate LAN as well as the Internet,” adds Sharma.
Notes Rajnish Gupta, Director of Marketing at Tadiran Telecom India, “UC is an area which has been and which will see a lot of activity in the near future. With the advent of new technology and bigger and stronger backbones, UC requirements will multiply manifold. There is a lot of work going on in this regard i.e. convergence of technologies and end-user equipment. There’s more activity from every side, be it voice equipment (PBX) manufacturers, cellular infrastructure manufacturers or data equipment (LAN switches, routers) makers.”
Factors Spurring UC Adoption
Reduced cost of communication: Enterprises can leverage IP telephony for voice communications in a CUG, and drive down expenditure on communications.
Improved employee productivity: Enhanced applications such as unified messaging and call centre solutions enhance employee productivity.
A single network saves on operational costs: It is also easy to manage. UC solutions allow enterprises to invest in a converged communication infrastructure that will deliver voice, video and data communications to the enterprise desktop. In fact, the use of IP-telephony to terminate voice traffic by enterprises is seen to be the market with the maximum potential in the future.
Integrated voice, video and Web collaboration: Integrate all three into the same conference.
Ad hoc conference service support: This is true regardless of the communications media being used.
Many technologies on a single platter
Enterprises today are looking forward to leading-edge technology, flexible conferences, lexible deployment, common management suites, highly scalable solutions, secure VoIP conferencing, embedded multipoint options and more in video conferencing solutions
India is one of the fastest growing UC markets in the Asia Pacific. Some technologies which are already available in the Indian market are IP telephony, unified messaging, video telephony, audio/Web/video conferencing, collaboration solutions, instant messaging and customer contact services, all integrated with each other and with the messaging and business applications.
Informs Punja, “Some new technologies which are being launched are presence- or location-based services using the SIP protocol, and tele-presence, which is high-definition, life-size video conferencing integrated with an IP telephony system. Enterprise mobility is another application which is going to see a lot of action next year with the launch of clients for cellular phones which provide all UC applications for a mobile workforce.”
Sharma says, “Enterprises today are looking forward to leading-edge technology, flexible conferences, flexible deployment, common management suites, highly scalable solutions, secure VoIP conferencing, embedded multipoint options and more in video conferencing solutions.” The system can be used for scheduled or ad hoc meetings, and plays a crucial role in enhancing productivity. Access to, and sharing of information, plays a vital role in corporate meetings as we have them today. Video conferencing enables easy sharing of any type of information, instantly arming the participants with the necessary and required knowledge. This in the long run is extremely important for swift analysis and decision making, bringing products to the market, and gaining an edge over competitors.
Comments Bhagwanani, “RMC supports a mix of voice, video, Web and data, with instant messaging capabilities and the ability to access systems from a mix of touch points. End-users in an RMC environment can be a mix of PSTN, IP, Web and video endpoints, and they all get a seamless experience with the system providing a unique end-user experience irrespective of the mode of connectivity.” Tele-presence is another area which is expected to grow in a big way. We have already seen a highly mobile workforce in India thanks to broadband and wireless data access, so the next obvious step is tele-presence to complete the enterprise-class tele-worker experience.
Convergence in action
UC’s potential is high in India, and with better telecom infrastructure, high bandwidth connectivity through MPLS, Metro Ethernet and broadband, and favourable regulations, we will soon see enterprise adoption of UC
UC is an important part of the convergence of computers, telephones and television into a single integrated information environment. Giving an overview of some of the differentiating factors in UC, Punja states, “UC includes IP telephony, unified messaging, voice mail, customer contact and audio, Web and videoconferencing solutions.”
Bhagwanani points out that while convergence is the differentiating factor, some of the critical aspects that need to be kept in mind are quality of service since most of the infrastructure is IP-based with the ability to interconnect to other systems using standard protocols. Most of the solutions available today have incorporated both these aspects, hence we will see a lot of UC deployments where customers can re-use their existing investments in voice and video and still avail of the latest converged services.
Convergence is part and parcel of UC. Some critical factors strengthening UC’s sales proposition are:
- Availability of bandwidth and the cost of the same coming down.
- Availability of various applications which enhance the use of hardware and bandwidth.
- Dispersed teams use different technology to communicate, and their need to communicate has acted as a catalyst for UC.
Issues such as security, reliability and ease of maintenance are critical in the case of UC. The other major area of concern that an IT manager should look into is the use of standard equipment i.e. equipment that conforms to standards as opposed to equipment that uses proprietary standards.
IT managers want UC solutions that offer lower TCO and high RoI. Punja says, “Operating a converged enterprise network requires optimisation to guarantee that all applications receive the service levels required to meet performance expectations. ‘Throwing bandwidth at the problem’ is not a solution. Rather, adequate bandwidth provisioning is an important aspect of quality-of-service.” Lastly, inter-operability is also a concern while adopting UC solutions because enterprises are increasingly adding value to existing servers or infrastructure by running UC applications on top of existing infrastructure.
States Sharma, “In terms of CIO priorities, there are several components of UC to carefully look into. These include the voice and data network infrastructure, handsets, end-points, enterprise audio, video and Web conferencing, and the software and services for integration and collaboration.”
A tough call
Even if the business office buys in [UC], choosing the right UC architecture isn’t going to be easy. Virtually every supplier targeting the enterprise market with IP PBX, Web conferencing, IM or videoconferencing equipment offers elements of an enterprise-grade UC solution. Competing vendors often partner with one another, creating more choices—and more complexity for the beleaguered IT department. Nor is the distinction between infrastructure and application vendors clearly delineated. Presence, for example, is a critical component both of the infrastructure and the application, and is provided by just about all UC vendors. Application and infrastructure vendors also provide session-setup and resource-location functions. However, the decision as to who will own these core UC system capabilities isn’t clear. For these reasons, businesses must begin their evaluation of UC architectures at the endpoint. Integration with a leading desktop supplier is critical if UC is to become a part of the business process and enjoy widespread adoption.
Concludes Bhagwanani: “UC’s potential is high in India, and with better telecom infrastructure, high bandwidth connectivity through MPLS, Metro Ethernet and broadband, and favourable regulations, we will soon see enterprise adoption of UC for their communication and productivity requirements.”
The next big thing in offshoring
The next big thing in offshoring
A large talent pool and requisite infrastructure are the key reasons why India has the potential to control 25 to 30 per cent of the offshore engineering design services market by 2020, writes Faiz Askari.
First it was software development that was outsourced by companies in the US to offshore service providers. Then it was the turn of the BPO segment. Now experts believe there’s another offshoring wave looming to hit the Indian shores—Engineering Design Outsourcing.
"The strong track record of Indian vendors in BPO and ITO is also likely to boost the confidence of would-be global clients regarding India’s capabilities"- Sunil MehtaVice-President, Nasscom
Recently, Nasscom in association with Booz Allen Hamilton, released a study on this industry segment that takes a systematic and comprehensive view of the role of emerging markets in engineering services and assess the evolution of the engineering market between 2005 and 2020.
Both existing vendors as well as captive centres are expected to flourish in this space. “There is room for growth in both the size of existing vendors and captive operations, and for new entrants. To prosper, engineering offshoring requires a vibrant ecosystem, a strong set of capabilities, the ability to scale across various technical disciplines, and a strong support infrastructure,” says Sunil Mehta, Vice-president, Nasscom.
"Most MNCs have a strategy to deal with India and China. India has some unique opportunities that can be leveraged using its existing IT infrastructure"- Ved NarayanVice-President, Asia-Pacific SolidWorks
Based on the current momentum of the market it should generate about $3 to 5 billion by 2010.
Ved Narayan Vice-president, Asia-Pacific, SolidWorks explains, “Most MNCs have a strategy to deal with India and China. India has some unique opportunities that can be leveraged using its existing IT infrastructure. The country has a world-class industry today with established business processes and working knowledge of how to interact with multinationals.”
The Indian IT industry needs to tap the latent need for outsourcing engineering design that exists t MNCs. Statistics reveal that third-party service providers are much better at delivering cost savings than captive centres.
G H Rao, Corporate Vice-president, HCL observes, “Engineering functions have been successfully offshored to India in the past. Initial estimates of cost savings from offshoring, once thought to be aggressive, have turned out to be on the mark. An examination of the results from offshoring engineering services has brought out some interesting findings. While India-based captive centres delivered higher cost savings than a vendor-based model, in line with initial expectations, vendors outperformed the captive model when the actual cost benefits were compared to the initial estimates. In addition, captive models underperformed relative to expectations, while independent service vendors outperformed expectations.”
India as a hub for design engineering
Some key drivers of Indian design engineering outsourcing market are:
Availability of talent
India has a large talent pool suited to meet the demands of the offshoring industry, with new graduates entering the pool every year. About 2,20,000 engineers with four-year degree are estimated to have graduated in 2005. About 1,95,000 engineers with three-year diplomas were also added to the talent pool in 2005.
Variety
Seven types of providers exist in India’s engineering services space.
Critical mass to support ESO is in place
The current supply-side scenario is dominated by non-captive models that includes joint ventures and vendor-based models.
Quality standards are being followed
India’s experience with international markets in the IT and business process offshoring markets have brought home the value of and need for globally acceptable delivery standards.
Advantage India
India has some inherent strengths that could well transform it into a potential powerhouse when it comes to engineering services. At the top of the list is the widespread availability of highly-skilled, English-speaking engineers. India accounts for 28 percent of all of the available ESO and BPO talent in low-cost countries. The next largest source of low-cost talent, Russia and China, contribute only 11 and 10 percent, respectively.
Mehta of Nasscom says, “The strong track record of Indian vendors in BPO and ITO is also likely to boost the confidence of would-be global clients regarding India’s capabilities. It’s hardly a secret that many marquee names have found India to be a reliable service partner. Indeed, many multinationals could easily have an ‘India Inside’ label printed on their products.”
He adds, “A third positive factor for India is the fact that many vendors who will evolve into engineering services providers are likely to have already gained a great deal of experience winning and retaining BPO and ITO contracts. The delivery models are well-established, and after a decade or more in business, these vendors are likely to have developed the ability to maintain a high level of quality control.”
“India has a large market for domestic goods which will help drive market growth and, ultimately, the engineering to support that market. The fact that the country is English-speaking will continue to help domestic companies establish overseas relationships and strengthen its position in the global marketplace,” says Narayan of SolidWorks.
Pavan Kumar, Managing Director, Altair Engineering, India & ASEAN highlights another aspect, “Initially India was considered as an outsourcing destination purely from the cost perspective in the design engineering domain which resulted in low-end work being outsourced to the country, but today, innovation is critical in any design development process, and global players are setting up design centres to leverage the base of experienced engineers coupled with the cost advantage to outsource high-end engineering. The cost-value proposition is one of the principal reasons for attracting global players.”
Coming into favour
By 2020, industry estimates peg India’s share of the ESO market at as much as 25 to 30 percent of a $150 to 225 billion market—$50 billion in annual revenue. This is considered achievable provided the country builds the capacities, capabilities, infrastructure, and international reputation it needs to become a preferred destination for these complex, high-value services.
Rising global spending
Rao of HCL says, “The global spend on engineering services has been growing at a high rate, in keeping with the emphasis on product development and innovation. Across sectors, spend on engineering services is expected to maintain its high rate of growth.”
That said, some sectors will outperform in terms of spending on engineering—sectors like high-tech and telecom will continue to lead driven by the pace of product introductions and the global nature of their products.
Bejoy George, Vice-president (Marketing & Business Development), Quest Global states, “Companies are racing toward building an optimal innovation footprint. The reason why US-based companies are outsourcing these services to emerging countries will change over time because these markets can offer a lot more than labour arbitrage. Countries are positioning themselves as sources for innovation, offering a number of incentives and also forcing corporations to invest locally in innovation as a fee to operate in the local market.”
“Lower cost is the primary reason why companies look to offshore engineering services at present,” acknowledges Mehta.
Narayan of SolidWorks informs, “From the CAD perspective, clearly, 3D design technology has the potential. If we are going to reach the mainstream market, the largest number of potential users to adopt 3D in the future will be people who are using 2D systems today.”
Kumar of Altair adds, “Virtual Validation and Prototyping (Computer Aided Engineering or CAE) is the biggest trend driving the market from our perspective. Whether it is crash analysis of cars, optimisation of heavy automotive and aerospace structures, drop-testing cell phones and electric appliances, CAE is the vital component that is helping reduce prototyping costs and development timelines.”
On the road to becoming an ESO hub
Mehta of Nasscom says, “We are looking at capturing $40 billion of the world’s offshored engineering business. This would require a concerted effort by business and government, something which is almost unprecedented in India but is familiar to fast-growing Asian markets, such as Singapore. To get there, stakeholders in India, from within the business community and elsewhere, will need to take six key steps to make India an attractive, and viable destination.”
Build an Engineered-in-India brand: A concerted marketing effort to build awareness of Indian engineering expertise could multiply opportunities for Indian ESO firms. A separate trade organisation or group within Nasscom dedicated to the promotion of Indian engineering could help elevate global recognition of India’s engineering capabilities. Such a group would create trade shows, and establish outreach offices in key markets around the world, such as San Francisco, Stuttgart, Detroit, Paris and Tokyo.
Some points that need to be taken care of;
Improving domain expertise
Focussing on the creation of infrastructure
Improving the workforce in terms of quality and quantity
Promoting R&D and encouraging MNCs to expand their Indian engineering presence
Sector-specific quality standards
Automotive
Intellectual capital 6150, Spice, ISO/TS16949, TUV certificate, APQP, PPAP (Production standard)
Aerospace
AS/EN 9100, iQMS, BS7799, CEMILAC, FAA, approvals by DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), ISO/IEC 27001, Other customer-specific requirements
High-Tech/Telecom
TL9000, CMMi Level 5, PCMMi Level 5
India on the ESO map
Global spending for engineering services is currently estimated at $750 billion per year, an amount that nearly equals India’s entire gross domestic product.
By 2020, worldwide spending on engineering services is expected to increase to more than $1 trillion. Of the $750 billion spent today, only $10 to 15 billion is currently being offshored—a tiny fraction. India brings home about 12 per cent of today’s offshored market, which it has to share with Canada, China, Mexico, and Eastern Europe.
“India’s share of the global ESO market could take off at the same time as worldwide demand for ESO increases. India has the potential to control 20 to 25 percent of the global market for offshored engineering services by 2010. By 2020, that number could be 25 to 30 percent, or $50 billion of the expected $150 to 225 billion market,” says Mehta of Nasscom.
A key consideration for India in its bid to become the dominant player in offshored engineering services is competition from other low-cost countries such as Nigeria, Philippines and Vietnam.
Mehta adds, “When it comes to high-end, complex tasks, the most likely scenario is that India and China will bring home the most contracts, since there are few (if any) countries that can pose a threat, given their lack of scale relative to these two. Although there are many countries that have positioned themselves in this space including China, Taiwan and Korea, the Indian engineering market has emerged as a dynamic sector in the country.”
“The window of opportunity is short and if all the right cards are played, India will be able to capitalise on the expected increase in global engineering services,” concludes George of Quest Global.
A large talent pool and requisite infrastructure are the key reasons why India has the potential to control 25 to 30 per cent of the offshore engineering design services market by 2020, writes Faiz Askari.
First it was software development that was outsourced by companies in the US to offshore service providers. Then it was the turn of the BPO segment. Now experts believe there’s another offshoring wave looming to hit the Indian shores—Engineering Design Outsourcing.
"The strong track record of Indian vendors in BPO and ITO is also likely to boost the confidence of would-be global clients regarding India’s capabilities"- Sunil MehtaVice-President, Nasscom
Recently, Nasscom in association with Booz Allen Hamilton, released a study on this industry segment that takes a systematic and comprehensive view of the role of emerging markets in engineering services and assess the evolution of the engineering market between 2005 and 2020.
Both existing vendors as well as captive centres are expected to flourish in this space. “There is room for growth in both the size of existing vendors and captive operations, and for new entrants. To prosper, engineering offshoring requires a vibrant ecosystem, a strong set of capabilities, the ability to scale across various technical disciplines, and a strong support infrastructure,” says Sunil Mehta, Vice-president, Nasscom.
"Most MNCs have a strategy to deal with India and China. India has some unique opportunities that can be leveraged using its existing IT infrastructure"- Ved NarayanVice-President, Asia-Pacific SolidWorks
Based on the current momentum of the market it should generate about $3 to 5 billion by 2010.
Ved Narayan Vice-president, Asia-Pacific, SolidWorks explains, “Most MNCs have a strategy to deal with India and China. India has some unique opportunities that can be leveraged using its existing IT infrastructure. The country has a world-class industry today with established business processes and working knowledge of how to interact with multinationals.”
The Indian IT industry needs to tap the latent need for outsourcing engineering design that exists t MNCs. Statistics reveal that third-party service providers are much better at delivering cost savings than captive centres.
G H Rao, Corporate Vice-president, HCL observes, “Engineering functions have been successfully offshored to India in the past. Initial estimates of cost savings from offshoring, once thought to be aggressive, have turned out to be on the mark. An examination of the results from offshoring engineering services has brought out some interesting findings. While India-based captive centres delivered higher cost savings than a vendor-based model, in line with initial expectations, vendors outperformed the captive model when the actual cost benefits were compared to the initial estimates. In addition, captive models underperformed relative to expectations, while independent service vendors outperformed expectations.”
India as a hub for design engineering
Some key drivers of Indian design engineering outsourcing market are:
Availability of talent
India has a large talent pool suited to meet the demands of the offshoring industry, with new graduates entering the pool every year. About 2,20,000 engineers with four-year degree are estimated to have graduated in 2005. About 1,95,000 engineers with three-year diplomas were also added to the talent pool in 2005.
Variety
Seven types of providers exist in India’s engineering services space.
Critical mass to support ESO is in place
The current supply-side scenario is dominated by non-captive models that includes joint ventures and vendor-based models.
Quality standards are being followed
India’s experience with international markets in the IT and business process offshoring markets have brought home the value of and need for globally acceptable delivery standards.
Advantage India
India has some inherent strengths that could well transform it into a potential powerhouse when it comes to engineering services. At the top of the list is the widespread availability of highly-skilled, English-speaking engineers. India accounts for 28 percent of all of the available ESO and BPO talent in low-cost countries. The next largest source of low-cost talent, Russia and China, contribute only 11 and 10 percent, respectively.
Mehta of Nasscom says, “The strong track record of Indian vendors in BPO and ITO is also likely to boost the confidence of would-be global clients regarding India’s capabilities. It’s hardly a secret that many marquee names have found India to be a reliable service partner. Indeed, many multinationals could easily have an ‘India Inside’ label printed on their products.”
He adds, “A third positive factor for India is the fact that many vendors who will evolve into engineering services providers are likely to have already gained a great deal of experience winning and retaining BPO and ITO contracts. The delivery models are well-established, and after a decade or more in business, these vendors are likely to have developed the ability to maintain a high level of quality control.”
“India has a large market for domestic goods which will help drive market growth and, ultimately, the engineering to support that market. The fact that the country is English-speaking will continue to help domestic companies establish overseas relationships and strengthen its position in the global marketplace,” says Narayan of SolidWorks.
Pavan Kumar, Managing Director, Altair Engineering, India & ASEAN highlights another aspect, “Initially India was considered as an outsourcing destination purely from the cost perspective in the design engineering domain which resulted in low-end work being outsourced to the country, but today, innovation is critical in any design development process, and global players are setting up design centres to leverage the base of experienced engineers coupled with the cost advantage to outsource high-end engineering. The cost-value proposition is one of the principal reasons for attracting global players.”
Coming into favour
By 2020, industry estimates peg India’s share of the ESO market at as much as 25 to 30 percent of a $150 to 225 billion market—$50 billion in annual revenue. This is considered achievable provided the country builds the capacities, capabilities, infrastructure, and international reputation it needs to become a preferred destination for these complex, high-value services.
Rising global spending
Rao of HCL says, “The global spend on engineering services has been growing at a high rate, in keeping with the emphasis on product development and innovation. Across sectors, spend on engineering services is expected to maintain its high rate of growth.”
That said, some sectors will outperform in terms of spending on engineering—sectors like high-tech and telecom will continue to lead driven by the pace of product introductions and the global nature of their products.
Bejoy George, Vice-president (Marketing & Business Development), Quest Global states, “Companies are racing toward building an optimal innovation footprint. The reason why US-based companies are outsourcing these services to emerging countries will change over time because these markets can offer a lot more than labour arbitrage. Countries are positioning themselves as sources for innovation, offering a number of incentives and also forcing corporations to invest locally in innovation as a fee to operate in the local market.”
“Lower cost is the primary reason why companies look to offshore engineering services at present,” acknowledges Mehta.
Narayan of SolidWorks informs, “From the CAD perspective, clearly, 3D design technology has the potential. If we are going to reach the mainstream market, the largest number of potential users to adopt 3D in the future will be people who are using 2D systems today.”
Kumar of Altair adds, “Virtual Validation and Prototyping (Computer Aided Engineering or CAE) is the biggest trend driving the market from our perspective. Whether it is crash analysis of cars, optimisation of heavy automotive and aerospace structures, drop-testing cell phones and electric appliances, CAE is the vital component that is helping reduce prototyping costs and development timelines.”
On the road to becoming an ESO hub
Mehta of Nasscom says, “We are looking at capturing $40 billion of the world’s offshored engineering business. This would require a concerted effort by business and government, something which is almost unprecedented in India but is familiar to fast-growing Asian markets, such as Singapore. To get there, stakeholders in India, from within the business community and elsewhere, will need to take six key steps to make India an attractive, and viable destination.”
Build an Engineered-in-India brand: A concerted marketing effort to build awareness of Indian engineering expertise could multiply opportunities for Indian ESO firms. A separate trade organisation or group within Nasscom dedicated to the promotion of Indian engineering could help elevate global recognition of India’s engineering capabilities. Such a group would create trade shows, and establish outreach offices in key markets around the world, such as San Francisco, Stuttgart, Detroit, Paris and Tokyo.
Some points that need to be taken care of;
Improving domain expertise
Focussing on the creation of infrastructure
Improving the workforce in terms of quality and quantity
Promoting R&D and encouraging MNCs to expand their Indian engineering presence
Sector-specific quality standards
Automotive
Intellectual capital 6150, Spice, ISO/TS16949, TUV certificate, APQP, PPAP (Production standard)
Aerospace
AS/EN 9100, iQMS, BS7799, CEMILAC, FAA, approvals by DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), ISO/IEC 27001, Other customer-specific requirements
High-Tech/Telecom
TL9000, CMMi Level 5, PCMMi Level 5
India on the ESO map
Global spending for engineering services is currently estimated at $750 billion per year, an amount that nearly equals India’s entire gross domestic product.
By 2020, worldwide spending on engineering services is expected to increase to more than $1 trillion. Of the $750 billion spent today, only $10 to 15 billion is currently being offshored—a tiny fraction. India brings home about 12 per cent of today’s offshored market, which it has to share with Canada, China, Mexico, and Eastern Europe.
“India’s share of the global ESO market could take off at the same time as worldwide demand for ESO increases. India has the potential to control 20 to 25 percent of the global market for offshored engineering services by 2010. By 2020, that number could be 25 to 30 percent, or $50 billion of the expected $150 to 225 billion market,” says Mehta of Nasscom.
A key consideration for India in its bid to become the dominant player in offshored engineering services is competition from other low-cost countries such as Nigeria, Philippines and Vietnam.
Mehta adds, “When it comes to high-end, complex tasks, the most likely scenario is that India and China will bring home the most contracts, since there are few (if any) countries that can pose a threat, given their lack of scale relative to these two. Although there are many countries that have positioned themselves in this space including China, Taiwan and Korea, the Indian engineering market has emerged as a dynamic sector in the country.”
“The window of opportunity is short and if all the right cards are played, India will be able to capitalise on the expected increase in global engineering services,” concludes George of Quest Global.
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