The Indian service provider's capability, experience and depth in this space
is not only challenging the global players but also proving to be a big boon for
CIOs across the globe who are looking at smart sourcing options for their IT
operations outsourcing.
In India, the traditional Big 5 IT players like TCS, Wipro Technologies, IBM,
Infosys, HCL Technologies, dominate the RIM market. However, even the smaller
companies are fast learning the tricks of the trade and are pretty quick in
enhancing their expertise in the RIM solutions space. According to Swapan Johri,
Senior VP-IT Operations and Emerging Services, HCLT ISD, one of the main
competitive advantages that India offers is a highly skilled labor pool, which
has the ability to cater to the global clients. “India has witnessed a healthy
growth in the number of its IT professionals with the total direct employment in
the Indian IT/ITeS growing,” said Johri.
As business dependency on IT is growing in India, the need for 24x7 support
is increasing at a rapid pace. The RIM industry is growing at 70-80 percent YoY
globally. Although the domestic market for RIM is slower than that, the demand
is fast catching up to meet the global pace.
In the last two years the domestic market for RIM has started looking up. The
customers here have understood the benefits of remote infrastructure management
and are gradually shifting to opt for this latest model. “The domestic
customers' acceptation to the process is rising as they are getting comfortable
with the security aspects which is a primary concern when anyone takes control
over the systems remotely, and that always accounts for security threats as well
as delivery capability of the service providers through the remote model,”
explained Kiran Desai, GM & Business Head-Manager IT services, Wipro Infotech,
India and Middle East. Previously, remote model was mostly meant for network
management while other aspects like end-user support, data center support,
application support, etc, were not so active. However, as per the current trend,
out of the total infrastructure management business, around 15-20 percent comes
through remote model and the rest happens through onsite due to customer
reservations. Albeit, according to industry experts, this trend is bound to
change and the ratio of 20:80 is expected to rise to the level of 40:60 in the
next five years. Domestic market is very active nowadays as Indian IT firms look
for the IMS opportunity. Clients evaluate delivery capabilities based on the
vendor's Network Operating Center (NOC) setup. Infrastructure management is a
critical issue and the entire network must therefore be ready for appropriate
reactions. There should be operational and technological readiness to help
businesses respond quickly to opportunities and react appropriately to unplanned
events. The clients are looking for world-class service and support and domain
experts who work closely with internal teams to build comprehensive strategies.
The Players
Wipro has two kinds of remote models, one of which is for its global customers
based out of India as well as some global locations. The customers however look
for a dedicated offshore model with a clear focus on cost arbitrage. India is
obviously a preferred location because of the low cost and quality resource
availability. That is how the global market is running.
Within Wipro there are two divisions, Wipro Infotech that manages India and
Middle-East operations and Wipro Technology, which manages the global or
offshore operations including APAC, Australia, US, Europe and Japan. The company
has set-up a remote model for the domestic market in India, which is located in
Karnataka. From there it delivers remote services for India and Middle East
markets at a shared model concept.
HCL Technologies Infrastructure Services Division (HCLT ISD), also known as
HCL Comnet in the Indian market is one of the pioneers in offshore RIM. HCLT ISD
addresses not only the growing demand for cost-effective management of IT
infrastructure but also helps Fortune and Global organizations across the world
to 'transform' their IT operations. Patni's remote infrastructure management
solution enables organizations to add, move, or change IT components without
disrupting service to users or requiring resources to work off-shift.
Piyali Guha
(Source: DQ)