'This relationship is not just an equipment provider deal'

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What are the things you have done and what are the things you plan to do in Bharti's five year managed services contract signed last year?
The first year was primarily transition from the existing way and moving to setting up new infrastructure. We are continuously looking at how to add value to Bharti because at the end of the day this relationship is not just an equipment provider deal. They look up to Nortel for additional value because we have the best exposure and experience in the enterprise voice and customer care technology. From operational perspective, we are not only looking to improve customer service level, but also looking at how to bring efficiency to the operation for customer and Nortel. We see this contract as strategic for our expansion plan for managed services in Asian region.

What's your India plan on the enterprise front?
The focus for Nortel in India is to build our skills and capabilities in the network managed services space. We believe this area is a growing area and Nortel can add value to the enterprise voice space.

Have you managed to sign any deal on the BPO side?
We have just initiated managed services in India and at present we have already started doing demo and pilot with some leading BPOs in India.

What is the uniqueness of PVQM?
Proactive Voice Quality Management (PVQM) provides accurate measurement of voice quality at the IP client and does continuous passive monitoring, call-by-call analysis and true end-to-end assessment. PVQM enables to detect voice quality problems from the user perspective, isolate the affected area, resolve the problem and send detailed results to the concerned parties.

Can PVQM technology be deployed only when the network is IP, or it's possible with TDM technology also?
It is targeted at IP networks. If a CTO wants to migrate network to IP, he needs to ensure its success and ensure users don't encounter voice degradation. So, while moving from one network to IP and using tools like PVQM, one can be sure that the voice quality that he had in TDM environment will be maintained in IP network.

Do you see products like PVQM getting active in India?
Some networks don't transform overnight; they do it in a gradual way. PVQM keeps its pace with moving from TDM to IP network. When one talks to customers about transition from IP, PVQM takes away the concerns about the quality of voice.

As per our recent mobile user satisfaction survey, the average waiting time for Bharti is 5.95 minutes. Is this scenario going to change in future?
It is a big cause of concern because it affects consumers. Here we are looking to redesign IVR call flow and develop new technology so that the customers reach the agent faster.

What is the cost model for managed services in India?
What we have realized is that one size fits do not work even if one has taken a large sample size. And customers are looking at different models. The models are: $ per phone, $ per call, $ per installation, and some people say we will give you a base fee for every incremental growth. This is the model we are looking at, but still we are exploring which cost model would be suitable for Indian enterprises.

Sandeep Budki
sandeepb@cybermedia.co.in