For a managed service provider, cycle of innovation is almost every day

The silent and invisible machinery of managed services and networks have always kept IT assets whirring smoothly. What happens when the number of devices explode, or gather at the Edge, or become vulnerable to attackers or when networks become even more complicated than what they are now? Praveen Cherian, CEO, STL Global Services tells us why the basic questions and answers are still very simple – no matter how complex everything becomes.

With close to three decades of experience in handling high-growth teams and business units across multiple industries—spanning areas like sales, service delivery, marketing & strategy and business operations with local and international exposure – Cherian packs a lot of insight into managed services and networks. Here are edited excerpts from a video interview with him, where Dataquest Editor Sunil Rajguru dissects some recent and upcoming changes redefining this space.

Over a period of time, compute has moved to the Edge, where end-user devices and IoT devices have become powerful.

In light of all the developments happening recently, how can managed services be a game-changer ahead?

One thing we need to recognise is that the number of intelligent devices available for use are growing day by day. Today, every individual carries smart devices. That has changed the entire IT landscape in a big way. When we started our journey, we started having people manage these devices—with skills for high-compute devices at enterprises. But over a period of time, compute has moved to the Edge, where end-user devices and IoT devices have become powerful. There has been an explosion of devices—posing a challenge of people to manage them. Now with the next level of automation and tooling – a lot of transformation and incident monitoring are emerging now. With so many intelligent devices that an enterprise is dependent on, a moment’s disruption of services can bring businesses to a standstill. Managed service providers ensure that they are able to serve more than one client and produce cost-efficient models for client servicing. The automation and tooling herein are being developed for a larger base—and at an improved level of security.

Does this also trickle into innovation?

There is also the new factor of access of innovation now—with a wide base of subject-matter experts working across multiple client environments. As a managed service provider, the cycle of innovation is almost every day. Innovation becomes paramount when we look at the new landscape of managed service providers.

Can you double-click on intelligence in this new emerging realm—especially with all the phenomenal data explosion seen recently?

Let me step back a bit. When you look at managed services, there is one part where you are looking at the general health of the system. The second is where there is something wrong in the system—something that requires attention. Earlier engineers had to be notified in the right format. Today’s tools ensure that happens wherever they are. For an engineer to interpret what the alert means—takes its own turnaround time. To find a solution and apply it—is another part. AI can help to look at common alerts. AI is also being taught about solutions for alerts. The turnaround time for analysis of an alert is where AI can help. AI can identify a problem, can find a solution and can also deploy the solution by itself based on certain parameters. Most organisations have come to a level where at least 50 to 60 per cent alerts are being identified, and 30 per cent can be auto-resolved by the tool itself. That’s where AI is playing a big role.

Are we doing enough on cybersecurity—with so many end points and devices?

Yes, it’s definitely a topic of great importance. Especially CIOs and CISOs are very anxious about the security of their IT assets. During Covid, large enterprises faced a lot of challenges. Security here is like building safety for our home—there is a main gate, then another, then a front door and a back door with locks. The bedroom and safe inside will have more locks. Every stage will have safeguards. The same works for IT systems. You have to define what’s the core system which just cannot be compromised; else, it will paralyse the system. Next, there are systems which are important but do not lead to absolute disasters when attacked. Managing databases is a critical part too. Attackers are aware of these aspects- that’s why they reach out to the heart of a system and then ask for ransom after compromising them. Many such challenges are kept out of public news, but enterprises face these hard realities. So safeguarding IT infrastructure is very critical.

Innovation becomes paramount when we look at the new landscape of managed service providers.

How can managed services simplify management of networks?

The network portion of IT managed services is an important part. Maintenance and support of networks – needs reduced complexity. Every organisation grows organically; and without proper planning a network can become more complex than one can handle. The network should also be designed for high performance and reliability. A Gartner study has reported that outsourcing network management to a service provider brings in 10-20 per cent improvement in network performance. The design of the network should be such that it allows high availability of network—especially when a device fails. The network provides access internally in the organisation as well as access to outsiders. One has to ensure adequate security and troubleshooting at network layers to avoid serious attacks. Enhanced visibility and control are also paramount. Unless you have your eyes on your IT landscape, especially with a large enterprise, you cannot be in good control.

What does the future of telecom networks and managed services look like?

Let’s zoom in on the network first. A couple of years back the network was not so predominant from a data connectivity angle. Now this connectivity has brought the world to us. It has made the world meet us wherever we are. We do not have to go to a bank to transfer money or to a grocery shop to buy stuff or to an office to pay bills. That’s a big change that telecom players have brought about in our lives. They do this through both wired and wireless ways. It’s like sometimes the left leg takes over the right leg and vice versa. It’s just how we walk ahead. The wireless technologies have touched the last mile. The core of a network infrastructure – within a telco network or an enterprise—is mainly wired. We are proud to have established many kms of fibre connectivity across India in tough terrains for both telcos and government. This continuous journey of new applications and high bandwidth services – and the need for lower latency in both wired and wireless – will gain traction as technology evolves. These are very exciting times. We will see progress both from wired (at the core) and wireless (access level) technologies.

(Catch the complete interview at the CyberMedia Series YouTube channel)

Praveen Cherian

CEO, STL Global Services

By Pratima H

pratimah@cybermedia.co.in