Back to Basics

A networking solutions provider focussed on the enterprise sector, Avaya has

come a long way since it was spun off from Lucent Technologies last year. With

over 20 years in the telecom and electronics sector, the company has a healthy

outlook, especially under Mark Leigh, COO for Asia-Pacific and China. We present

excerpts from a chat:

Rising uncertainty... Opportunities for telecom companies

Things have been bad during the last three months, specially after the

September 11 attacks. Companies have become very cautious.

It is time to re-energize and find new areas of growth. For instance, we are

now entering the data market and that’s happening quite fast. Many US

companies are now exploring the Asia Pacific region, especially countries like

Philippines and India. We find that there are mainly two reasons for that.

First, of course there are advantages like the language and the low cost

infrastructure that can be set up here. And then we have emerging opportunities

such as call centers, which have come up in a big way. We are already seeing

several leading edge multinational companies take advantage of this opportunity

and the trend will continue. People are only holding back at the moment to wait

and see how the things shape up, but in the long run I’m quite positive about

this segment.

Technologies for the present scenario…

Most customers are interested in curtailing expenses and are looking at a

number of applications that can help them do it. If you can show customers a

quick return on their investment, they would certainly be interested. Keeping in

view the post-September 11 scenario, among the products that can take off one

could be video conferencing. Corporates are traveling less these days, both for

expense reasons and other factors. In fact, recently we’re seeing a lot of

companies inquire about videoconferencing.

Another thing that is coming up is CRM (Customer Relationship Management).

Companies are spending a lot more effort in understanding what the customer

wants and building that relationship. What was earlier just a call center where

you quickly answered some queries, is now turning into a contact center, where

you actually get to know the customer, his background, preferences etc and put

this information on record.

On Avaya’s joint venture with Tata Telecom…

It’s been about three years since we joined hands with Tata Telecom. Avaya

as a company, with the Bell Labs’ history behind it, is strong in telecom

technology. At the same time, Tata Telecom as a partner has been quite open in

adopting some American ways of doing business. To add to that, it has a long

experience and better understanding of the Indian market. And then the numbers

speak for themselves. The turnaround of Tata Telecom and the growth it has

witnessed over this period has been quite remarkable. For instance, in the

present quarter, Tata Telecom has recorded an outstanding growth of 132% in

profits, in spite of tough market conditions. So, it’s worked very well for

both of us and that has helped build confidence.

Why not a multi-channel strategy like most others…

If we compare our single channel strategy with others who have adopted a

multi-channel approach, one of their motives is to spread across the country

through local partners. On the contrary, working through this joint venture has

made things easier for us. Tata Telecom already has a well-established

geographic coverage, which we need. They have the requisite skill set and

customer base to support us. At the same time, Tata Telecom is also partnering

with more companies to strengthen its distribution network. So, rather than

Avaya doing this on its own, it is happening through our partner.

Avaya in data networking…

We are just starting in that area in India. Sure, we are the new boys on the

block in data networking. We are building a portfolio by entering into alliances

and acquiring companies. At the same time, the market is also changing. The Asia

Pacific market would be around $3.5 billion. It is a large growing market and we

are moving into it.

Plans for India…

India has witnessed a lot of growth in the telecom sector in the recent past.

Now with deregulation happening, it should throw open many more growth

opportunities. Although we have no immediate investment plans, we are looking

for opportunities in the long term. We would like to tap the great talent base

and skill sets available here. We are doing a lot of R&D work in the

facility that we have set up here. We are also expanding our efforts to develop

applications in new generation products. But globally, the economic situation is

flat, so we will wait for things to improve. We would keep the investment ready

and go ahead as the market picks up.

Shweta Verma in New Delhi