Please Dial Again

I love to see big people fight-especially when they have all along
maintained that relations are very cordial. The third CEO Conclave-a forum to
bring together telecom service providers and corporate users on a single
platform-actually turned into a boxing ring. On one hand the telecom biggies,
both private as well as government-owned, were trying to paint a rosy picture of
their understanding of CIO's needs, while, on the other hand, the CIOs
continued to identify problems.

There were lots of issues-in fact on every issue-on which no consensus
could be arrived upon. The telecom service providers said that they had a good
understanding of the CIO's needs; the CIO said that the service providers did
not understand his requirements. The CIOs, once again, said that their service
providers do not share their technology roadmap with them. Some of the CIOs even
went on to claim that that service providers were not very sure of the
technology they would be deploying.

Unfortunately, I mentioned convergence. The CIOs on the panel just flared up.
They said they had no clarity on convergence and its future, and therefore had
no faith in its reality and benefits. Similarly, on the question of a single
telecom service provider for all communications needs, the CIOs had nothing to
say but laughed it off. On the issue of transparency in pricing, the CIOs said
the service providers were not being fair.

In short, CIOs said that their telecom service providers' claim that they
offered a one stop solution, that they were partners in progress, was mere sales
talk. I also had quality of service and SLAs for enterprise customers on the
agenda for the panel discussion, but ran out of time, being tied up by more
basic issues.

As telecom service providers at the conclave stuck to the line that they were
"enterprise user" focused also, the CIOs admitted that this mindset
change and consequently structural change was happening among the service
providers, but there was still a long way to go.

At a time when there is a telecom revolution in India, the enterprise
customer is still struggling. While the CIOs have a much better and advanced
communications systems today as compared to a few years ago, they could and
should get a better deal. They will have to if they want to survive in a world
where communication makes the difference. The onus of bettering the service
provider—enterprise customer relationship also lies on the CIO's shoulders.

The CIOs might not accept convergence today, but the fact is that it is
happening, albeit in small ways. The CIO might not want to have a single telecom
service provider today, but the fact is that he would be very happy to deal with
only one. Given this, it might be a good idea if the CIO, as an immediate
priority, ensures that he gets a telecom partner in the true sense of the word,
and not just a supplier.

I remember the same problems when I was moderating the first CEO Conclave a
couple of years ago. The service providers first tried to convince everybody
that they were having a great time with their enterprise customers, and when the
CIOs disagreed, the service providers put the blame back and accused the CIOs of
being confused about their communications and networking roadmap. The silver
lining this year was that the service providers did not throw the ball back in
the CIOs court, but honestly admitted that their call to the CIO will take
sometime to get connected.

It might be good idea then, more so because communication is becoming the
lifeline of any business, if the CIO picks up the phone instead, and dials his
service provider.

The author is editor of Dataquest IBRAHIM
AHMAD