Services companies are better prepared for the upturn

What is your assessment of the business sentiment and

impact on services companies?



Organizations which had a strong services play, weathered through the

downturn much better and are much better prepared for the upturn compared to

organizations which have a pure products play. When the downturn hit the

industry, the first thing that got hit was capex, and it directly impacted the

product uptake, thereby our product business got impacted. However, the opex

part did not get cut. So the revenue that Cisco used to get as a part of service

offerings did not get impacted. In addition to that, our customers kept on

looking at their inventory of infrastructure, and started wondering about ways

to get the next level of productivity which could be used as a competitive

advantage. They started to focus on things like re-architecting and building a

technology platform which can differentiate the organization.

What would be the enterprises strategy going forward?



The enterprises kept on harping about collaboration, and how IP phones as

well as various collaboration tools can augment business effectiveness in the

way one approaches a customer. Collaboration is the key in bringing value of the

organization together. The enterprises started questioning their collaboration

strategy, and utility of IP phones. It involved re-architecting the network,

professional services, optimizing the network so that network runs seamlessly at

the highest level of QoS. Operating network became strategically important

versus being a maintenance jobthe way it was perceived in the past. The moment

an enterprise gets into collaborative applications, experience is the key.

Can you share some Cisco Services current customer engagements?



One of our customers decided to invest in SEZs, and focus on creating a

world class infrastructure that will house companies interested in renewable

energy. India is the #1 solar energy producer in the world today. This customer

is setting up a 3,500 acres SEZ, and inviting companies for manufacturing solar

products in this facility. The company wants to invite tenants from across the

world. The tenants are not going to be attracted by a piece of land.

What are your offerings for the small and medium businesses?



For SMBs, Cisco has Smart Care which delivers unified experience despite

being in remote places. SMB support assistant is a base level offering which

actually gives the warranty for coverage and across the counter replacement of

spare parts. It is a subscription offering which customers have to renew every

year. Smart Care is the next level of support that can probe the network and

monitor its health.

Sudesh Prasad



sudeshp@cybermedia.co.in