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Compared to the personal computing (PC) and server platforms, networking is
still away from being considered as a commodity. But network integrators (NI)
and partners should not rest easy on this knowledge.
The differentiation between systems integrators and NIs is getting thinner as
all of them are offering more or less similar products, albeit from different
vendors. If they want to differentiate themselves from their peers and improve
their customer stickiness then these partners need to look at offering value
additions to their customers. The best way to do this is by providing
applications using the network as the backbone.
Look no further
One application that partners can consider is IP surveillance. There is a
lot of customer awareness about the need for surveillance and monitoring but a
lot of this is limited to closed circuit TV (CCTV). This restricts the client to
a viewing of a single location in one display.
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Jangoo
Dalal MD & CEO, D-Link |
IP-based surveillance on the other hand allows multiple level viewing. The
customer can also pool the images from various locations to a single display to
take instantaneous decisions. For instance, the CIO of a retail chain can view
the goings-on in 10 retail outlets spread across the country on a single
display. Assuming that the server room door in one of these outlets is open he
can immediately alert the outlet manager to take the necessary corrective
action.
There are also voice-based applications that partners can build into the
network. All of these solutions can be merged with business intelligence
applications to help enterprises take productive measures to help their
business.
Going back to the example of the retail chain, the customer can monitor the
stocks of perishable products. If there is some particular product that is not
moving quickly he can immediately announce a promotion or scheme across all
these outlets to move the stocks faster.
Digital signage
Another business that is likely to grow, as an offshoot of networking is
IP-based digital signage. A basic digital signage has a ticker running on it.
But an IP-based digital signage can be fed on continuous stream on information,
which is then disseminated by IP to the display boards with minimal or no
intervention.
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Making a case for MNS |
With MNS, customers can focus on
core business processes rather than IT infrastructure management
- A monthly or annual cost budgeting can be
done offering predictability
- Solution providers have instant access to
network status, which helps them do monitoring and troubleshooting without
the client's intervention
- Enables accurate capacity budgeting
allowing future resource requirements
- The network can be managed globally as it
enables remote monitoring, negating the need to have an in-house
professional
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Some verticals where this application can be targeted are the travel
industry, especially airports or media houses or stock markets; in short any
organization, which needs a continuous streaming of any data.
There is no doubt that these solutions are imperative if partners want to
move up the value chain. The need for upskilling themselves on these and similar
technologies is already finding resonance in the partner community. While the
tier-1 partners like Wipro or HCL Comnet have already got teams working on these
niches there is an increasing interest among tier-2 solution providers as well
to invest in these areas.
Offering services as well
Yet another trend that is finding more and more takers as an extension of
networking is managed network services (MNS). Again the larger SIs have several
reference cases in this regard while tier-two solution providers are also
evincing interest in it.
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| IP-based surveillance allows
multiple-level viewing |
MNS is not unheard of. It typically includes voice/data integration services,
virtual private network services, network management, performance management,
guaranteed service levels, fault management, change management, configuration
management, security (PKI, firewalls) and application outsourcing. MNS stems
from the fact that the network is ubiquitous. There is no need for a person to
be physically present to monitor the network physically because it can be
monitored remotely.
There are two aspects to MNS. One is the remote infrastructure management
(RIM) that can be offered globally. Lot of tier-2 solution providers are
offering it already where the network is distributed in different geographies
but can be managed locally from India.
As a concept RIM has been going strong. The next logical step is extending
it. So a solution provider can build the network for the customer who then pays
the partner on a service level agreement (SLA) basis.
For instance, a partner can go to a bank and tell them that as part of their
core banking solutions he setup the network in 50 odd cities and he can engage
with the client for the complete maintenance of the network for a period of
let's say three years. This concept has found great acceptance amongst
enterprises and now even it is gaining popularity amongst SME customers as well.
This trend of MNS is already in motion and it will only accelerate as more
networks are built and more bandwidth is made available. The uptake of this
trend is already evident in the SME space and it is being driven by SIs and
service providers. The latter, in their quest to expand, began to offer MNS in
addition to the bandwidth. They would offer enterprises a monthly operating
expense account with MNS and would bundle the relevant networking equipment.
Soon solution providers also got into the fray, where they would source
hardware networking components and would build some aspects of MNS into it and
offer this as a solution to SME customers. All they needed for offering these
services was a basic networking operating center (NOC).
Earlier NOC were proprietary in nature and took a lot of money to build. Now
there are some standard technologies and networking platform on which a NOC can
be built. The only challenge for partners is attract and retain good technical
personnel for this business.
The MNS growth was fueled by the adoption of this trend by financial
verticals-banking, insurance and securities. These customers have an increased
intolerance towards downtimes and IT failures. All they need in a 99 percent
uptime a predictable and consistent network. Outsourcing their IT network to a
solution provider frees them from the hassle of managing a technical team.
MNS is a win-win situation for solution providers and enterprises. The market
offers lot of potential and a lot of space for new partners to play in. All a
partner needs is a good clientele and a well charted long term gameplan.
Vinita Bhatia
vinitavs@cybermedia.co.in Page(s) 1
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