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In todays tough times when the economic slowdown has taken a toll on all,
maximum use of corporate network resources can be a decisive factor in enabling
businesses reduce costs and increase productivity. The times and needs today
have undergone a sea change. The need of the hour is reliable communication,
which is cost-effective as well as fast enough to keep up with the pace of
times.
The flow of information was till recently maintained by leased lines, ranging
from Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) to OC3 fibers. But as the
popularity of the Internet grew, businesses turned to extending their own
networks. Now, many companies are creating their own virtual private network (VPN)
to accommodate the needs of remote employees and distant offices. A VPN, as we
know, uses tunneling to encrypt all information at the IP level.
The Changed Scenario
Until recently IP VPN used to form the staple of the industry. Then came the
SSL VPN using secure sockets layer, an authentication and encryption technology
build into web browser to build a more secure and reliable VPN and then the
technology ushered into setting a new era by adopting a new innovation in the
form of multi protocol label switching (MPLS) routing.
The complete range of communications technology has set new standards for
service providers to attain. As K Krishna, AVP marketing and CTO, Hughes
Communication India says, With telcos giving a tough competition to most
service providers, it essentially became a challenge to modify our strategies to
suit the changing times as well as customer needs. Traditionally, leased lines
have been the preferred mode of wire line connectivity between company locations
in different cities. The primary reason for the popularity of this technology is
that there was no alternative in terms of broadband wide area connectivity until
now.
The niche players had to see the other side of the area they could cash in to
retain or increase their customer base. As telcos took the steam off the market
by making substantial investment in core infrastructure, this market dominance
was challenged by companies offering an array of advantages.
Vendors believe that the key to success lies in effective cost-cutting to
integrate services into scalable and dependable networks. Hughes has become one
of the leading VPN providers. As Krishna says Managed services is an area where
we have re-focused our energy for enterprise customers. Hughes has a long
history in managed private services in the US, Europe, and Asia, ranging in size
up to 10,000 and above sites in a single network.
Strategically Noteworthy
Hughes came with the innovative idea of broadband VPN when the world was not
only looking for optimization and connectivity, but also at cost cutting
strategies. MPLS VPN, which costs around Rs 60,000 seemed a big amount for
corporates with many outlets and offices around the globe. But with the
value-for-money offer given by broadband VPN at near MPLS grade services at
around Rs 30,000, the technology gained an edge.
Broadband technology is a combination of threeWiMax, satellite, and
broadband. Thanks to the global slowdown, the reduced costs and effective
services provided were enough to turn the heads of investors, speculators,
hedgers and consumers. Hughes customized its offerings to suit the changing
needs of the customers. It tied up with Airtel, Tata, BSNL and MTNL to provide
connectivity into the most remote areas.
Growth is directly dependent on geographical location and customized
services, which in the present scenario is provided by broadband VPN. In order
to create ideal WAN, the company buys bandwidth from telcos and then builds
in-house VPN. Highly skilled research and managed services operation have gone
in to making it comparable with MPLS VPN. Hughes performance in the competitive
Indian market remains impressive, despite stiff competition.
Reliance had also come up with Indias first global MPLS services in
association with communication giant MCI, but according to Frost & Sullivan
Tulip Telecom is the largest domestic MPLS/IP-VPN provider in the country with a
market share of around 40%. Says Sanjay Virnave, president, sales, Tulip
Telecom, We are currently serving enterprise customers by offering last mile
connectivity through our IP VPN solutions. We will continue to offer such
innovative services and expand our enterprise data connectivity solutions
spectrum based on high bandwidth, fiber, etc. We aim to reach almost every
village by end 2009 with an aim to connect the unconnected in the remotest part
of the country. Tulip is a core wireless player with a coverage network in
access of 1,200 towns and cities, but now it has started rolling out its own
fiber network in ten large cities in the country. This will enable it to provide
high bandwidth (up to Gbps levels) connectivity to the head office or
aggregation locations and provide the customer with an end-to-end service
delivery for all enterprise telecom requirements.
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| VPN is here to stay but it will
have to evolve further to suit the changing needs of Indian corporates
K Krishna,
AVP, marketing and CTO, Hughes Communications India |
The growing demand of broadband
and higher PC penetration are key factors driving VPN
Sanjay Virnave,
president, sales, Tulip Telecom |
Rising Trends
A recent report by Frost & Sullivan reveals that IP/MPLS VPN market reached
a total value of Rs 1,741 crore in FY 08, exhibiting an increase of 62.4% over
FY 07. With an expected growth rate of 53.4% in the current year, this market
is poised to reach Rs 9,017 crore by FY 13, exhibiting a CAGR of 38.9% over the
forecast period. The report further expects the enterprise data services market
to grow from Rs 5,154 crore in FY 08 to Rs 15,423 crore in FY 13, a CAGR of
24.5% over this period.
Some of the upcoming trends that will influence the VPN market are:
- Adoption of new technologies and expanding mobile workforces are the main
factors that have changed the virtual private network landscape
- VPNs have grown in popularity as the enterprises focus more on saving
money
- The surge in demand for VPN services is primarily owing to the fact that
MPLS VPNs have addressed all security concerns across enterprises
- Broadband VPNs cost-effective strategies will challenge the MPLS
dominance.
A connectivity bone is essentially needed for the enterprises to upsurge
their productivity levels. According to Virnave, Tulip Telecom, The Tulip core
network is a IP NNext Generation Network and seamlessly supports triple play
convergence, ie data, voice and video. All offerings are based on the
fundamentals of availability, security and flexibility. The good news is that
most vendors have a holistic approach. The current trend is to use several
service providers in order to exploit the best capabilities of each, and have a
single-window entity for management, trouble-shooting, and payment. They want to
fight back the tough competition with the latest technologies available as well
as the corporates ready to embrace the intelligent network solutions, the road
ahead seems green.
Archana Singh
archanasi@cybermedia.co.in Page(s) 1
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