'Dealership businesses should run like McDonalds"

Are

there any regulatory issues that are preventing you from efficiently using the

current infrastructure?



Regulatory issues are not impediments to the business operations; there are

always legitimate workarounds available. The regulatory issues don't affect the

business per se. You do the business at a delta x cost more than the normal

cost. Sometimes, they do affect the cost of operations, but that cost is

marginal for us. More than the regulatory framework, it is the mindset of the

people that lets them to see impediments. If you believe that the current Indian

scenario cannot support a robust national telecom infrastructure, you may not go

in for large solutions. But we have connected all of our 650 dealers on a

network. In fact, it took me a long time to convince my bosses that it could be

done.

Can

you tell us more about the network?



We have 20-25 offices that need to be connected. They have to work on a

single network, consolidated single server, and they are all connected via

leased lines, i.e. one network.

 

Second,

we have a VPN with all our 230 odd suppliers and 600 odd dealers to conduct

their normal business with us. This is the Extranet and our critical business

runs on it. Third, we need to connect with our collaborators, Suzuki Motor

Company. We are connected to them over IPLC links.

Fourth,

we are in the process of implementing-we are connecting all the dealers on to a

single MPLS network, and over a single application and a database. The data

center is in Bangalore, with DR in Mumbai. At the backend, it integrates with

our network in the company. The pan-India network is now in place and

application deployment is currently on.

What

is the dealer network about?



This is to help the dealers manage their businesses. For example, a

customer's history of visits to dealer and service centers can all be stored in

one application. So if you go to any service center in the country, you can get

the same level of service without having to explain the details of your car all

over again to a new mechanic. These businesses should run like McDonalds.

Wherever you go, you should find similar type of service, and technology is

enabling us to do that. The network for this has been rolled out and

applications deployment and training is underway. The primary service provider

here is Reliance.

With

VSAT prices falling, are you planning to increase their adoption?



Not really. Latency issues are still there with that technology. And in some

of our applications, where volumes are large, latency is not acceptable.

Are

there any mobile applications for the affiliates and employees?



All the applications for managing the business and accessing the Extranet

are loaded on to the laptops of the business managers and even the affiliates.

These can be accessed over the office network or the mobile networks through

datacards. There are also SMS-based applications. All the decision makers get an

SMS at 6 AM daily, about the happenings of the previous day.

What

are the challenges faced in keeping the network running efficiently?



The width of technology is very large today. Making all of them work

together in an ongoing manner is a challenge, because the lifecycle of each

equipment is very low. You buy one network platform and in the next six months,

its support may not be available. You upgrade the platform, and it may not work

with another thing that you bought two years ago.

How

are you dealing with this issue?



There are policies for managing those issues, but in many cases you just

throw and change. Without that, the complexity management will be very

difficult. Earlier, the planning cycles were for longer periods like 5 or 10

years. Today if a technology has served you for three years that is good enough.

Is

this policy true for your communications infrastructure too?



Yes. If there is a technology that can deliver more efficiency, lower costs,

let us look for change. We were one of the first to go for ATM. Then we changed

to gigabit fiber.

What

activity takes most of your time in a normal day?



Most of the time goes into ensuring how to support the business with the IT

resources. This includes working on issues like change management. Most of my

time goes in meeting the users. I spend very little time with my technology

people, with whom I interact mostly on reviews, pilots, and comparisons of

equipment and technologies, and their deployments.

Which

parts of network management and network security have you outsourced?



Almost everything is outsourced; right from network management to facilities

management, to backup management, to security. We have a huge FMS contract with

HP for all our 22 regional offices.

What

are some of the key SLAs of the outsourcing contract?



To name a few, laptops need to be repaired in 15 minutes, server has to be

attended to in five minutes, network has to be up in a specified time, and

backups need to taken everyday.

Since

you have outsourced security, what are the SLAs there?



There are specific actions that need to be performed by them at specified

intervals. For example, though patch management and backups are automatic, they

still have to be monitored.

Is

the vendor held responsible for any security lapse?



No they are not. We can only set up a process and ensure that the process is

managed.

Who

are your telecom service providers?



There are different SPs for different areas and operations. Reliance is the

major one, and we also deal with BSNL and Tata.

What

are the security measures adopted for the network?



We have implemented security according to the BS 7799 standard. It has 7

domains and 127 controls to be done in each area of our operations in Maruti. We

have implemented most of them. We are currently being audited by our auditing

agency.

Were

there any security breaches last year?



Our LAN is pretty well segregated from the Internet. All our public servers

are located in a data management zone, where only one port is open to the LAN.

So there is as such no traffic that comes from the Internet and through the LAN.

So most virus attacks don't affect us very much. We have never had a denial of

service.

What

is the network expansion plan for the next year?



Maruti is coming up with two new companies, the diesel engine company and a

new vehicle assembly company, both at Manesar. These companies will run from a

single application, once datacenter will support all three companies.

Name

one thing that has changed at Maruti's enterprise network over the last year.

Till

last year, we did not allow our employees to browse the Internet. So setting

proxies and policies for network security was done this year.

Alok Singh