IBM wins $200 mn deal from Datacom

BANGALORE, INDIA: IT giant IBM said on Wednesday that it has won a deal with Datacom Solutions, part of 24000 cr Videocon Industries group, to provide a high-performance IT infrastructure and a range of business solutions to support Datacom’s commercial launch this year and complete PAN India coverage over next two years.

This partnership will help the telco to accelerate time-to- market for new services, adapt quickly to meet future market requirements, reduce operating expenditures and enhancing customer satisfaction levels, said a press release.

Datacom's investment in IBM's Service Assurance solution, built on IBM’s Service Provider Delivery Environment (SPDE) telecom industry framework, will provide them with leading Service Management and monitoring of critical services, application and network-based systems, it added.

This technology investment will provide Datacom an edge in a multi-vendor and multi-technology environment to monitor and manage the Core GSM and IP networks

”As a new entrant into the telecom market in India, we understand the significance of partnering with a company that can provide the necessary impetus for growth in this intensely competitive market,” said V.N. Dhoot, chairman, Videocon Group.

“Our obvious choice was IBM as it has an unmatched track record of building leadership in telecom in markets not only in India but worldwide. More importantly, we strongly feel that their vast industry experience and insights will be critical in achieving our ambitious growth target," he added.

Datacom has received pan India UAS licenses and plans to roll out GSM services across the country, said the release. Having received spectrum in most circles, the company plans to launch its services in four circles this year and expand in other circles by the end of 2010.

Additionally, Datacom has applied for National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) licenses and plans to establish a pan India network for NLD as well as ILD gateways. The enterprise segment of the telecom market is an area of focus for Datacom where it looks to carve a niche for itself.

“The collaboration with IBM will give Datacom a powerful, secure and agile technology infrastructure benchmarked against the international telecommunications industry standards.” said Avinash V. Joshi, director for Communications sector, IBM India and South Asia.

According to a Reuters report the deal is worth $200 million.

"Communication service providers in India ... are choosing IBM to help deliver differentiating services to keep pace with market shifts, customer demand and competitive pressures," the report quoted Scott Stainken, general manager for IBM's telecoms business, as saying on the sidelines of a telecoms conference in Geneva.