JK INDUSTRIES -“The biggest challenge is getting dedicated bandwidth”

JK Industries has its operations spread all over India. Sharma
discusses the challenges he faces in providing an effective, good-quality
communications network between various factories, procurement centers, and
distributors. He explains why he would take some more time to deploy wireless
applications throughout his organization. Excerpts:

As an enterprise user, do you see the integrated telecom operators
providing one-stop, cost-effective solutions as a good thing for your
business? 

Couple of years back there was no company giving all
services on its own; there was nothing as single-window shopping. For
enterprises like us it made sense to buy services from different vendors and
negotiate accordingly.

Now we have an infrastructure in place, the backhaul is there, and
a lot of investment has been made in all this. The concept of integrated
players is good news but it doesn't make sense for us to knock down the
existing infrastructure and put in money for services from one vendor. For
those who are renovating or starting afresh, buying services from one operator
across India would ensure consistency in services.

Do you see any regulatory issues hampering your communication
network planning?

Directly, there is no regulatory roadblock. But as
regulatory constraints affect the operator's offerings, it is reflected in our
planning too.

What role does wireless play within your enterprise? What kind of
benefits has it brought to you? Has there been any move to integrate any mobile
application within your organization?

Wireless is an integral part of any communication network.
Though we have lots of plans to implement wireless applications across our
organization, it would take a couple of years before they are fully deployed.

We have implemented an SMS-based application with which our field
employees know what product has left the factory, at what time, and also
determine when it would reach the destination.

There is one application through which we push similar information
to the target audience. We are also trying put e-mail on the mobile devices.

Wireless access technologies like Wi-Fi hold good promise. I am
trying to introduce wireless access in the office premises but the process
would take time. Already all our laptops are Wi-Fi enabled. If wireless gives
us the desired bandwidth then connecting our wide area network over it would be
possible and easy.

Are you open to sharing your company network with your partners
and suppliers? What are the concerns while doing so?

We are contemplating giving restricted access to our
suppliers. They would be able to logon to our network and vice versa. This
would give information such as dispatch and delivery schedules. On the sales
side, our dealers would be able to share information on money outstanding,
delivery status, and inventory.

The main concern here is security. We would have a network on
which client software would reside and give access to outsiders who can
retrieve what they want. The entry would be restricted.

What all should a CIO keep in mind while dealing with a service
provider? What do you think are the key elements of a good SLA?

Branding and past record of the service provider matters a
lot. The history of services and the market feedback gives an insight into the
level of offerings. Based on these, one can at least evaluate the various
service providers.

Having technological know-how and support systems for these
technologies is also important. A small company might have good offerings but
if it cannot give support, the whole exercise falls flat.

Couple of years back, service level agreements (SLA) were absent.
There was a contract where we had uptime guarantees, there were penalty
clauses, and all the other obligations. This contract has been given a name-SLA.
But the clauses have become more stringent.

We are contemplating SLAs but have not singed one yet as it puts
many obligations on both the parties and it is not always possible to fulfill
them.

What challenges do you foresee in the coming days?

The main challenge for me is to ensure dedicated bandwidth
across my wide area network connecting all my centers. Not only in the last
mile, I would like similar bandwidth across my network so that there are no
bottlenecks and data does not get lost in between. At the moment I get around
48 kbps on my VPN, which has a combination of dial up and leased line. With
this speed I cannot even send reports. Couple of months back we tested
bandwidth over wireless networks. The test was successful but till now no
service provider has been able to guarantee dedicated bandwidth and that
project is still hanging on fire.

The fast changing technologies are another problem. It is
difficult to keep pace and by the time one decides on one technology, it
changes and something better comes out. It is a viscous cycle and if I am
spending money then would like the best in breed for myself.

Reining in cost of service is another challenge. Things like
shortage of funds have delayed the Wi-Fi deployment. And, more importantly,
management wants any technology to be weighed in terms of

return on investment and total cost of ownership.

Source: Voice&Data