Tech Mahindra key to KPN's biz transformation

MUMBAI, INDIA: European operator Royal KPN V.N is banking high on its five year partnership with India's Tech Mahindra for its business transformation as well as future growth plans.

''Earlier telecom industry was purely voice, now it is data and voice and in the next five years it will be large volumes of data. And for that we will need transformation of business and grow in the areas where our customers want us to grow,'' KPN Chief Strategy, Innovation & Technology Officer, Eric Hoving told reporters on Tuesday.

According to Hoving, the Tech Mahindra tie-up is of mutual interest to both the companies towards building business partnership, wherein the Mahindra Group firm remains KPN's ideal partner.

''Tech Mahindra has a background more focused into telecom. It is innovative and growth oriented company. And we want to grow with a company that can help us to grow and learn,'' Hoving said.

''This partnership is for business transformation with focus to create innovation. KPN wants to be competitive and improve its strengths in markets. That's the objective of the partnership focus on delivering results,'' C P Gurnani, Tech Mahindra's MD said.

While the European telco is seeing challenges in Germany and Belgium markets, Hoving strongly pointed out that Tech Mahindra has a big role in the company's 2011-2015 strategy -- 'Strengthen, Simplify and Grow.' 

Under the strategy, the company wants to strengthen its operations in the Netherlands, reduce technology and network complexities in a simple and efficient way to drive future growth and meet challenges.

Tech Mahindra will help KPN consolidate its IT systems, complex networks and multiple vendors for better, cost effective and efficient manageability. The company will provide solutions in the core areas of network, mobility, security, cloud and analytics

''We have missed the Indian way of incremental improvement in the west. We have signed number of contracts and have number of ambitions for future. We have constant stream of issues in the Netherlands and Germany that needs to be solved,'' Hoving said.

''We don't have technology which our customer wants and this is where Tech Mahindra can help us with technology solutions,'' he admitted.