Cisco all set to woo the end users

NEW DELHI: The world’s largest network equipment maker, $30-billion Cisco, is now increasingly looking at the consumer market as the new growth engine. Cisco believes that companies need to invest in networks to improve collaboration through mobility, unified communications and telepresence (very high-tech video conferencing).

Such technologies will enable companies to get closer to the end user. To drive this move into the consumer segment, Cisco has in recent times acquired companies like Scientific Atlanta, the second largest maker of TV set top boxes, KiSS, a technology provider for networked entertainment devices and Linksys, a home networking company.

“It is no longer about the physical network alone. Now, it is about the human network, and Cisco is the fabric that’s tying it all together,” says Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers, in an interview with ET. Mr Chambers, 57, one of the top IT visionaries in the world and a Silicon Valley icon, will be on his third visit to India on December 6.

He has spearheaded Cisco for over a decade, making it the world’s largest network equipment company. Now he looks upon the Indian and other markets to tap the end consumers. Excerpts from an interview:

What is the purpose of your forthcoming visit to India?

My third visit to India comes at a time when the country is in the midst of a truly amazing economic transformation. The country’s GDP is growing at 7-8% per year, consumer spending is growing at around 9%, wealth creation is on the rise and the country has emerged as a key destination for investment.

Cisco is very optimistic about the opportunities in India, which is a strategic market for Cisco globally. I am really excited about my forthcoming visit to India.

How has India changed as a market for Cisco in the last few years? How would you compare it with the China market?

We view both China and India as highly strategic markets and we will address each market on its own unique merits. We have a long history of investment in China as well as in India. A recent study by “Foresight 2020” on the future of the global economy commissioned by Cisco, shows that the current economic transformation will continue, and that India will emerge as an economic powerhouse by 2020. A large part of this transformation can be credited to the telecommunications revolution that is currently underway in the country.

The important point to understand about the Indian society from a technology point of view is its willingness to change and a culture that clearly understands the importance of education. India is thinking about the future in terms of education and infrastructure, with a favourable environment for innovation and partnerships. The government is also very supportive. India’s future is bright and we are committed to it.

What key technology trends do you see in the next few years?

In the past, technology innovation was driven by the enterprise — where content, connectivity, and applications were pushed out to employees, partners, and customers. Now, the end user is in charge, creating collaborative websites and blogs, mixing content and with more of a say in how companies will do business with them.

They are in the best position to take advantage of the underlying changes occurring in the network, such as data, voice, video, and mobility convergence.

Now, more than ever, companies need to invest in the network to improve collaboration through mobility, unified communications and telepresence. In addition, these technologies enable companies to create customisation and personalisation that deliver a greater user experience and enhanced customer loyalty.

This transition represents a significant opportunity for Cisco to continue to build the platform for people to build businesses upon and transform life’s experiences. It is no longer about the physical network alone. Now, it is about the human network, and Cisco is the fabric that’s tying it all together.

Off late the consumer segment has become a priority for Cisco. Is it a priority in India too? Does Cisco believe the Indian consumer is ready, considering the country still has dismal levels of broadband penetration?

The network is evolving beyond enterprises and small to mid-sized businesses to the home. More and more consumers are driving both business as well as entertainment trends. People want a way to connect all their devices over a single network and access their services from anywhere at any time and from any device. Cisco is in a unique position to capture this market transition.

With our acquisition of Scientific Atlanta, we are covering both sides of the digital home — PCs and Wi-Fi on the one side and the DVR on the other. Cisco is in a great position to deliver to the consumer the best “connected home” experience.

Our strategy is straight forward. Start with basic home networking products, offer VOIP to support triple play services, then build networked entertainment devices and services and perhaps add home monitoring and control over time. Our acquisitions of Linksys, KiSS Technologies and Scientific Atlanta among others all fit into these areas. Linksys is a brand that already exists here in India and is doing quite well.

India is a key market for our consumer strategy. It has a massive consumer population and like everywhere else in the world, they love entertainment. India is quickly adopting a digital lifestyle with increased sales of high end mobile phones, cameras, laptops, music systems, DVD players and LCD/Plasma TVs just to name a few.

The next step is to connect all these devices seamlessly in the home and then connect them to the internet, which is where we come in. We strongly believe that the broadband sector in India will replicate the success of the mobile sector which will see continued growth over the next few years.

India is one of the biggest telecom markets in the world today, registering phenomenal growth. How does Cisco view the current Indian telecom market?

The Indian market is strong, both from a size and future growth perspective. It is the fifth largest telecom network in the world and growing at a phenomenal pace.

The Indian mobile industry has more than doubled in the last 18 months and is adding more than five million new subscribers per month since the beginning of this year, making it the fastest growing telecom market in the world. The mobile growth story is unique and is a true reflection of what competition can do.

India is the most competitive mobile market — five to six operators competing in every market and as operators go into rural areas they are continuing to deploy.

The broadband industry has also finally taken off in India. Although the subscribers’ numbers are still small, at around 1.8 million, it is important to remember that in March 2005 the subscriber base stood at 0.18 million. We believe that managed services has a lot of potential in India and we have already seen considerable success in Indian enterprises and small to mid-sized businesses.

In the not too distant future you will see more service providers launch commercial services targeted for the home. This will introduce greater competition, larger portfolio of services and drive down tariffs all of which will boost broadband adoption significantly.

Internet technologies have changed the way of business and management approaches in many areas, what other changes do you expect in the future, that will be accelerated by technology?

The internet will continue to reshape virtually everything from personal communications to how we run our businesses, or even a country. The industry evolves so quickly that some companies and economies will survive and others will get left behind. Increasingly, the internet will be recognised as the key driver in our global economy.

The network is empowering the next generation of IT. For consumers, this means we will have the ability to use any device, anywhere, at any time.

The network will literally follow you from your office, to your car, to your home, to the airport. It is the intelligence in the network that will enable the ability for this to be seamless in a “follow-me” type of approach. We will no longer need to think about which device we’re using and what information it needs to access.

If you want to make a telephone call, your PDA or PC will work just as well as your cell phone. You want to add voice or video to your e-mail message? No problem. You’ll be able to use the internet to access communications devices as easily from an airplane as from your office.

What about moving from your office to your car, and then onto a train during an important conference call? That will be easy; your PDA or phone will automatically connect you to the proper network as you travel.

This is only possible by integrating intelligence into the network. An intelligent network automatically handles all the difficult tasks usually associated with today’s networks. An intelligent network automatically adapts to your device, your location, and your identity, and provides you with the services you want and the appropriate level of security you require.