TTBS has a large network of about 1,30,000 kms of fibre, which runs through the length and breadth of the country.
We are constantly pushing boundaries by introducing newer and smarter technologies to build a robust digital ecosystem for enterprises and strengthen our customer service proposition
Mr. Aditya Kinra, Vice-President, Tata Teleservices
What are the cyber security challenges Indian enterprises are facing? How is TTBS helping enterprises in addressing these?
In today’s digitally driven world, cybersecurity threats have become increasingly sophisticated and widespread. As a result, both large corporations and small businesses need to prioritize their cybersecurity measures in order to protect their vital infrastructure. With cyber-attacks such as phishing, malware, distributed denial of service, data breaches, and ransomware on the rise, businesses must be proactive in their approach to safeguard their sensitive data, and to protect their business reputation and revenue.
Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) and start-ups are more vulnerable to cyber-attacks as they do not have extensive IT resources and depend on external partners to take care of their security needs. In such a scenario, Smart Internet by Tata Tele Business Services (TTBS) has emerged as a great fit for SMBs. Smart Internet offers a complete solution of dedicated bandwidth, security, and manageability at a cost-effective proposition. This high-performance network allows businesses to access bandwidth-heavy applications easily with real-time usage control and manageability that significantly improves productivity. Offered as a bundled package of basic firewall and DNS options, Smart Internet with its strong fibre connectivity ensures maximum uptime backed with 99.5% SLA. It gives clear network visibility in terms of usage, peak load, and downtime. This feature allows organisations to proactively monitor their network and system.
We feel that in addition to having a robust and effective endpoint, email and web security infrastructure, it is imperative for businesses to invest in imparting safe cyber hygiene to their employees through regular training and upskilling, in order to reduce the risk of human error and protect against potential cyber threats.
How TTBS is ensuring customer centricity with its channel network in India?
TTBS has a large network of about 1,30,000 kms of fibre, which runs through the length and breadth of the country. We have connected business clusters, i.e., over 1 Lakh buildings which house the businesses we serve, and this number is increasing daily. We have a well-established and large channel set-up across 60 cities to serve our enterprise customers across industry segments. Our channel partner network has been an important pillar that has contributed immensely to our business growth. We have the right mix of partners such as pure telecom partners, system integrators, data security experts, software selling partners and even non-ICT partners who have better reach.
We continue to strengthen our partner network in every part of the addressable market. We are consistently empowering and upskilling our partners under our ‘Certified Solution Partner’ program which is at par with industry certification to enhance their capability as an ICT solution provider. Our learning and development platforms help our partners to validate abilities and gain valuable certifications. This is a significant measure because it provides them with opportunities to learn new skills and earn credentials, especially as they reskill and upskill more frequently to address the customers’ demands in the competitive market.
We have also introduced ‘Customer Experience Platform (CEP)’ an industry’s first initiative. CEP reaffirms our customer-first ideology as it truly redefines customer experience through a highly engaging integrated online platform to bring the product experience closer to the customers, based on their availability and comfort anytime anywhere. CEP enables the channel partners and TTBS team to easily communicate about specific product-related details as customers are provided secured log-in credentials to experience the product virtually and feel how it can be beneficial to their business with product demo videos and related industry-specific case-studies. This is a user-friendly, collaborative solution built for a ‘faster, simpler, and closer’ approach for TTBS customers and partners.
What is your growth strategy for 2023 in India?
TTBS has been constantly pushing boundaries by introducing newer and smarter technologies to build a robust digital ecosystem for enterprises and strengthen our customer service proposition. These measures have enabled us to effectively meet our customers’ evolving needs and enhance their competitiveness. We have also upgraded our flagship products with enhanced client servicing tools and provided our customers with extensive cloud-communication solutions to help them build operational efficiency.
We are amongst the first company in the enterprise segment that has been focussed towards enabling and simplifying digital transformation for SMBs. We have a comprehensive grasp of our customers across all industrial categories and delivering greater business value to our customers has been integral to our business vision. We will keep assisting SMBs with their evolving technology needs and expand our service offerings, particularly in the SaaS, IaaS, and Cloud and collaboration domains.
How does TTBS help modern businesses run more efficiently with its product portfolio?
TTBS, as a leading provider of digital solutions, empowers modern businesses to operate more efficiently through a comprehensive range of innovative smart tech solutions. We are focused on democratizing technology for SMBs and Start-ups in India and bridging technology gaps across multiple sectors. Over the years, we have been involved in managing the enterprise IT ecosystem for thousands of our customers. Besides, secure IT connectivity, we have now started offering SaaS and cloud services and are continually expanding our product portfolio to provide innovative cloud solutions like as Smartflo – an advanced and ultra-flexible cloud communication suite which is now integrated with WhatsApp Business Platform to offer an enhanced business communication experience, SmartOffice®– a one-box start-up kit with voice, data, apps, storage, Ultra-Lola- a technologically superior point-to-point offering, with micro-second latency especially for BFSI companies, Smart Internet Leased Line – bundled with cloud security, SD-WAN iFLX an intelligently flexible solution (built on Fortinet’s platform) for network optimization, and a comprehensive suite of cyber security solutions across industries.
TTBS has entered into strategic market alliances with Zoom Video Inc, Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, and WhatsApp Business Platform to offer integrated digital workspace capabilities to enterprises. These are companies with respective specialised expertise in the communication and collaboration space where TTBS customers can leverage their world-class offerings. The digital workplaces seamlessly bind all the core applications of work, like email, chat, voice and video calling, collaboration, storage, task management, security tools etc. All these come with TTBS service assurance, customised plans, and solutions that meets the data, voice, productivity, security, and cloud solutions requirements of the businesses.
Our customer-centric approach has awarded us with industry recognitions such as CII Customer Obsession Awards for Active Customer Engagement, Asia Pacific Stevie Award 2022-Silver for innovative use of technology in customer service, and recently with 3 ET Telecom Awards for ‘Enterprise Service Provider of the Year’, ‘Enterprise Digital Transformation of the Year’, and ‘Best Customer Service’– all these are a testimony to long-standing commitment of TTBS towards creating a ‘digital first’ ecosystem for enterprises.
What key megatrends do you foresee emerging in the market?
As modern businesses strive to offer their customers seamless support and experiences across all digital touchpoints, they are continuously adapting their operating models and working environments to accommodate a variety of activities across multiple functions and devices. To keep ahead of the curve and provide a holistic omnichannel experience, these businesses are embracing new technical innovations.
SMBs require Opex-only nimble and smart solutions and as such Cloud adoption is getting prioritised mainly in the form of SaaS and IaaS and will see more proliferation in 2023. Pay-as-you-use models as well as faster turn-up of applications will provide further impetus. Cloud growth is feeding data centre growth. Telcos are busy connecting fat pipes in the hundreds of Gigs to these ballooning data centres on the one side and software-defined wide area networking (SDWAN) is emerging as the de-facto WAN solution.
Organizations across industries and sectors are embracing new technological interventions such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Data Analytics, etc that have revolutionized the omni-channel experience to stay ahead of the curve. Adopting an omni-channel approach will become a critical business imperative in the coming times. This binds all customer-facing interfaces integrated at the backend and helps in creating a better experience for customers across platforms be it web apps, mobile apps, intelligent chatbots etc.
