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MARKETS » NFV Pandemic Tech News
April 08, 2009
ValueLabs Interview: Remote Infrastructure Management Services in Huge DemandBy Rajani Baburajan, TMCnet Contributing Editor ValueLabs provides technology consulting, software product development, testing, remote infrastructure management and knowledge process outsourcing services to global market. The company offers wireless software for carrier, enterprise and consumer-focused companies. They also help consumer-focused companies provide mobile applications such as mobile gaming, content aggregation, scheduling and other services. ValueLabs is having experience in building carrier grade systems spanning various communication technologies like 2G, 2.5G and 3G.
Technology Marketing Corporation recently caught up with Kiran Kumar, senior vice president of global delivery at ValueLabs, to learn more about the company’s activities in India and global market, especially in the area of mobile application development.
Our exchange follows.
TMCnet: What are ValueLabs’ expertise areas?
Kiran Kumar: ValueLabs has been in the mobile space for the last eight years and has built strong Intellectual Property in the areas of mobile video streaming solutions, data services and other value added services in 2.5G and 3G environments.
We work with service providers for providing value-added services such as mobile streaming services, applications for handsets such as Symbian, iPhone (News - Alert), Blackberry and Android and enabling integrations with enterprise environments, social networks and circuit-switch based applications.
TMCnet: What are ValueLabs’ important offerings to wireless markets?
KK: We have strong expertise in developing video streaming solutions, mobile content management systems and in SIM card-related technologies such as SIM Tool Kit.
TMCnet: Tell us briefly about ValueLabs’ focus on mobile application market.
KK: ValueLabs has been in the mobile space for the last eight years. We began our services in the telecom space through enabling a leading Malaysian telecommunications service provider expand its Mobile Data Services Platform.
The client who had already emerged itself as a key operator in providing voice-based mobile communications, wanted to look at opportunities to grow the company’s suite of high-speed data and content services. They wanted to transform from a predominantly voice and basic data operator to a mobile infotainment company.
The client partnered with ValueLabs to build a convergent Mobile Data Services Platform, to delivery high speed content services to customers and manage relationships with third party content providers.
We developed a unique data services platform known as External Content Provider Aggregator. ECPA is a platform that acts as a gateway between the content provider community and operator network and provides well-defined interfaces to operators to interact with mobile operator network. Operators can utilize ECPA for providing required interfaces to enable delivery of mobile content from content creators to mobile users.
After the successful initiation of this project, we have taken up numerous assignments from clients across verticals such as telecom, travel, entertainment, ecommerce, media and technology.
ValueLabs has a team of 200+ people with specific expertise in mobile technologies, mobile data services enablement, interactive TV technologies.
Our experience spans across different types of clients such as telecom operators, content aggregators and content providers (streaming, non-streaming and live content). We have worked across different business models such as technology consulting and vendor evaluation, revenue responsibility, creative responsibility, bespoke development, Quality Assurance / testing and maintenance activities across US, Malaysia and India.
We have expertise in 2, 2.5 and 3G networks and experience across the entire infrastructure of wireless operators in developing carrier-grade mobile applications and mobile data services platform. We also have expertise in providing integration with SMSC, MMSC, WAP gateways, IN, Kenan, BSCS and other billing solutions (post-paid and prepaid), LDAP and mobile banking technologies.
Other areas of our expertise beyond mobile technologies include:
Interactive TV technologies (Media Highway, Pantalk, NPTV, set-top box programming)
Speech recognition technologies (VXML)
Location based services, Telemetry
TMCnet: Do you anticipate growth in IT outsourcing in the coming years? What are the key areas which will see maximum growth?
KK: IT outsourcing will continue to grow as it carries a strong value proposition both in terms of cost advantage and strong quality focus. We believe outsourcing has benefited companies worldwide immensely over the past decade and these benefits are here to stay.
The Indian IT outsourcing companies are deeply embedded in driving next-generation technological changes and innovation for the global companies.
Nevertheless, the key challenge for Indian IT companies is to remain relevant in the face of competition from other emerging outsourcing markets. The Indian companies need to prove that they deliver sustainable value to their outsourcing partners. For this, the companies need to align themselves with their clients for creating real business value.
TMCnet: Which is the most potential market for ValueLabs? Why?
KK: The potential markets for ValueLabs will remain mobile and telecom, RIM and business analytics.
We believe emergence of 3G will accelerate the growth in the mobile application front. There is a growing demand for applications that allows greater interaction among users like video calling etc. Content related to sports, entertainment, human interest etc, enhanced with audio or video content either on-demand or real-time will continue to drive the expansion in this growth.
In addition, emergence of iPhone, Blackberry, Android (News - Alert) etc, will require the corresponding ecosystem be built around these platforms, thus further driving the expansion in the mobile application front.
TMCnet: What are your important clients?
KK: We are bound by agreements with our clients and cannot use their name without permission.
But as said mentioned earlier, our experience spans across different types of clients such as telecom operators, content aggregators and content providers (streaming, non-streaming and live content) and we have clients across verticals such as telecom, travel, entertainment, ecommerce, media and technology.
TMCnet: How do you help your clients navigate this recession?
KK: Our focus has always been on providing long-term value to the relationships we seek to build with our clients. Our core competency lies in building customized and dedicated teams, which act as our clients’ extended teams. These “Extended Teams” in India are dedicated to the client, based on their specific requirements that consistently deliver quality services and in due course become a seamless extension of the client.
This approach has enabled us to create a business impact and become a competitive advantage for our clients, by virtue of our world-class and cost effective service delivery.
We believe this strategy is even our relevant in these tough times where is focus is on retaining the value proposition of outsourcing. We are currently aiming at improving the value proposition for our clients by improving our operational efficiency and the ensuring bandwidth to focus on innovation that will generate results in the mid- to long-term.
We are aiming to achieve this through rationalizing resource utilization, cutting down bench and optimizing overall workforce through innovative practices such as cross training of resources, multi-tasking and just-in-time recruitment.
TMCnet: What’s next?
KK: We have successfully diversified our business across geographies, industries and have been in a state of preparedness by being highly cost efficient.
We are primarily tapping markets such as West Asia and Europe for expanding our business. We are also planning to expand its service offerings to cater to a wider market.
We believe there are going to be certain essential services that will continue to do well even in a slowdown. The infrastructure management needs for companies in the West will continue to remain high, and many of them might find it beneficial to outsource these services to India. Accordingly, we have increased our focus in this area and have ventured into the areas of packaged IT solutions and Remote Infrastructure Management, while keeping our key competence intact.
Meanwhile, given our strengths in mobile application development space, we expect a major spurt in the company’s business in India post 3-G rollout with the country witnessing a robust growth in the telecom sector.
We believe we will continue to grow in all our practice areas such as offshore product development, QA / testing, KPO and remote infrastructure management services.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
Rajani Baburajan is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Rajani's articles, please visit her columnist page. Edited by Michael Dinan |
