If IIW2000 is an accurate barometer, setting up high-power data-centers and server farms-which can service a company's total infrastructure requirement-is going to be the next hot business opportunity. Pointing to the entry of big players into the arena-flexing muscle at IIW2000 were Enron, BPL Innovision and Netmagic-Enron India Pvt Ltd's senior vice-president, Hemant Luthra says: "Decisions such as build or buy, or, to own or outsource are no longer going to be an issue for an Internet-enabling company." The services on offer: co-location of servers, dedicated storage and data management, the entire suite of manage solutions (services like mail, unified messaging and creating the necessary networks for ASP services), data caching and building neutral data exchanges for ISPs within the country. Consider the plans showcased at IIW2000.Industry heavyweight Enron India Pvt Ltd plans to offer the entire suite of services for data outsourcing in six cities, at its data centers. Having chalked out $125 million towards this, the company is set to unveil its first datacenter in Mumbai next month, with Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad next in line. "Maintaining and managing mission critical networks for company, providing them secure networks, load balancing services, etc, are some of the key areas of operation at the Enron data centers," said Mr Luthra.
Enron's data centers will be backed by broadband connectivity through its fiber optic network which is currently underway across the country. The `convergence player'of the BPL Group - BPL Innovision Pvt Ltd - is set to target large organisations to provide infrastructure support for effective e-nablement. Offering companies both connectivity (through its robust networks), the company was also set to offer applications and services that can be managed on BPL Innovision's networks, according to the company's CEO R Lakshminarayanan. BPL Innovision has invested close to Rs 150 crore on its iNOC (integrated network operations center) at Bangalore and is drawing up plans for similar centers in Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta and Mumbai in the second phase. Even as big players are set to enter the segment, Mumbai-based start-up Netmagic Solutions Pvt Ltd is raising close to $15 million towards setting up data centers in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.
Backed by well known venture funds eVentures and Global Technology Ventures and angel investors BV Jagdeesh and KB Chandrasekhar of US-based Exodus Communications, Netmagic will focus heavily on `manage services'. "We will target ISPs, portals and corporates and are also going heaving on building data-clearing ISP neutral exchanges for services providers across the country. With the basic network and server farm in place, this data center will be the hub for all services to be managed efficiently, based on an outsourcing model," said Netmagic managing director Sharad Sanghi. With new technologies and innovative business models on the high - strategic outsourcing, focussing investments only in core areas and bringing down back-end product/infrastructure ownership levels - seems to be the way to go.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.