CTO Speaks....

Today, leased lines are being replaced by VPN solutions provided by ISPs such as Sify. ISPs provide security and privacy for individual customers who run on their larger data pipes through the use of technologies such as IPsec and MPLS. ISPs also commit service level agreements (SLAs) which include packet loss, latency and uptime. VPNs are also engineered and provided as a managed service by ISPs thereby removing the need for the customer to retain trained professionals for network setup and management. This adds up to a compelling solution for most corporates - the best of price effectiveness and managed network solutions.

Rustom Irani
CTO - Sify

Information Security Survey.

A Ernst & Young survey finding concludes that security and privacy concerns are the top barriers to further connectivity.

Increasing Vulnerabilities: 70% of Indian CIOs, IT Directors and business executives surveyed indicate that they expect to experience greater vulnerability as connectivity increases.

Barriers to further connectivity: Most Indian companies see security and privacy concerns (67 %) and lack of standards (17%) as the top barriers to external connectivity.

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Use of security technologies: Current take-up of advancing information security technologies is still relatively low. Five percent of Indian respondents are piloting or widely deploying Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and a further 33 percent are planning to pilot it. Biometrics is in use at only 6 percent of the organizations and only further 11 percent plan to pilot it in future. Given the increased interest in authentication over recent months, this is surprisingly low. Only 17 percent of the organizations are using Intrusion Detection Systems.

Barriers to emerging technologies: Most Indian companies see the cost of implementation and training as the major barrier to increased use of emerging technologies.

What might this mean for your business?
Organizations that use several technologies but have not invested in other proven technologies may be missing an opportunity to address some of their security concerns. Businesses that have not clearly articulated their business needs (e.g. further connectivity) and mapped it to their technology investments may miss out the potential benefits of such investments and also run the risk of having an inadequate security infrastructure around such technology.

Broadband - Market Trends.

Market research organizations have projected the country’s broadband requirements for the first half of this decade. Nasscom projects 300 Gbps Internet bandwidth demand in India by 2005. Market researcher Frost & Sullivan predicts growth rates of over 93.6 percent for Internet bandwidth, between March 2000 and March 2005. Industry reports indicate India could loose out on $22.5 billion in business earnings if it fails to address its bandwidth requirements.

Enterprises deploy broadband networks for Internet access / international connectivity, or for internal LAN / WAN point-to-point connectivity.

Technology Enablers : New conn-ectivity options at lower costs are also prompting many companies to consider broadband connectivity for business operations.

For instance, Optical Ethernet technology enables business to connect their existing Ethernet LANs to DWDM based optical backbones. Transmission speeds are boosted as optical components replace silicon in switching equipment.

The cost of wireless equipment is falling and it’s also becoming easier to set up wireless networks. Radio Frequency links and IP-VPN are becoming popular because of the features and benefits they offer.

Did You Know?

Voice market in India is estimated to be around Rs. 33,000 crore (ILD and NLD) of which Internet Telephony is likely to grab a share of 2 to 3 percent.