Sify launches countrywide video-conferencing at iWay cyber cafes

Makes video-conferencing affordable for everyone at Rs 5 a minute

New Delhi and Chennai, India, November 29th, 2003. Sify Limited (Nasdaq National Market: SIFY) launched today its video conferencing service, branded 'iMeet', at its iWay chain of cyber cafes across the country.

TThe service was inaugurated with a video-conference between Shri Arun Shourie, Union Minister for Information Technology, Communications and Disinvestment in New Delhi and Shri Vivek Harinarain, IT Secretary of Tamil Nadu, in Chennai.

Commenting on the launch of this new service, Shri Arun Shourie, said, "An affordable video-conferencing service is a major initiative for a country like India. I believe it will revolutionize the way consumers and business people communicate with each other according to the occasion or need. This is something India can be proud of, as very few countries in the world have such a service available for the masses".

"This is likely to have the social & business impact that STD booths had when they became available everywhere. In fact it will be a boon for businesses, saving them time & money, while enabling important discussions without having to travel. Consumers also can regularly meet loved ones in distant cities without travelling to them. I am happy that Sify has brought this service to India, that too at an affordable price of Rs 5 a minute", said Mr Vivek Harinarain, commenting on the launch.

Mr Ramaraj, MD & CEO, Sify, said, "The true potential of the Internet lies in its multi-media capability. Making this available widely at affordable prices will greatly benefit both consumers and businesses. For instance, a newly married bride located in Chennai can 'meet' her parents in Delhi whenever she wants; or a frequent-traveller father can regularly 'meet' his wife and children when on tour. Similarly, the owner of a business can now speak face-to-face with sales people, suppliers or customers across the country cost effectively; while sales managers can conduct periodic sales reviews with field staff without regular country-wide travel. Empowering people with the power of the Internet with such services to enhance their quality of life is what we mean when we say 'Making the Internet work for you'.

The service is enabled over Sify's Tier 1 backbone infrastructure and the broadband connectivity of the iWay chain. The video-conferencing facility can be booked, once the calling parties decide to meet, at a convenient iWay in each city. The video-conference can then be initiated at the appointed time for a face-to-face discussion.

Users can also video-conference with their relatives or business associates in India or abroad, who have a broadband connection, as well as video conferencing capability with a multimedia PC and a webcam.

At Rs 5 a minute for both participants, this service is available at over 100 iWays across 24 cities and will be scaled up to 350 iWays in 40 cities in the near future. As the concept finds acceptance, it will be made available across the chain of over 1200 iWays in the country.

Sify adopts ITIL Framework for IT Services Management

Sify has adopted the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Framework for its technology operations. As part of this, about seven key technology associates have already undergone training and have successfully cleared the certification examination for the ITIL Foundation level. This is a globally recognized certification at the individual level, awarded by EXIN, Netherlands.

ITIL Framework is a framework covering the provision of IT Infrastructure Services, referred to as IT Services Management. Pioneered by the U.K. Government through its agency called Office of Government Commerce, ITIL has emerged as the most widely adopted body of knowledge and best practices for organizations that provide IT Services to internal or external customers. In today's context, where large corporations are outsourcing their complete IT operations to vendors, adopting ITIL processes represents clear competitive advantage to service providers such as Sify, in India as well as in international markets.

The focus of the ITIL framework is to align IT Services to the business objectives of an organization, and achieveing higher customer satisfaction. This is done through implementation of well documented processes, establishment of clearly defined service level agreements, and achieveing on-going improvement in terms of effectiveness and cost efficiency.

Currently, ITIL certifications are awarded to individuals in organizations which adopt the framework. It is expected that the ITIL certification at an organizational level would be available soon through the release of BS 15000 standards, which will provide a framework for audit and verification of ITIL process implementation.