Cisco to start leasing services in India

Cisco Systems, the global networking gear provider, will start its leasing services in India through its new arm Cisco Capital.

Cisco claims that this will help customers plan, design and operate business critical networks more efficiently.

Said Ranganath Salgame, president (India & SAARC), Cisco: "Cisco Capital will focus on making our solutions more compelling by offering flexible leasing and financial services to customers and channel partners in India. We do not offer these services in all markets we operate in considering the kind of risk involved and it reflects our committment to India."

Commenting on the rationale behind the move, he said, "The domestic Indian manufacturing and services industry has been maturing over recent years because of de-regulation and privatisation. Faced with intense global competition, the domestic Indian industry has realised the importance of investing in IT infrastructure to adapt quickly to rapidly shifting market and consumer dynamics. Cisco Capital will aid Indian enterprises adapt to this new regime much more efficiently."

The corporation also announced the expansion of its portfolio from core networking technologies such as routers and switches to advanced technologies like IP telephony, wireless, network security, storage, optical and home networking.

Cisco, in addition to the expansion, has stated that it will offer service expertise in network design and implementation as well as technical support and professional services to help customers maintain and optimise technology operations.

Cisco added that it is vertically splitting the market to drive the next wave of growth in India and will have individual business units to focus on sectors like IT services, enterprise, service providers and government agencies.

The company currently has 800 professionals in India and according to independant data it reported a topline of Rs 1,630 crore during 2003-04.