TCS bullish on growth from telecommunications and media over next 2-3 years

Signs a five-year deal with Vodafone Netherlands to deploy its TwinX platform

5G deployments, fibre roll-out for rapid capacity expansion and vistrualisation of networks among the top global telecommunications players is making India’ largest services provider bullish about growth from this sector over the next two-three years.

“We are extremely bullish for the next 2-3 years as telecoms transition from being just network providers to digital services. Those who are unable to ramp up will merely be relegated to being network infrastructure company. Their biggest investments in the  coming months are year will be on 5G networks, fiber roll out and virtualization of networks. Our growth is pegged on these areas as we help them transition through this transformation,” said Kamal Bhadada, Business Group Head, Communication, Media & Information Services, TCS.

For TCS, communications and media represented 6.6 per cent of its revenue as of end of the third quarter, October-December, FY21. The business grew 5.5 per cent of a sequential basis but was down 4.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Bhadada however feels that this segment is poised for rapid growth.

“Telcos have always been the backbone of any business but the pandemic has made everyone realise that our lives revolve around there services. This is also making telco players to transform themselves from just being a network players to digital services provider,” said Bhadada.

Rather he believes that telcos will be in investment mode as they start deploying 5G, get into rapid fiberisation so that they can double their capacity and also virtualise their networks. “We are extremely bullish for the next 2-3 years as telecoms transition from being just network providers to digital services. Those who are unable to ramp up will merely be relegated to being network infrastructure company,” he added.

The company today announced that it has expanded its strategic partnership with VodafoneZiggo B.V. Netherlands to help the latter speed up its fixed fiber network roll out, enabling superior connectivity for subscribers and faster launch of new services. The financial details of the deals were not disclosed.

As part of the partnership, TCS will deploy AI and machine learning technology as well as TCS TwinX, its digital twin solution for enterprises. TCS’ TwinX digital twin model will help VodafoneZiggo gain a deeper understanding of its existing network infrastructure and embrace a data-driven roadmap for the rollout of its B2B fixed fiber network.

With the power of predictive analytics, the telco will be able to identify early on, where network upgrades are needed and prioritize investment to achieve its strategic ‘Go Digital’ vision, which focuses on customer centricity, data-driven, digital first and agile ways of working. For instance, VodafoneZiggo will be able to model different construction scenarios, understand how quickly new networks can be built and foresee the likelihood of roadblocks that can impact this process. This will help improve investment decision making, accelerate the roll out and enhance customer experience.

“Our TwinX platform gives amazing upside to telcos as it creates a digital twin of the organisation which is dynamic in nature. To give an instance, if a telco provider announces nee pricing and products then TwinX will tell you what should be your offering to counter that offer. Similarly, when telcos go in for fiber roll outs these are massive programmes, with TwinX they can prioritise the roll out based on area and customer base,” said Bhadada.

TCS has already signed up a major telco player from Africa for this platform that is helping them in fraud detection. “So far we have created 15 scenarios where TwinX can be deployed. We are in talks with several of global players across geographies.

Present in the Netherlands since 1992, TCS currently partners with over 50 Dutch customers across the telecom, media and entertainment, financial services and manufacturing sectors, in their growth and transformation journeys.