Cisco focuses on e-commerce, govt space for India biz growth

Networking giant Cisco is betting big on verticals like eCommerce, manufacturing and government to boost its business in India that is one of the fastest growing geographies for the US-based firm.
ECommerce sector in India has seen unprecedented growth with increasing Internet penetration and more people shopping online.
"eCommerce is the perfect segment to work with right now. The traffic volumes are high and the heavy consumer usage brings in high requirements for bandwidth and networks. Also, the solutions that are deployed with these new age technology companies have to be customised for their needs and so, there is a lot of co-innovation. We see a lot of potential," Cisco India and SAARC President Dinesh Malkani told PTI.

He, however, declined to comment on the targetted revenues from the segment stating that the company does not share country-specific details.
The US-based firm had reported a 3.6 per cent rise in revenues to USD 12.7 billion in the quarter ended September 30, 2015, helped by over 40 per cent growth in markets like India and China.
Malkani said the other sector where the company is seeing a strong traction is the government space.

"Today it is no more about just planning. There are projects on ground. We are working with various state government projects across areas like surveillance, smart cities, automation," he said.

In November, Cisco and CH2M had announced a new global partnership to provide urban planning and design, smart-technology integration and programme delivery services. The first integrated delivery from Cisco and CH2M is to Shendra-Bidkin, an industrial smart city being developed along India's Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.
Talking about the business environment, Malkani said the government is very focussed on making sure that over time, the right reforms are in place.
"They have crystal clear clarity on what needs to be done. Second thing is putting that reforms in place... The fundamentals have gotten better. If you look at what has happened in past 18 months, you will realize as a business leader that you don't have to worry about fundamentals," he said.

Malkani said the focus is now more on customer outcomes and expanding into new areas rather than worrying about GDP going negative and rupee tumbling.
Cisco today showcased its collaboration with the
Rajasthan government.
As part of the digital blueprint of Rajasthan, the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) is developing smart city infrastructure in the City.
In its first phase, the Pink City has created digital infrastructure to offer citizens amenities including intelligent kiosks, wireless broadband, safety and security services, traffic management and environmental updates.
JDA has set up a City Infrastructure Management Centre as well as a Response Control Room to manage the city with greater efficiency and effectiveness. Nearly all the solutions are integrated into a digital platform.

The digital platform built by JDA can aggregate data from various sensors and solutions conduct data analytics and support a number of urban services, Jaipur Development Authority Commissioner Shikhar Agarwal said.
In this phase, JDA has implemented the solutions in Jantarmantar, Amer, Albert Hall, Jal Mahal, Ram Niwas Bagh, Hawa Mahal, Central Park and Jawahar Circle; the next phase of implementation in another 25 sites will be completed by the end of February 2016, he added.