Telecom to be the next driver for Sai Info

As Ahmedabad-based Sai InfoSystem Ltd (SIS) establishes itself as one of the leading ICT players from the western region, it is looking to focus on new verticals. While the company's growth in the last decade was driven by IT products and IT retail verticals, according to Sunil Kakkad, chairman and managing director, SIS, the company will now also focus on the IT-based telecom vertical.

“We have already begun providing products in the video telephony and video conferencing services with BSNL. We have grown by 550 times in the last one decade and most of it came from IT products and IT retail. While we continue to expand in these verticals, we will also increase our focus towards IT-based telecom,” said Kakkad.

Of the financial year 2009-10 turnover of Rs 1,167 crore of SIS, IT solutions contributed 80 per cent and IT retail saw a share of 20 per cent. "However, this year we launched video telephone products in association with BSNL. Similarly, we see opportunities in tele-education and tele-medicine and are coming up products for such segments,” said Kakkad.

Moreover, according to Kakkad, in next three years, 60 per cent of world's communication traffic would be on video as against the current 2 per cent.

Sometime back SIS launched video phone service in Gujarat in association with BSNL. While the state-owned telecom operator will provide its broadband network, SIS is its technology partner which has developed a soft switch that will be installed on BSNL's network.

On its part, SIS provides complete technology for video phone alongwith audio as well as video devices, apart from installation of an exchange at BSNL's premises. On an average, the IP audio device will cost around Rs 2,000-3,000 while the video device will be priced at Rs 15,000-16,000.

Meanwhile, the company is also expanding its production facilities at Himachal Pradesh for IT products and setting up fresh unit for IT-based telecom products. By 2015, SIS hopes to garner a turnover of Rs 5,000 crore.