Black Box to expand into digital infra, data center integration space

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) announced in July that it is investing $122 million alongside Brookfield in a data centre joint venture

The US-based IT solutions firm, Black Box, is planning to expand into digital infrastructure and data center integration space in India following the rising demand for such services from its US-based clients. The company wants to take advantage of the Digital India initiative of the Indian government to increase its presence in India, Sanjeev Verma, chief executive officer (CEO) of Black Box Corporation, said.

With this move, the group aligns with several Indian companies like Larsen & Toubro, Adani Group, and Reliance Industries (RIL), which are investing in data centres.

RIL announced in July that it was investing $122 million, along with Brookfield, in a data centre joint venture. Several private equity companies are also investing in data centres, as India is expected to receive investments worth ~1.5 trillion in the data centre business, according to rating firm ICRA.

“The US is our largest market, just like it is for the rest of the technology companies. We continue to grow and invest in the US in terms of revenue and profits and expect to achieve double-digit growth on the back of a strong backlog and pipeline. In India, we continue to evaluate potential opportunities to make investments. The current digitisation initiative by the Indian government and the high demand for data centres are something we would like to evaluate since we are among the few players with expertise to work with our hyperscale customers," Verma said.

Black Box is one of Essar’s flagship businesses in its technology and retail vertical and has recently set up a centre of excellence in Bengaluru to support its global clients. The centre is equipped with advanced research and development laboratories, command centres, a service desk, and delivery operations targeting its client needs.

The company plans to hire more in India and the rest of the world, depending on client needs. “We will continue to hire people across geographies to drive growth, and we are planning to add 500 jobs to our Bengaluru centre of excellence,” he said.

For Black Box, Verma said India is an important market considering it serves many Indian and global customers.

“We are optimistic about our growth potential in India and hence will continue to invest here. We have been present in India for over 37 years, earlier as AGC Networks, and have some marquee clients in India in the banking, financial services and insurance, manufacturing, and information technology (IT)/IT-enabled services spaces. Most of these clients have grown, spreading their wings to multiple geographies, and have taken Black Box with them due to our shared relationships and the results we have delivered. We continue to target companies that need digital infrastructure, whether they are in India or present globally,” Verma said.

Verma said the company has customers from various industry verticals, including banking, insurance, health care, manufacturing, distribution, energy, and utilities, in the US.

“The services we are offering to them in the US are managed extended detection and response services, endpoint detection and response services, and vulnerability management-as-a-service,” the CEO said.