Enterprise Voice Infrastructure in India

Globally, the hybrid nature of working has radically transformed the way people communicate with each other. In this article, Nirav Shah, Head of Global SIP Connect GTM for India and APAC at Tata Communications, explores the voice solutions market in India and how organisations can meet their communications needs.

Mobile data, content and applications, as well as hand-held smart devices, cloud computing and big data have opened new dimensions of social communication, new economic opportunities and new business models. This confluence in technologies has also led to a convergence in telecom licensing in some countries, so that various services can be delivered under single license.

India is a highly regulated country from a telecom perspective. For example, domestic PSTN calls cannot be switched using corporate private networks. India as a telecom market is made up of 23 telecom regions and until 2013, each service required service-area-wise dedicated licenses.

In August 2013 the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued guidelines on a new Unified License (UL) approach which looked at providing a single license for all types of telecom services. The DoT then further recommended that Virtual Network Operators (VNOs) should be permitted to provide all services notified in the UL. A VNO can have one Network Service Operator (NSO) per service per circle or can have one NSO pan-India, based on business drivers.

India-based or global enterprises typically want to couple a PSTN calling solution to their cloud communication suite. However, they often do not have the required license to enable telecom services in India, and as this is not their core business, it’s an issue they are not keen to deal with.

“Similarly, there is a significant cost – both in time and investment – in gaining the required regulatory understanding and building the overall infrastructure to enable their services in India.”

Therefore, enterprises usually look for a trusted advisor with experience deploying solutions in the highly regulated Indian market, with the necessary license. The right partner can take care of the complex PSTN piece, leaving the enterprise free to focus on building their application service offering.

Choosing the Right Voice Partner

Cloud-based telephony has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its flexibility, cost-effectiveness and scalability. Organisations can benefit significantly from cloud voice to meet their communications needs, with its advanced features, mobility and improved collaboration enabling enterprises to streamline their communication processes, resulting in increased productivity and better business outcomes.

As organisations explore cloud voice infrastructure to support their communication and collaboration needs, here is a ready reckoner.

“Address technology, business process and security concerns before considering a migration to cloud communications.”

Then, choose the right service and deployment method that best suits the business. Finally, it’s imperative to select a provider with the experience, reliability, and expertise to make the move to cloud communications in India a smooth and productive experience. This partner should be a one-stop shop for:

• Supporting multiplatform collaboration and CX platforms and devices
• Ensuring regulatory compliance
• Enabling easier implementation, fewer integration issues, simpler management, and greater visibility
• Providing managed services through certified support teams
• Managing services all the way from high-speed, highly reliable MPLS connections to the data centre cloud to a full array of business applications
• Ensuring superior connectivity of a global Tier-1 IP backbone linking its data centres

Tata Communications UL-VNO

Tata Communications is now a pan-India UL-VNO license holder with access service authorisation. This enables Tata Communications to offer, in India:

• Location based SIP Trunks
• Domestic tollfree services
• Single number service
• Cloud based SIP trunks with unified communication platforms
• Cloud based SIP trunks with contact centre solutions

Tata Communications has created its VNO voice infrastructure on its own next-gen IP infrastructure, Global SIP Connect. This robust offering streamlines voice and video connectivity with unmatched reliability, scalability, and cost-efficiency. It has an inbuilt intelligent fraud-prevention-as-a-service, which protects enterprises from malicious voice traffic. Tata Communications’ toll-free and audio-conferencing solutions offer enterprises the much-needed flexibility for today’s new ways of working.

Whether enterprises are looking to enable PSTN calling from their Cisco Webex or Microsoft Teams Direct Routing collaboration applications or want the voice foundation for their customer experience solutions, Global SIP Connect enables seamless collaboration and communication through its full suite of cloud communications services. Tata Communications is a leading access operator who can offer centralised SIP trunks connected to the cloud platforms, thus minimising or eliminating the need for equipment at the organisation’s premises.

“As the businesses grow and expand, it becomes crucial to work with a technology partner who is an expert and compliant with the telecom regulations of India and has global connectivity and experience.”

With rich experience, expertise and proven partnerships with more than five global UCC platforms, Tata Communications understands the business needs as employees work in the hybrid mode, and as cloud communication takes centre stage in the employee, customer, supplier and business partner collaboration and communication.

To learn more about voice infrastructure, click here.