‘We will be looking at AI and big data analytics firms for inorganic growth’

Nasdaq-listed Sify Technologies is transforming itself from being a mere service provider to becoming an integrated ICT solutions and services player. KAMALNATH, chief executive officer, Sify Technologies, tells Gireesh Babu in an interview how the transf

How is Sify transforming itself ?

We started our journey in 2013 and our objective was to transform Sify from being a mere service provider to becoming an integrated ICT solutions and services player. In the process, we have consolidated our business lines, incubated new business lines, and augmented our product and service portfolio. For the past 18 quarters we have seen consistent growth of revenue as well as order book, which is a result of the transformation.

What was the impact on each of your businesses?

Our first objective was to change our positioning in the market. Earlier, we were known as an internet service provider, but today we are more known as a managed network services integrator. In the new avatar, we are a blend of service provider, managed service provider, and integrator, so the customer need not deal with three different players.

We have six data centres in the country and are building two more, one each in Chennai and Hyderabad. Earlier, we were mostly a data centre hosting provider, but now we are a data centre transformation partner for our clients. We have scaled up our managed services and IT services capabilities to enable customers to move to a cloud model and manage the entire data centre operations for them. How has the business mix changed for you? Four years ago, the break up of telecom to non-telecom revenue was 80:20. This has changed to over 60 per cent telecom. In the order book, the telecom business is 40 per cent and IT services 60 per cent.

The order book to revenue conversion takes some time. Another 18 months, we will be a 50 per cent telecom business on the revenue side. And nontelecom services will be predominantly data centre services at various levels. What are company’s plans for market expansion? We have two challenges: how to become a relevant ICT service provider for our existing telecom customer base and how to enter into new accounts through our integrated IT plus telecom network.

We already had more than 3,000 enterprise customers, as we progressed we increased the customer base by another 1,000. Our primary infrastructure focus is India. Around 97 per cent of our revenue comes from India, because our investments are very high in this country work as a start-up. Are you also looking at inorganic growth? We are not looking at acquiring any infrastructure company. But any services company that can help us augment our portfolio will be an objective. What we are looking for is incremental skill sets. We will be looking at artificial intelligence and big data analytics companies for inorganic growth. What kind of growth do you expect in the near futurel? We have been growing almost 22 per cent, year on year, in a difficult market over the last four years. Our growth plan for this year is more ambitious because we are more prepared now for higher growth. The market has recognised us today as the new Sify.