Best Networking Solution Provider - North
Darts IT Networks, New Delhi
Delhi-based Darts IT Networks posted a topline of Rs 9 crore in FY 2007-08 as compared to Rs 6 crore in the previous fiscal.
Networking solutions contributed 80 percent to the turnover, while 10 percent came from storage solutions and the rest from services.
With an employee base of 50 including 14 certified professionals, the company added around 40 new customers during the fiscal who accounted for 80 percent of the revenue. During FY 2007-08 the company added power solutions from APC and structured cabling from Clipsal.
Last year, the company created news by becoming the only Cisco partner across the globe to attain six specializations—unified communications, security, wireless, Express Foundation, SMB and CRM Express Solutions. “We were the only Cisco partner in India to win customer satisfaction excellence award every quarter,” said Arun Gupta, CEO, Darts IT Networks.
One of the prestigious advanced technology project deployed by Darts was the setting up of a unified contact center solution for a company called Digital Hub India. “The project enabled the client to leverage its existing data network and convert the same into full featured contact center solution with
| Performance Highlights | - First Cisco partner to attain 6 advanced
specializations in UC, security, wireless, Express Foundation, SMB and CRM Express Solutions
- Set-up unified contact center for Digital Hub
- Added 40 new customers which accounted for 80 percent of revenue
- Plans to open branches in Hyderabad and Bangalore
| | Company Snapshot | Company: Darts IT Networks
CEO: Arun Gupta
Year of Inception: 2005
Turnover 2007-08: Rs 9 crore
Turnover 2006-07: Rs 6 crore
Employees: 50
Certified employees: 14
Principals: Cisco, EMC, Tyco, Alcatel, Panduit, APC |
minimum investment. The customer availed multiple benefits including reduced cost, high scalability and better investment protection,” informed Gupta.
Darts also implemented IP telephony solutions for Marvel India, an embedded software solutions company. “The solution has enabled the customer to save on the expenditure required to create a discreet IP voice network. It also redefined the way in which the employees of the company collaborated with their customers and colleagues across the globe as the new platform enables voice, video and data on the same network,” explained Gupta.
Another interesting project was the implementation of power conditioning solutions that helped Macmillan save power bills of up to 85 percent.
Darts achieved BS7799 certification last year and also implemented sales force automation to improve the efficiency of the sales process.
Darts is aiming to triple its turnover in the current fiscal. With already 3 offices—two in the north and one in the west—the company plans to open branches in Hyderabad and Bangalore. It plans to add skill-sets to provide data center and virtualization solutions. The other big opportunity Darts is keen to tap is that of providing intelligent building automation solutions for both commercial and residential estates. “We have been identified among Cisco’s few high-growth partners from around the globe. We will be working closely with Cisco to achieve our goals for the year,” concluded Gupta.
Best Networking Solution Provider - East
Kaybee Infotech, Mumbai
Mumbai-based networking solution provider Kaybee Infotech grew the topline by 25 percent posting a turnover of Rs 33 crore in FY 2007-08.
| Performance Highlights | - Signed up with D-Link and Fortinet
- Executed two large multi-crore data center
projects from Teradata and SVKM
- Ventured into providing FMS
- Plans to provide vertical-specific ERP solutions to SMBs in upcountry markets
| | Company Snapshot | Company: Kaybee Infotech CEO: Ketan Bara
Year of Inception: 1995
Turnover 2007-08: Rs 33 crore
Turnover 2006-07: Rs 26 crore
Employees: 52
Certified employees: 17
Principals: Cisco, Systimax, EMC, D-Link, Cyberoam, Fortinet, Tandberg |
The company attributed the growth in the last fiscal to its focus on SMBs and the growing demand for security and network storage solutions.
“Last year was defining for us in many ways. We have been an enterprise-focused company for years now, but we realized that the growth rates are faster in the SMB segment. We took proactive steps to target SMBs with affordable networking and security solutions. This required us to sign up with D-Link and Fortinet,” said Ketan Barai, Managing Director, Kaybee. SMB contributed nearly 30 percent of the company’s revenue in the last fiscal. It added 15 new SMB customers last year.
But the company didn’t allow the SMB focus to compromise on its enterprise business. “We continued our focus on enterprise adding advanced products and solutions like converged communications, bandwidth management, WAN optimization and data center solutions. We bagged two large multi-crore data center deployment projects from Teradata in Pune and Mumbai’s largest educational Trust, SVKM, where we consolidated the local IT infrastructure of their 16 schools and colleges into one,” explained Barai.
Last year the company moved into the facility management services. “Operating in the SMB segment necessitates having strong facility management services as these companies don’t have any significant internal IT staff to manage their infrastructure,” said Barai.
Buoyed by the success of their SMB strategy, Kaybee is planning to enter smaller cities where the concentration of SMB is large. “We plan to look at upcountry Maharashtra and Gujarat as two regions to focus during current fiscal. We will add more complimentary services for SMB customers including mini ERP solutions specific to micro verticals, IP surveillance, remote infrastructure management, managed security services, etc.” informed Barai.
On the enterprise and mid-market front, the company plans to set up a new office in Bangalore and focus on emerging opportunities like unified communications and network audits and managements.
“Over the decade we have built a strong image as a network integrator. We call ourselves ‘Surgeons of Networks’, but with our new SMB focus it looks like we will have to get a new branding for our company,” averred Barai.
Kaybee expects to grow at 25 percent in the current fiscal.
Best Networking Solution Provider - South
Shell Networks, Hyderabad
Hyderabad-based Shell Networks notched up a topline of Rs 20 crore for FY 2007-08, growing at over 120 percent over the previous year’s revenue figure of Rs 9 crore.
| Performance Highlights | - First Cisco partner to attain 6 advanced
specializations in UC, security, wireless, Express Foundation, SMB and CRM Express Solutions
- Set-up unified contact center for Digital Hub
- Added 40 new customers which accounted for 80 percent of revenue
- Plans to open branches in Hyderabad and Bangalore
| | Company Snapshot | Company: Shell Networks
CEO: A L Srinath
Year of Inception: 1997
Turnover 2007-08: Rs 20 crore
Turnover 2006-07: Rs 9 crore
Employees: 61
Certified employees: 17
Principals: Cisco, Sun Microsystems, Systimax, Tyco |
Shell is a premier partner of Cisco, Linksys, Tyco and Systimax, and nearly 95 percent of its revenue comes from network integration services.
The company became the first Cisco partner in the Asia Pacific region to implement the advanced Digital Media System (DMS) when it deployed the system at the Baptala Engineering College.
“Last year was a breakout year for us as we undertook some very large and advanced technology projects that gave us the confidence to think big. We were the first partner to set up the Cisco DMS solution for e-learning at various colleges in Hyderabad,” said A L Srinath, Shell’s managing director. “Indeed, our core business objective from the beginning has been to drive new technologies in the market.”
The company also bagged the prestigious project to set up interconnected network labs across the 264 affiliate colleges of the Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University. “It’s a multi-year contract to be implemented over the next three years. So far we have set up network labs at 70 colleges under the Cisco Network Academy Program. The entire project was proposed, conceptualized and is being implemented by us,” informed Srinath.
Another major order bagged by Shell was from ICICI Bank, which chose the company to integrate networks across all its branches in Andhra Pradesh. Other large projects won include those for Wi-Fi deployments at IIT Hyderabad, SNIST Engineering College, and the Maulana Azad National University, also in Hyderabad.
Shell has also entered the IP-based digital signage solutions space. It set up an office in Pune during the last fiscal.
The company also initiated the process of attaining ISO certification, and plans to get it this fiscal. “In just three years we have grown almost five times in size, and this has necessitated the streamlining of business and the introduction of the best systems. With the ISO compliance process on, we are re-organizing our business to enhance our focus, bring more accountability to our processes, and improve our profitability,” Srinath stated.
Shell expects to grow at 40 percent in the current fiscal, and is betting big on IP video streaming, IP surveillance and digital signage opportunities. It aims to enter the hospitality and retail industry with the new solution offerings.
“The current fiscal will be important in organizing our business operations,” said Srinath. |