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BT DOTCOM: STATS &STRATS What's Hot! VSNL moots roll back of leased line tariffs to face competition in the post-gateway reforms era; Rediff joins hands with Panasonic and Spice Cell, and the Tatas go full steam with their Net plans.
e-initiatives
e-alliances
e-legislation
e-tcetera
BT's E. Kumar Sharma has an on-line chat with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu
A. We have made substantial progress towards e-governance over the last five years. In terms of infrastructure, dot has established 20,000 km of fibre optic networks covering 1,125 mandals. Companies like Reliance are setting up 6,000 km of high-speed fibre optic networks across the state. Hyderabad is also home to the first international gateway in the private sector, set up by IntechNet recently. Also, databases pertaining to 76.7 million citizens have been digitised, linking up with human development indicators for 16.8 million households in the state. There are very few examples internationally of such comprehensive citizen databases being built. But with the state's revenue deficit rising each year, how do you intend to garner the resources required for financing these projects? The constraints are more in terms of mind-set and less in terms of paucity of resources. If we look at most of the infrastructure put up recently within the state for infotech projects, funding has come essentially from the private sector. In the case of Hitech City, the government has provided land, while the financial investments have been made by Larsen & Toubro. Even in the case of high-speed digital networks, companies like Reliance are bringing in their own resources for setting up the network. The government has just played a facilitating role by defining a Right of Way policy that permits speedy implementation of telecommunications projects.
Calling A Boom e-CRM is to the Net space, what relationship marketing is to the brick-and-mortar business. As a product, it is invisible. But what it does while sitting on the web-site server is establish patterns of customer behaviour. The data collected helps e-tailers focus their marketing efforts, which is expected to be the key differentiator with the growth of e-Commerce. Says M.D. Ramaswamy, Vice-President, Talisma Corporation: ''How you are able to retain customers is the key issue. That is where we step in.'' That's easier said than done. Complex e-CRM solutions are needed for real-time customisation. If a web-site has visitors in large numbers, they have to be managed efficiently. That is spawning a host of e-CRM service companies. Says Gagan Sharma, 27, CEO, iSeva.com: ''There is a huge opportunity in the e-CRM space globally, and we would like to be able to leverage that opportunity to our advantage.'' The most recent entrant into the Indian market is the US-based SalesLogix. Says Country Manager, Bonny Malik: ''As differentiation in service is disappearing, customer retention is even more important than acquiring them.'' SalesLogix is hoping that its e-CRM product for handheld devices will rope in one lakh customers worldwide over the next few months. Hand-held devices are not the only area of opportunity. Brick-and-mortar call centres can also graduate to being an e-CRM company. The advantage? It helps leverage their expertise in the Net space too. This is why e-CRM is not a passing fad. But comb through the infotech companies and India draws a blank in e-CRM products, except 'Talisma' from Talisma Corporation. For now, expect a lot more services companies to come up. -Ashutosh Sinha Click-A-Fix Are you above 21 years of age? A positive answer could leave you in high on-line spirits. Shackled in a highly-regulated real world, liquor companies are letting go on the Net. The first-mover in branding was Bacardi Martini's tie-up with Hungama.com, which hosts a full-fledged Bacardi Bat Club. The options range from music to games, screensavers to cocktail recipes. Says Mahesh Madhavan, 39, Director (Marketing), Bacardi Martini: ''We want to project a youthful image of our products.'' Though contemporary firms find the Net a strong publicity medium, traditional ones are not comfortable with the idea. That's changing slowly: Old Monk's iconic rum bottle can be spotted on foodizone.com. UB discounts products on dotdrinks.com. Shaw Wallace & Co is setting up an e-Commerce web-site. Its new beer brand, Hi Five, is being promoted on contest on Contest2Win.com. Most brands are sold on tulleeho.com, which is spreading across larger cities. Says Albert Elgrissy, 50, CEO, Pernod Ricard, also discounting on dotdrinks.com: ''The scheme has just ended and the response was very good. But, the Net is the last outfit for us for publicity and sales due to its poor penetration. Our brands are mass-based.'' While there is a business model in avoiding some cities' liquor vends, lifestyle branding is the Net game. -Jaya Basu |
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Q. What's the report card on the Net and
Andhra Pradesh?