CIOIN

Rajeev Batra

CIO, Sistema Shyam Teleservices

“Subscribers now have a choice of selecting a CDMA operator without having to change their handsets.”

Executive summary

CIO 100 Winner: This project revolutionized the concept of CDMA mobile services in India by freeing the end-user from operator-locked handsets.

Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL), a joint venture between Sistema of Russia and Shyam Group of India, is one of the latest entrants to India's highly competitive telecom space. Started under the brand name MTS, the company's focus was to quickly launch its services in all circles pan-India before other new players.

So, SSTL designed a unique IT framework for project roll-outs and operations. "We envisioned an IT system that would have a green datacenter, a virtualized environment and a robust IT infrastructure that could deploy the latest technologies and manage explosive growth," says Rajeev Batra, CIO, SSTL.

The datacenter at SSTL, as envisioned by Batra, conforms to a green design of equipment placement and air-conditioning for minimal power consumption. There is a conscious effort to minimize paper consumption and to maximize laptop use. For increased scalability, the company virtualized servers, which have resulted in massive cost savings. Reflecting on business alignment, Batra says, "We have designed the organization structure in line with ITIL and BSM (business service management), rather than ITSM. This ensures better governance, especially when multiple projects are in progress," says Batra.

SSTL identified and outsourced several components of their IT framework. This has made world-class technologies more accessible. Being a new player, Batra had to concentrate on getting a respectable credit rating and the appropriate skills and resources to execute the project model.

Batra keeps an eye on the project to ensure that both short-term and long-term objectives of the organization are met. "We have rolled out our services in six telecom circles and are about to announce launches in Delhi, Mumbai and Karnataka," he says.

SSTL has saved approximately Rs 25 crore by using enterprise architecture design and best practices underlined in ITIL and BSM.

The project has enabled CDMA mobile services to use the concept of RUIMS (analogous to SIMS in GSM) to de-link CDMA from the mobile that were till now operator-locked. "CDMA subscribers in India now have a choice to select a CDMA operator of their choice without having to change their handset," says Batra. This unique initiative has radically changed the way the telecom sector works in India.