CIOIN

V. Balakrishnan, CIO

Polaris Software Lab

“There has been a steep decline in the money spent on international roaming calls by traveling associates — as high as Rs 20 lakh per monthly.”

Executive summary

CIO 100 Winner: As the organization was beginning to feel the pressure of mounting communication costs, V. Balakrishnan came up with a solution. The objective was to convert all roaming international calls - outbound calls from the corporate - to free incoming calls for roaming users on any local line.

Chennai-based Polaris Software Lab is a software solutions company focused on the BFSI sector. But being a global solutions provider for the banking sector, for decades, comes at a price.

The organization was beginning to feel the pressure of mounting communication costs. Running into one to three percent of revenue, this was a substantial expense. The problem intensified as the enterprise reduced corporate travel to promote energy efficiency and profitability. With operations across the globe, Polaris needed to cater to the requirements of widely dispersed workgroups. These groups needed cost efficient usage of communication and collaboration techniques.

V. Balakrishnan, CIO, Polaris Software Lab, knew that this cost had to be contained.  "The cost of voice communication for a mobile workforce was huge, due to stiff roaming tariffs," he says. He wanted to ensure that the mobile workforce benefited from the best tariff negotiated by the corporate for bulk use from fixed locations.

The best way to get there would be to convert all roaming international calls - outbound calls from the corporate - to free incoming calls for roaming users on any local line. "If the call from point A to point B on the globe is converted to a conference call initiated by the corporate network, the effective cost of the call drops by upto 50 times," he says.

The challenge was establishing an easy to use and reliable system. Balakrishnan employed two solutions for this. First, he developed a centralized corporate facility to establish an international voice connect between two or more international telephone numbers. This would be on demand (or pre-scheduled) either through a self-help automated route or a manual assisted route. The connections are made through outbound calls placed from the corporate network at a discounted corporate tariff. Second, it provided a facility for a roaming associate to easily ask for an international voice connection between two telephone numbers and get connected instantly at zero or low cost.

The project went live in July 2009. Since then, there has been a steep decline in the money spent on international roaming calls by traveling associates to almost Rs 20 lakh per month. The deployment has eliminated the need for employees to incur heavy costs for official voice communications while on tour and submit claims for the same.