{"id":4580,"date":"2017-02-21T01:34:39","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T01:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.digitalcreed.in\/?p=4580"},"modified":"2017-09-14T07:03:03","modified_gmt":"2017-09-14T07:03:03","slug":"cloud-telephony-gives-power-communication-back-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digitalcreed.in\/cloud-telephony-gives-power-communication-back-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Cloud telephony gives the power of communication back to companies\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
Telephony has always been a closed industry with proprietary systems owned by a few dominant players. It was much like mainframe computers and the age of vertical integration \u2013 with all layers of the stack coming from the same vendor. But that model began to change with the advent of PCs & client-server computing \u2013 and later cloud computing. The same thing will happen to telephony, says Shivakumar Ganesan<\/strong>, CEO, Exotel. Already, call centers and PBX have moved to the cloud. Ganesan told us about the benefits of cloud telephony and the power it can deliver to enterprises.<\/p>\n He was recently identified as one of the top disruptors and innovators under 40 years, by Fortune<\/em> magazine. Exotel is a company on everyone\u2019s radar. Its business has been growing at a fast clip. The numbered of calls powered by Exotel increased 3x to 1.5 billion from 0.5 billion the previous year. And its customer base has expanded to include 1,000 brands. The company plans to invest $10 million over the next two years to expand its global operations, particularly in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n Q. Why did you start Exotel? What inspired you?<\/strong><\/p>\n (Before Exotel) I used to run another startup called Roopit and this is where I got the idea. I wanted to build a decentralized call center for Roopit, but I encountered so many challenges. So I created a (cloud telephony) solution and people loved it; then I realized that there is a market for it, and now I focus completely on Exotel.<\/p>\n Q. Telecom application services were available 10 years ago, but did not take off here. Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the reasons why it did not take off initially was because our telecom regulations are too stringent. It is not easy to start a telecom business in India (as it is in the west). There are many restrictions and licences. While this is well intended by the government, it has restricted the possibilities in telecom.<\/p>\n Regulations are changing and I see more openness now. The regulator — TRAI and DoT — are releasing consultation papers; they\u2019re forward looking. This will encourage the telecom service providers (TSPs) and application services.<\/p>\n Historically, the telecom space has been a two-way partnership between telecom operators and box players (Cisco, Avaya etc). If the application space was allowed to flourish, you would have so many companies here providing telecom application services, contributing to the country\u2019s GDP.<\/p>\n
\nIn the US, there is a three-way partnership, with the telecom application service providers being the third element. There are almost a dozen billion-dollar public companies providing application services. But why hasn\u2019t this happened in India, the second largest telecom market in the world?<\/p>\n