Sourav Sinha, Senior Vice president and CIO, Kingfisher Airlines talks about the company’s telecom requirements and technology-related plans for 2011. Excerpts… 

What major initiatives did your company take in 2010 with respect to its communications infrastructure? 

With regard to our communications infrastructure, we opted for VOIP and managed services for all our MPLS links. We opted for VOIP as it provides an effective medium for voice communications. Also, it is a cost-effective technology, which is important as we have a substantial amount of domestic and international communication requirements.

Second, managed services for our MPLS link help in better manageability of the links, and improve uptime and availability. We have also partially outsourced our airport IT operations to the extent that we have hired a company to provide the manpower to us at different locations on our network. At the same time, we also manage quite a few of our sites remotely with no local manpower.

What are the unresolved issues and concerns with regard to the company’s existing telecom and IT infrastructure? 

On-time performance (OTP) of our flights is one of our key priorities. Availability and response time of data communication links are critical for our operations as any data communication link downtime has a direct impact on our network-wide OTP.

What are your company’s plans with regard to communications infrastructure in the next two years? 

We are planning to complete the consolidation of our communications infrastructure. Consolidation is vital as it leads to better manageability and reduced costs for the company.

Also, we are in the process of setting up a network operations centre (NOC). The NOC monitors the entire gamut of IT infrastructure on a real-time basis with a proactive approach to identifying and resolving issues, thus minimising downtime. This 24x7 operation will form an integral part of the IT operations management process.

Which new product or service holds the most interest and potential for the company? 

No single product or service. It is a combination of different products integrated seamlessly that can provide the best value for money. From the IT infrastructure point of view, remote monitoring and problem resolution, contact centre management system, close to real-time reporting of problem resolution and SLA management are some of the components of an integrated portfolio.