As senior vice-president, service provider, Cisco India and SAARC, he is responsible for driving the company’s core business of providing networking solutions to the telecom industry in the region. According to Kaushik, operators are currently facing tough regulatory conditions. They are constrained by both opex and capex. In such a scenario, customers are looking at optimising costs. And it is here that they expect Cisco to manage their operations efficiently.

Identifying business opportunities for Cisco in such an environment is challenging, he says. “With declining ARPUs, operators are focusing on identifying alternative sources of revenue generation. They are exploring new services and applications. Operators are in the process of upgrading their IP-based core networks. We can help them strengthen their core networks.”

Kaushik feels that a big opportunity for the company lies in the cable digistisation space. Also, with most operators already sharing towers,  sharing of electronics between the operators will present a significant opportunity going forward. Meanwhile, the Wi-Fi segment is likely to pick up with higher uptake and roll-out of 3G and 4G services. This would give the company significant business.

An engineering graduate from Punjab Engineering College and an MBA from Banaras Hindu University, Kaushik has been associated with organisations like Alcatel-Lucent (earlier Lucent) and Nortel, and has handled sales and marketing of both products as well as services. “This gives me a chance to meet and work with different people,” he says. “Managing operations and working with channel partners has given me an understanding of the entire value chain. I have worked on complex deals in close association with various telecom players. The entire experience has enriched me and given me insights into how the business is driven from a client’s point of view.”

To achieve results, Kaushik follows a collaborative style of management. He sets objective-driven goals for his team members and gives them complete freedom to execute the tasks assigned to them. He says he dislikes negative energy in or around his team.