Sajan Paul, director, systems engineering, India and SAARC, Juniper Networks, has more than two decades of experience in the telecom industry. In his current position, he is responsible for driving strategic solution initiatives and technology architectures at Juniper Networks.

Paul, who has an engineering degree in electronics and communications from the Vellore Institute of Technology, has a passion for electronics and knows the pulse of the telecom market. According to him, the industry is going through a tough phase at present due to slow economic growth, and regulatory and other issues. Moreover, the industry is heavily dependent on the voice business, which has reached saturation point. Declining profit margins and intense competition are affecting industry performance. Further, he points out that the success of the top players has impacted the traditional revenue stream of service providers.

In this scenario, telecom operators should explore alternative avenues of revenue generation, Paul suggests. “They should focus on providing cloud and mobility solutions. This would bring a paradigm shift in providing users data services profitably, at affordable prices,” he says. “While investing in future technologies, operators should focus on pursuing machine-to-machine communication, which is expected to surpass human interactions over the next few years.”

To tide over the challenges currently facing the industry, Juniper Networks has been focusing on acquiring the right talent, retraining existing staff and rewarding high-performing individuals. “These measures have helped the company hold its own in a difficult business environment,” says Paul.

He attributes his success to his firm belief in teamwork and says it has been a rewarding experience to lead a team of highly skilled engineers and managers at Juniper Networks. Describing his management style, he says, “For me, every individual is like a building block. Each one of them is important in a team. I believe in respecting each individual and his or her contribution to the team’s success as this helps build trust within the team. Moreover, as a team leader, I try to avoid micro management.”

A believer in the philosophy, “we don’t live to work but we work to live”, Paul makes sure that he spends quality time with his wife and two daughters.