Sanjeev Goel is a founding member of Infozech, a company that provides energy management solutions to the telecom industry. He currently heads the company’s operations in Africa. Prior to this, he was head, telecom delivery and operations, product management and pre-sales functions at Infozech.

Goel has over 20 years of experience in telecom system implementation for IP, wireline and wireless telecom operators. He has also been involved in telecom tower billing and energy tracking implementation since 2008. He has expertise in business process engineering, automating telecom processes, and has been instrumental in providing solutions in the areas of telecom billing, integration of Infozech products with third-party protocols and other business applications. He has worked closely with the company’s clients in more than 20 countries in Europe, the Asia- Pacific, North America, and the Middle East and Africa.

Goel is of the view that energy management at tower sites is one of the most challenging tasks in the telecom tower industry. The key challenges pertain to asset, battery and field force management, and operations and maintenance. Moreover, the implementation of new technologies requires a change in people’s mindset, which is a major challenge for technology providers.

Talking about the African market, Goel says that its telecom industry is in a transitional phase with a changing industry structure and dynamics, similar to India’s. Energy consumption costs constitute a major portion of the network opex for operators in the region, which provides significant opportunities for energy management solution providers.

For Goel, the most satisfying part of his job is that the company’s solutions not only generate cost savings for customers, but also help society and the environment at large. “Our energy monitoring solutions have helped customers optimise energy costs by 15-20 per cent,” he says.  He feels that his biggest strength is that he can bridge the gap between technology and business operations. Owing to his global experience, he finds it easy to relate to the challenges faced by clients and suggest technological solutions.

Goel likes to lead by example. He is a process-oriented person, open to new ideas and eager to motivate his team. “I believe that we learn equally from success and from mistakes,” he says. Given that his job demands a lot of travel, he loves to spend whatever free time he gets with his family.