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SRL Ranbaxy, Mumbai

CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE

Ranbaxy has its main lab in Mumbai, which is linked to 20 labs nationally. Its infrastructure includes 200 desktops in Mumbai with 10 in each of the other locations. It also has 24 IBM servers, while Satyam is its web hosting partner. The organization has 240 networking switches in Mumbai, and the same number nationally, from Cisco, D-Link and 3Com. For its printing requirements, Ranbaxy has three high-speed Xerox N45 machines in its main lab and 37 HP Laserjets in other regions. It also has a Lipi Data line printer and 20 dot matrix printers in Mumbai. The other regions share 20 DMPs amongst them. The company also has 40 high-speed bar code printers internally and 120 low-speed bar code printers at various collection centers. The entire network is safeguarded by a Cisco firewall, set up in Mumbai with radio frequency link for LAN networking.

VALUE OF INFRASTRUCTURE

The current value of the infrastructure is around Rs 50 crore, which is roughly 1.25% of Ranbaxy's overall revenues.

PROPOSED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR 2005-06

Radhakrishna Pillai, CIO.

High on the agenda for system upgradation is connecting all the 20 locations to Mumbai's main lab through a Bharti VSAT connection. VoIP will also be available to all networked labs and Ranbaxy is currently talking to Snom and Cisco for its implementation. Server upgrades are also on the cards, alongwith the purchase of 25 notebooks for the sales team, for which the company is negotiating with IBM and Wipro. Five new labs will be added to this network in 2004-05 and another 15 will be included in 2005-06. The IT infrastructure for each lab is estimated at Rs 10 lakh.

EXPECTED BUDGET

Ranbaxy invests almost 1.5% of its overall revenues into its IT infrastructure.

CURRENT SYSTEMS SUPPLIER

Ranbaxy interacts directly with the vendor, though the order might be fulfilled by a channel partner. Mumbai-based Alphabetics Computers is its FMS partner.

QUALIFICATIONS OF SUPPLIER

Its policy is to engage with just one vendor or partner who has a national presence, especially in areas where Ranbaxy has its labs. Partners are chosen based on recommendations of the vendor. The key aspects that Ranbaxy keeps in mind while selecting a supplier is the negotiation and transfer prices offered by the vendor. At the same time, it prefers doing business with companies who have a well-defined SLA, including 24x7 support for mission-critical machines.