CIO'S SHOPPING LIST

COMPANY

ITC Limited

CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE

ITC
has over 10,000 PCs at 280-odd locations for its 15,000 employees. All offices
are connected via a 20 Mbps VPN consisting of leased lines, ISDN lines, radio
frequency lines and PAMA VSATs. A comprehensive IT security layer complete with
firewalls, intrusion detection systems and anti-virus software has been put in
place. About 150 servers are being consolidated into two data centers in Kolkata
and Bangalore complete with comprehensive disaster recovery and redundancy. SAN
and NAS have also been implemented. A thin-client network using Citrix has been
implemented in marketing branches to reduce total cost of ownership. An Internet
connected PC is installed in each of the 4,500 e-choupals set up by the company
in seven states, with connectivity through dialup PSTN lines or VSATs.

VALUE OF EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE

The IT budget over each of the last three financial years has been over Rs
120 crore. The budget is roughly evenly broken up into purchases of new IT
infrastructure, maintenance of current infrastructure, development and
maintenance of software applications.

PROPOSED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR 2005-06

Enterprise management tools for centralized server and network management,
software distribution, patch management, automatic backup and archival are being
put in place. Extension of VPN and setting up of a central service desk will
also be taken up during the year. A comprehensive, company-wide mail-messaging
infrastructure is on the anvil.

EXPECTED BUDGET

The IT budget for 2004-05 is approximately Rs 150 crore, which will be used
for implementing ERP in some of the businesses of ITC, extending VPN in terms of
bandwidth and number of locations, and adding new IT hardware and software
infrastructure.

CURRENT SYSTEMS SUPPLIER

ITC has multiple suppliers, which include HP, IBM, Dell, HCL, Wipro,
Microsoft, Oracle, Ramco, Tata Consultancy Services and ITC Infotech. IT
equipment and software licenses are bought both directly from these companies
and through their channel.

QUALIFICATIONS OF SUPPLIER

The supplier has to be a company with solid financials, good products and a
nationwide presence. They should be sensitive to our needs and be ready to
commit resources to accomplish work in strict timelines. A central IT Purchase
Committee has  been set up under the CIO, which creates a list of two
vendors for each type of equipment or service used. Vendors are short-listed
based upon their credentials and ability to provide service at multiple
locations. The committee independently evaluates vendors at periodic intervals
and shares the feedback with the vendors.