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Exclusive Interview- Shantaram Shinde, Channel Business Head, NTT Global Data Centers and Cloud Infrastructure

In an exclusive interview with DQ Channels, Shantaram Shinde, National Head – Channel Business, NTT Global Data Centers and Cloud Infrastructure, India

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Ankit Parashar
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Shantaram Shinde, National Head - Channel Business, NTT Global Data Centers and Cloud Infrastructure, India

In an exclusive interview with DQ Channels, Shantaram Shinde, National Head – Channel Business, NTT Global Data Centers and Cloud Infrastructure, India talks about  NTT's channel strategies, how they empower its channel partners and strategic partnership with ZNet and RAH Infotech.

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What’s the channel strategy for NTT Ltd. in India?

NTT Ltd. has a very healthy and loyal pan-India channel partner ecosystem that has been built over 14+ years. Our selected channel partners are leading brands who have great potential, proven core competencies and the resources to effectively reach the customers and fulfil their IT infrastructure related needs. The demand for IT infrastructure, network platforms, remote office solutions and cloud services has increased sharply in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being the leading player in areas like cybersecurity, data centers and the cloud, it is understood that NTT can’t have a direct presence everywhere. This is where the MSP and Distribution Partner strategy helps us reach out to newer geographies and markets. This is the aim of our strategic partnerships with organizations like ZNet and RAH. Our partners have a pan-India presence through their own networks which will take our services to the end-users.

How does NTT  empower its channel partners?

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Right from the early days of our partner ecosystem, NTT has focused on making our channel partnerships more engaging, fruitful, and empowering for partner organizations. We work with select few MSP partners who have proven competencies and potential to further the reach of the NTT services portfolio in the Indian market with their value-added services. NTT offers the entire gamut of its services to be distributed through channel partners. We deploy direct teams to primarily address a set of named account and the commercial segment is driven by the channel partners and Digital Sales Group. With an emphasis on mutual growth, NTT encourages its channel partners to do the heavy lifting themselves and decide their own business margins instead of forcing them to agree to a fixed NTT pay-out structure. This, in turn, generates greater revenue for the partners and growth for them as well as NTT compared to a conventional payout model.

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What is the contribution of the channel business to the overall business of NTT Ltd. in India?

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It is about 20 to 21% of Asset heavy and Platform delivered services revenue which is significant over a period of time. At one point in time, 100% of the partner ecosystem profile was System Integrators (SI). Over the last 4 years we strategically changed the mix to 50% SI and balance 50% as Application Integrators, Born in Cloud, ISVs, Cloud Managed services, Govt Focused, Security Services and Consulting partner profile. This gave not only a boost to the revenue by a good percentage but also diversified the dependency on one type or profile of partners. It also created an ecosystem that can leverage each other's competencies. For example, SI partners started leveraging Application Integration Partners in the SAP space. Security Services partners offerings increased due to the NTT security services portfolio. MSP created interdependency. Distribution Partners increased the reach across geographies.

Highlight NTT's strategic partnership with ZNet and RAH Infotech. 

In the wake of the current pandemic, the way businesses operate and consume services has changed drastically. There is a diverse and much higher need for enterprise IT solutions. NTT Ltd has been at the forefront of providing need-based solutions to our clients. Our strategic partnerships are going to play a key role in our business growth strategy and meeting the new market demand. ZNet Technologies is a renowned player in the cloud services domain and RAH Infotech is known as India’s leading value-added distributor and solutions provider in the Network and Security segment. By partnering with these two highly reputed brands, we have taken another step towards NTT’s vision of serving every customer’s IT infrastructure needs.

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What is the way forward towards the partnership?

We have cultivated a healthy partner ecosystem over the last 14+ years. The partners we have chosen are reputed in their own domains and their vision is in sync with NTT’s mission. NTT will have a complete network platform for the clients as well as the remote office solutions and the other services for which the brand is known in the Indian market. The commercial segment will be driven using the channel ecosystem. In tandem with ZNet, we are going to leverage NTT’s datacenter and cloud solutions expertise and use the partner channel to create a pan-India footprint. ZNet has an extended reach and adds value proposition to the partnership. Similarly, RAH will play an important role in catering to the digital transformation needs of customers across India. We are the leading cloud solutions brand in India and as a pan-India distributor for NTT, RAH will use its nationwide distribution infrastructure to address the rapidly growing demand for cloud solutions across various business verticals.

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