The Tata Indicom Enterprise Business Unit (TIEBU), a specialised sales and marketing team of the Tata group’s telecom service providers, has set up a separate government vertical to tap the Centre’s accounts relating to information technology (IT) and telecommunication. 

In 2002, its is estimated that the Centre spent over a $1 billion on IT alone, as per a Gartner study. This accounts for 9 per cent of the total IT spend in India for the fiscal. The expenditure is mainly on hardware, software, telecom equipment, services and IT services. 

Ajay Pandey, president, TIEBU said, “We have set up this new vertical to look into various accounts of the Centre which are related to IT and telecommunications. The Union government spends large amount on upgrading its hardware and installing software besides it uses IT not only on various projects as part of its social responsibility but also improving its communications within the government offices.” 

TIEBU is a single-window contact through which VSNL, Tata Teleservices, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra), Tata Internet Services and Tata Net offer their products to corporate customers. 

This interface unit will offer internet lease line, virtual private network, national long distance services considering the high security needed for government offices and also VSAT connectivity for remote locations where terrestrial link is not available. 

Considering the vast business opportunity available with the government departments, TIEBU has decided to leverage on the strengths of other Tata group companies as well and plans to enter into a project specific “alliance partnership”. 

Pandey said, “We are leveraging on strengths of CMC, now a Tata group company to jointly offer IT and telecom services to government companies. Similarly we are also exploring similar project specific tie-ups with multinationals such as Cisco and Avaya”. 

TIEBU has already set up seven verticals to suit different needs of telecom business of various corporates. 

It markets and develops communication solutions to several industry clients such as banking & financial services, manufacturing & process, transport, tourism, hospitality and government services. 

Tata Indicom is eyeing the government’s telecom services in defence research where the government has estimated budgetary allocations of Rs 6 crore till 2005, as well as agriculture research projects the government spending is estimated to be in the region of Rs 100 crore till 2005. 

Pandey said, the marketing enterprise is also considering government’s revenue related departments such as Income Tax besides the Indian Meteorology departments to provide its services.