GEC NEWS WIRETell us more about Nets International. When was the company established?
Nets International was established in 2008 but full-fledged operations started only in June 2010. With over 180+ employees, the company has served more than 100+ clients by providing solutions and services in the field of Enterprise Networking, Unified communications & Collaboration, Cloud integration, SDN/NFV, Information & Network security, Routing and Switching, Data Centers and Virtualization, Service Provider Network Solutions (FTTH/GPON & LTE) and emerging Next-Gen technology integration solutions.
How have you seen the company/industry evolved in the past few years?
The area that we started to operate was traditional ICT infrastructure solutions which includes routing and switching, telephony, network security, call centres, etc. This was our strength while we were operating outside Middle East, in Pakistan primarily. These markets have grown but the major shifts that we have seen in the last decade is that the networks are moving towards SDN (software defined networking) and open source technologies. These are seen emerging in the Middle East market as well. Organizations have started taking information security challenges seriously because of the growth in e-commerce, 5G, IoT, etc. The ICT market is evolving and we are in line with it. We want to make sure that we are ahead of the curve. We believe that only if system integrators like us and technology resellers are ahead of the curve, we can guide our clients and partners in the right way to adopt technologies.
How was the year 2018 from a business perspective?
Although the region is under an economic slowdown due to infrastructure growth and Expo 2020, Nets International has grown about 60% in 2018. Our mantra has always been – “When the situation gets tough, the tougher gets going”. We are well supported by our team. Our regional expansion in Saudi Arabia and Qatar is also helping us maintain our growth. Our goal is to have a combined revenue that will touch 100 million Dirhams by 2020.
Tell us in brief about your solutions and services. What demand do you see for your solutions in the region?
I would like to focus on the two key areas –
- Access Networks – We are building networks for teclos for their broadband offerings like Fibre to the Home, Fibre to the Building, etc. Nets is involved in planning designing and implementation of these networks. About 50% to 60% of our revenue comes from this domain. We are the prime partners and contractors for Etisalat and du all across UAE.
- Data Centre, Networking & Cloud Services – In this area, we are working in the domains all the key domains including IP Telephony routing and switching, data centres, wi-fi, hybrid cloud , information security etc.
We strongly believe these solutions will enable the enterprises to use digital technologies which will give them flexibility, agility, cost savings so that they can focus on their core business.
What is your go to market strategy in this region?
Our primary market strategy is to go direct. We are doing indirect businesses with Cisco Systems, Westcon, Huawei, Ericsson, NEC, etc. for services.
Tell us about your recent partnerships
We have signed with Suse for OpenStack and SDN and also their digital transformation solution. We also signed with Nexign. On the information security domain, we have signed with Sophos and currently we are in process of becoming partners with both Microsoft and Amazon for their public cloud. Our partnership with Cisco and Dell has been upgraded to Gold.
How is Nets International different from its competition?
We have the best team with highly skilled people. Because of these talented resources and their retention, we are able to deliver the best possible services. We understand we are not a manufacturer/ software development partner. So, we differentiate ourselves in terms of service reliability. We ensure that our services are delivered to customers on time and they achieve the required KPI. We are enabling ourselves to serve all infrastructure services under one roof. So, with this blend of knowledge – planning, designing, implementation and operation, we are able to provide in-depth services.
As a Managing Director, what are your top 3 priorities for the company?
- Creating the best work environment for our people
- Growing cautiously in the market segments we operate
- Making an impact in the society with responsibility
By Divsha Bhat
