The Hindu Business Line : IBM at work on improving Bharti Tele billing system

IBM, which recently entered into an agreement with Bharti, will take care of the improvement, which will come about through an architecture overhaul. It will change from a client/server architecture to a monolithic architecture (in which computing happens at the centre of a network), according to Dr Jai Menon, Corporate Director - IT &Technology, Bharti Televentures.

(Architecture refers to the overall structure, logical components and logical interrelationships of a computer, its operating system and network.)

According to Dr Menon, the present client server architecture cannot handle the growth in post-paid subscribers that the company expects to come about when it enters new telecom circles and acquires other operators. "As post-paid users grow, the billing system will be rock solid," he told journalists here today.

(It may be recalled that Bharti and IBM signed an agreement in March under which IBM would be responsible for all of Bharti's IT requirements; Bharti would be the preferred telecom service provider to IBM India; and the two would jointly market products and services.)

Dr Menon said IBM would make the required capital expenditure in changing the architecture.

But, when pre-paid subscribers far outnumber post-paid users, what is the point in improving the system for post-paid customers?

Dr Menon said, Bharti anticipated a "phenomenal growth" in post-paid customers. Also, Bharti, IBM and Ericsson will discuss a scenario as to how some services for a cellular subscriber can be post-paid and some pre-paid, and how this can be bundled into a handset. (Ericsson has signed an agreement to manage Bharti's cellular network for a three-year period.)

On the agreement with IBM, Dr Menon said 200 Bharti employees would become employees of IBM, but would continue to work exclusively on the IT requirements for Bharti.

There would be anywhere 300 and 500 professionals working with IBM for handling Bharti's IT infrastructure. IBM would bring in a pool of professionals from its global operations, including from Japan, Australia and Europe with specialisation in telecom.

He said Bharti, being a preferred telecom service provider to IBM India, would see enormous opportunities as IBM increased its activities in the country.