The Hindu Business Line : Nokia shifts managed services unit to India

In a significant development, Finnish telecom equipment major Nokia on Monday said that it has shifted its managed services business unit to India. This is the first time that the company is moving any of its business units out of Finland.

Announcing the move at the Nokia Connections 2006, Mr Rajeev Suri, Senior Vice-President, Asia Pacific Networks, said, "Managed services will be led globally from India effective July 2006. The move underscores Nokia's commitment to tap global services market growth, as well as India's outstanding outsourcing ecosystem and innovation pedigree.''

Services account for 30 per cent of Nokia's revenues from networks segment. One-third of the employees working for the company's network is related to the services segment.

New global head

Mr Ashish Chowdhary, currently the Country Head for Networks in India, will transition over as the new global head of managed services by the end of the year.

The current Vice-President for Managed Services, Mr Henrik Sund, who successfully established and grew the business line, is moving on to new challenges outside the company. Nokia at present manages 39 cellular networks across 30 countries.

Chennai centre

The company also announced that its first Global Networks Solutions Centre (GNSC) in Chennai had started operations, and it will eventually serve as the hub for other Nokia operations around the world. The Chennai GNSC offers services including remote care, remote integration, consulting, planning and optimisation, and is currently supporting operators including Bharti Tele-Ventures.

Nokia said that India would play a pivotal role in its managed services success, not only as a large target market but also from a delivery and direction perspective.