The Hindu Business Line : Cap Gemini’s Lab helps private equity players

The TME Strategy Lab of technology consulting and services provider Cap Gemini is playing a key role in helping some of the global players, particularly private equities, to test India waters for investment. It is now poised to expand its mandate.

Through the TME (telecom, media and entertainment) Strategy Lab, which is headquartered at London, Paris and Mumbai centres, Cap Gemini provides consulting services and market intelligence.

Exciting Market

The Head of TME Strategy Lab, Cap Gemini in India, Mr K.R. Renjish Kumar, said the focus is on the US and Western Europe in particular. India has become an exciting market and a lot of private equity players are keen to invest and participate in the growth.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Renjish Kumar, who is part of a globally dispersed team of 400 people in the Strategy Labs, said there are several important India-centric initiatives that interest global companies.

For instance, despite low per minute call time and lower ARPUs, it is interesting to note that Indian telecom companies have good returns on their investments.

The Strategy Lab researches in technology analysis, techno-commercial feasibility and new technology direction. These include interplay of WiMAX, 3G and DSL compatibility, IPTV etc.

Therefore, it is a combination of understanding emerging scenarios through business case analysis, he said.

Telecom Regulator

The other interesting aspect is that both telecom carriers and pure play Internet companies are evaluating online strategies and find out how they could align with them.

One of the key aspect of this is to build on advertising in this area for mutual benefit, he explained.

For instance, within India, the telecom sector is witness to a lot of action and there is heightened private equity interest in partnering telecom companies. It is estimated that there are about one lakh cell sites. This number needs to grow by at least three lakh for effective pan-Indian presence.

However, telecom companies and the telecom regulator are exploring how the existing infrastructure could be more effectively shared and the rest of the infrastructure developed. This is where private equity players plan to make inroads, he said.

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