ITVoice: There are several structured cabling solutions in the market. What are the advantages that RiT Technologies brings viz-a-viz other solution providers? Please elaborate in terms of efficiency, pricing and ROI.
Mr. Anuj Shukla: The first thing I think you should know about RiT Technologies, is that we are a leading provider of end-to-end high-performance cabling and Intelligent Network and Infrastructure Management (IIM) solution for enterprises, and have been for the last 20 years. We have thousands of installations around the globe, including many large organizations with installations in the millions of ports.
The second thing you should know is that we have a strong track record as an innovator in the field of cabling: we’ve written many patents and were innovators of many products you see today (intelligent infrastructure management is one important example, switchless panels is another). RiT is a full participant in the TIA and ISO/IEC cabling standard committees: we participated in creating Category 6, 7 and 8 standards, and consequently were one of the first companies to produce a full range of Category 6A and & 7 cables for high speed applications. We are also one of the few companies to offer S/FTP cabling solutions for the highest bandwidth Ethernet 10Gbps.
We also develop new products and solutions specifically for the Indian market. For example, the RiT switchless panels: we recognized a need by Indian IT managers to make maintenance easier, and to prevent patch cord mess. So we developed a panel that does not use patch cords to connect with the switch. It only uses them in case of MACs (moves, adds and changes), which normally come to a maximum of 20% of connections.
So the switchless panels we developed reduces the number of patch cords in the communication room by 80%. In addition, the IT Manager can now put all the switches in one cabinet and close it under lock and key. This is very important for IT managers in India, for reasons of safety (as the switch is the most sensitive part in the local network) and to make sure only the right personnel handles them.
In terms of offering, we have an extensive product line across fiber and copper (cables, outlets, connectors, patch panels and more), and all our products are certified as component level according to TIA and ISO/IEC standards (including ANSI/TIA-568-C.2 and ISO/IEC 11801 2nd edition) making them fully compatible with any certified product in the market. So when you buy a RiT product or solution, you know you will never need to face any time in the future a “lock-down” situation.
Another important point is that the RiT range of products and solutions is developed, engineered and assembled onsite at our corporate headquarters. The result is that our product range is of premium quality on par with the top international brands: both in terms of quality and durability, and in terms of innovation. On the other hand, our pricing is very competitive and that makes our offering just about the best return on investment you can find in our field.
ITVoice: Partner/ Solution provider’s opportunities in structured cabling in dealing with RiT Technologies in India?
Mr. Anuj Shukla:RiT Technologies is committed to its partners and therefore engages with them right from demand generation to execution and support. We have a unique global program that provides technical training, competitive margins and technical, sales & marketing support. We also work with partners on generating leads and bringing in customers. Our Indian headquarters have an established partner network and is investing considerable resources in building up local partners.
Another important contribution to our partners, is that RiT as an innovative Company develops solutions specifically for the Indian market, such as the patchless panels I mentioned above. Or our IIM (Intelligent Infrastructure Management) solution, which is the most advanced of its kind. This means our partners have an edge over competing partners and vendors, not only in terms of support and pricing, but also in terms of offering. They have something unique, which the competition does not have.
ITVoice: As a leading player, what will be the contribution from your end to build the domestic market?
Mr. Anuj Shukla: Our contribution is three-fold: to provide best-of-breed solutions that will enable our customers to deliver differentiated capabilities; to continue strengthening our partner network in India and provide our partners with all the tools and support they need in order to succeed; and to keep innovating in order to provide our customers with cutting-edge tools geared for the future network.
ITVoice: What are the new trends in structured cabling with transformation in IT infra/ cloud/ datacenters?
Mr. Anuj Shukla:Organizations are experiencing massive data growth and as a result, data centres and communication network are becoming a tremendous challenge in terms of management and cost. The movement to the cloud, by the way, is having the same effect: power, cooling and space have become major issues. Of course, at the same time, reliability is becoming a greater issue, because the cost and disruption caused by downtime is inhibitive to business. So cabling infrastructure needs to provide advanced capabilities and to be exceptionally robust. We’re also seeing companies look for ways to manage cabling infrastructure, because of the sheer size, complexity and cost of organizational networks.
Another trend that we seeing in cabling, is the introduction of compact product designs that enable to free space in the communication room an lower the carbon footprint. RiT’s next-generation intelligent infrastructure management solutions, PatchView+ is a case in point: it requires Zero U of rack space to support an unlimited number of ports, which means a major reduction in the number of panels inside the cabinet and reduced power, cooling and space consumption.
ITVoice: How will the role of channel partners evolve with these changing times? How significant will be their contribution in the growth of IT business by 2020? Do you have any specific programme for the partners?
Mr. Anuj Shukla:We think channel partners are key to the growth of the whole IT sector. In the future, we envision that channel partners will scale themselves up so that they can transform to be a solution provider of choice. They will be playing a significant role in helping customers choose the right solution and deploy it. In our eyes, channel partners are best in identifying growth opportunities and future market trends, and that is why we like to work so closely with them.
The RiT Technologies Partner Programme is geared to provide our partners with the tools and support required for the end-customer build the right solution for their needs. This includes all stages of the sales cycle: from business and project planning, through procurement, deployment and on-going support. Apart from attractive price-points and competitive margins, RiT Technologies offers its partners through training & education (including technical, product & sales training) joint customer visits, product demonstrations and technical and pre-sales support.
ITVoice: Highlight some of the megatrends that will drive IT business landscape and create new opportunities for the industry?
Mr. Anuj Shukla: In our eyes these trends include big data, virtualization and increased security concerns. These are all major challenges to organizations and IT departments, but they also present an opportunity for industry players that are innovators of new solutions. As I mentioned before, we expect new solutions that will provide high network capabilities while lowering costs. Other trends are the cloud and collocation, whereby companies are moving their data centers and communication rooms outside the organization to collocation centers. We see cabling vendors and data center providers gearing up to answer the specific needs of collocation facilities; for example with DCIM solutions. Managing the cabling environment is a growing trend because of growing costs and complexity, but also due to security concerns. Cabling vendors that address these issues through innovation will definitely benefit from the trends we’re seeing in the network cabling industry.
