Q. In recent years, technology has emerged as a key growth driver in the BFSI sector. In your opinion, what steps must a technology firm take in order to ensure long lasting success in this sector?

A. Technology firms should create solutions for Consumer Ease, Transaction Security, supporting Omnipresence of Services, location Agnostic. It should also work towards offering Business Process Re-Engineering. Further, the technology solution offered by the company should optimise the total cost of ownership (TCO) for end consumer for Rural Financial Inclusion.

Q. Many technology players have also emphasized on the importance of security (e.g the identity of the user on the internet which remains unknown could easily pose as a security threat). Has the ever-increasing use of technology in the BFSI sector brought potential security risks as well? What is Bharti Airtel currently offering in terms of Security Solutions to the BFSI Sector?

A. Security in the current scenario touches various aspects of technology. End to end security means starting from User, User device, Network Transport and the banking application.

Airtel is offering broad spectrum of Managed Security Solutions. These include User Identity Security with two factor authentication of Hard and Soft Tokens/biometric, End to End Encryption and Digital Certificates for Server Authenticity and Digital Signatures for transaction Protection. Apart from this, the security solutions portfolio includes Managed Services like Firewall, UTM & URL filtering for Network Protection.

Q. What are the other key technology services currently being offered by Bharti Airtel for the BFSI sector?

A. The other key technology services offered by Bharti Airtel are Managed Services and Security Solutions such as Managed Security and Storage on Demand. Moreover, the company provides security solutions for branch banking. These mainly include Managed Network and Business Continuity Solution. In addition to these, the company offers security solutions for rural banking (such as Banking on Handheld with SFA and POS based Solution) as well as branchless banking (for example Kiosk with GPRS/EDGE, SMS Banking, MChek). The company also offers solutions for call centres, which primarily include Hosted Call Center, Toll Free, GSM Based Solutions.

Q. What are the key challenges that Bharti Airtel faces when providing technology to the BFSI sector? How can IT help in addressing these challenges?

A. The difficulty in reaching rural & remote areas due to inadequacy/ unavailability of 3G & Wimax spectrum is one of the key challenge currently faced by Bharti Airtel while providing technology to the BFSI sector.

Q. Lack of availability of accurate data has been quoted as a problem that is plaguing the insurance sector (especially general insurance) because they have not adopted modern technology. What are your views on this subject? Does Bharti Airtel plan to assist insurance companies in this respect?

A. Alike Insurance Sector, various other sectors such as Auto and Banking have the database of users. There is a need for creation of an entire Ecosystem using this fragmented information, which could act as repository of authentic database for use in the Insurance Sector.

Airtel has huge CRM and Business Intelligence based Database of more than 100 mn subscribers with various information repository bases, which could be of great benefit. Airtel also has MATE and BASE Solutions, which ports the application on handheld for real time centralized database access.

Q. Could you elaborate on the importance of Virtual Private Network-Internet Protocol (IP-VPN) in the BFSI sector?

A. Today, IP-VPN has evolved as one of the most preferred and secure enterprise connectivity services in the BFSI sector. The use of IP-VPN allows for collaboration within BFSI Ecosystem. Moreover, it offers fast rollout with security, Managed Network Services for SLA Enhancement and Business Continuity for DC & DR.

Q. What are Bharti Airtel’s future plans related to expansion and innovation of services for the BFSI sector?

A. Innovation has always been at core of Bharti Airtel’s agenda for growth. The company works closely with its clients to deliver innovative technology solutions that best satisfy all requirements regarding quality, security and cost. In this light, the company intends to offer Software and Storage as Service to address mid market segments. In addition to this, it plans to deliver services such as Banking over Phone & Handheld as well as Hosted Voice and Application Service.

Q. The BFSI sector has emerged as the largest spender on IT in the last few years. Is this trend likely to continue in the next 3-5 years?

A. Yes, the BFSI sector is likely to be one of the largest spenders on IT in the next 3-5 years. With anti-money laundering, compliance to Basel II & data security norms and financial inclusion being focus of the bank, the IT spending from BFSI sector is expected to remain high in the years to come.

Q. Which technology solutions are likely to be the key growth drivers for IT spending by the BFSI sector in the near future?

A. The technology solutions such as Portability with Handheld and Mobile Branch are expected to drive the industry’s IT spending in the near future. Apart from this, the BFSI sector will focus on deployment of IT solutions for rural connectivity to increase its presence in rural and semi-urban areas.