Avaya and iSON Technologies Partner to Drive Digital Transformation for Africa From its origins in AT&T, then Lucent, Avaya has
To give just one example, the two companies
continued to prove its leading reputation by providing
have successfully delivered customer experience
reliable services to its partners. Today, Avaya is the
transformation for one of Africa’s largest service
only company that specializes in complex business
providers, having designed and deployed contact
communications –internal for companies’ teams and
center technology and managed services across 16
external for their customers – based on open, mobile
countries. The solution leverages Avaya’s leadership
software platforms, with the network infrastructure to
in contact center technology and iSON’s extended
meet customers’ underlying needs.
reach
and
skilled
workforce,
providing
a
fully
integrated customer experience, supporting 60 million Avaya
specializes
solutions
and
in
services
vertical, that
industry-focused
focus
on
business
subscribers in 18 languages, while reducing costs and increasing performance.
outcomes for enterprises of all sizes and types, rather than the traditional one-size-fits-all approach. The
The successful contact center solution implementation
Avaya SDN-Fx networking architecture is the first
has led to iSON winning multiple Contact Center
to deliver automation and programmability from the
awards and delivered a reference for iSON and Avaya
network core to the user edge, providing “connect
in every country. iSON has also won multiple other
anything, anywhere” simplicity – the perfect platform
awards for its work with Avaya in different African
for building Internet of Things strategies and to
countries, including with one of the world’s leading
underpin smart digital transformation.
international banking groups.
iSON Technologies is one of Avaya’s most valued
Contact Center Solutions
partners in Africa, Strategic Win partner of the Year
Today, iSON and Avaya are providing contact center
at the Avaya Partner Forum event in 2015. The two
solutions to one of the largest mobile communications
companies have been working together since 2010,
companies in the world. iSON is working with Avaya
and now partner in 21 countries across the continent.
to deploy Avaya Aura Unified Communications and
iSON is an Avaya Platinum Partner, the highest level.
Contact Center solutions to the company’s operations in seven countries, and giving Avaya a presence in
Digital Transformation
90% of the service providers in Africa.
Together with iSON, Avaya is helping organizations in Africa to progress on their digital transformation
Avaya’s successful transformation into a customer-
journeys and enhance the customer experience.
centric company focused on software and services –
Governments and enterprises across the region are
which account for 73% of revenue – and the strength of
looking at digitization strategies to drive operational
its solutions fit well with iSON’s strategy of customer
excellence, customer and citizen satisfaction, and
experience management. With Avaya able to deliver
deliver greater competitive differentiation. Avaya’s
a complete solution for the customer experience,
client-tailored and outcomes-focused digital and
including voice and data, and offering stable, reliable
smart services elevate organizations of every scale
solutions, iSON is looking to extend the partnership
and accelerate growth through their digital journeys,
outside of Africa, with a goal of operating in the United
with vertical, industry-focused solutions and services
Arab Emirates and other countries in the Middle East.
that focus on outcomes.
Africa is fertile ground for development.
Onshoring in Africa
As African nations and businesses look to expand
Avaya and iSON have together planted the seeds of
and play a greater role in the global economy, Avaya
a lasting partnership that is flourishing and delivering
and iSON have strengthened their relationship. Today,
results.
Avaya and iSON work closely on key strategic accounts across Africa, helping to transform the customer experience for leading brands in the Telecom Service Providers, banking, and financial services industries.
For more information please visit our website: www.Avaya.com
Project Partner
Onshoring in Africa
3
ISON GROUP
iSON’s Founder, Ramesh Awtaney, describes how his company has created history with its unique African business model
i
SON Group is one of Africa’s largest IT and ITeS companies, with a strong presence in 25 African countries, and a staff team of over 10,000 in the continent. iSON caters to a host of clients in sectors such as Telecoms, Banking and Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Government, Retail, Oil & Gas, and Aviation. iSON is split into three operating arms: iSON Technologies, which concentrates on IT solutions; iSON
4
BPO which provides call centre and process outsourcing services; and the newly-launched iSON Innovation and Investments, which is an initiative for driving consumer internet business in Africa. Ramesh Awtaney is the Founder and Chairman of the company, and has maintained a strict vision of the company since its inception: “Fifteen years ago, the words ‘outsourcing’ and ‘offshoring’ were used like synonyms,” he explains.
TECHNOLOGY
Ramesh Awtaney Founder and Chairman Ramesh Awtaney, a serial entrepreneur since 2009, is the Founder and Chairman of iSON Group. As a seasoned MNC executive and technology leader with nearly two decades of experience in Telecommunications and IT, Ramesh executed the path-breaking IBM-Bharti IT outsourcing deal on a revenue-share basis for the first time, which went on to become a benchmark for the industry. The telecom outsourcing arrangement is a Harvard Business case study that has been discussed globally in more than 50 boardrooms, and has also been referenced in the Global Strategies for Emerging Asia. Earlier at Ericsson, he managed sales and operations of all India GSM business. For more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramesh_Awtaney
w w w. i s o n g r p . c o m
5
Pravin Kumar Global CEO, iSON BPO Pravin is an industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience during which he has been credited with the creation of three large business empires. Pravin is a widely respected name in the Business Process Outsourcing space and is regarded as a pioneer in call center services. He is a Board member of iSON BPO - the leading ITeS services company in Africa. Under his strong leadership, iSON BPO now has operations in 16 countries in Africa and ASEAN regions with about 10,000 employees within 3 years of iSON BPO’s establishment.
TECHNOLOGY
“Whenever a US based company was sending work to India, the Philippines, or Bangladesh, they used to call it ‘outsourcing’, whereas the reality was that they were offshoring the work. Off shoring is mainly about labor arbitrage while outsourcing is about ‘let me give the job to somebody who can do it better, faster, and cheaper than me’. We do not use the two words as synonyms. iSON does outsourcing, not offshoring. “Africa is a developing continent with tremendous growth potentials, and availability of educated youths who lack relevant abilities and technological knowhow. We have used skills found in India, which is very mature in the IT and ITeS services industry, and applied this knowledge base to Africa to achieve optimal advantage. My motto is ‘let us not bring work
to intellectual property, but take intellectual property to work’.” Local recruitment Awtaney and his team are forming a unique and attractive business mix, and as such, the company has provided 10,000 jobs in Africa of which 99.5 percent are handled by locals, thus building an entire gamut of skills within the short space of five years. “What you have to remember is that Sub Saharan Africa is not one country but 46. What we have done is created a 17-country delivery model, each fully equipped with a skill development center. We hire mostly fresh graduates who then undergo a companysponsored skill development programme for six weeks, and upon successful completion, they are offered jobs in our call centers.”
w w w. i s o n g r p . c o m
7
iSON began in Nigeria, consciously deciding on the most populous African country but avoiding its larger cities. “We chose to do this because these cities are more marginalized in terms of employment and in a bid to be more socially responsible, we decided to take business to the smaller cities,” Awtaney says. “We employ over 4,000 people in Nigeria, and less than 100 of them are in Lagos. We have a high turnover of call centre agents because it is a strenuous job, and many people are able to manage for only a short duration. However, having 10,000 people in this role at any time suggests that there is a demand for employment in this business. The agents that choose to leave are trained and better equipped for another job
8
in other services industries.” Many company leaders would baulk at the concept of training their staff for future jobs, but not Awtaney, who is actually proud of this contribution to the African economy: “We are probably the largest services company which is creating employment and skills for those people and for society. We are very passionate about this and feel that we make a difference by changing the lives of people now and for posterity.” In addition to the focus on local employment, iSON is passionate about gender diversity, maintaining a ratio of 46 women in every 100 employed by the company, which even by global standards is exceptional. Technology iSON employs information technology graduates
iSON is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria
iSON Group wins ASSOCHAM India- Africa Champion in Biz Awards for "Disinguished Achievement in IT & ITeS category " during Indo- Africa Summit 2015.
“Africa is a developing continent with tremendous growth potential, and availability of educated youth who lack relevant abilities and technological knowhow�
Jitendra Israni CEO, iSON Technologies Jitendra Israni is the CEO of iSON Technologies, the technology and systems integration arm of the iSON Group. GTS a Middle East based company acquired by iSON Technologies in 2015 and focuses on IT enabled business process engineering is also led by Israni. He has extensive experience in Telecom and IT industry and has been associated with leading Telecom and IT companies in senior management roles in India and abroad.
and postgraduates, as the skillset required above call centre level is more complex. These graduates are trained in Big Data, Analytics, Call Centre Technology, and mobile applications that enable a high level of efficiency in the operations of the company’s blue chip clientele. For Awtaney, Information Technology is about utilising a platform to create partnerships. iSON boasts of some impressively large clients – MTN, Airtel, Etisalat, Millicom, GT Bank, Nakumatt, Fast Jet, Aga Khan Hospitals, Kenya Tourism Board, Ministry of Finance- Kenya, Crown Beverages Uganda etc. iSON enjoys premium partnership privileges with A list companies such as Oracle, Avaya, IBM, Cisco etc. Owing to the company’s expertise, client and partner support, iSON
expects that its staff numbers will grow exponentially by 2020. “It took India’s largest IT company 18 years to get to 10,000 and over the next five years they grew from 10,000 to 100,000. We have hired 10,000+ in less than five years and believe we are poised to hit a 100,000 by 2020,” Awtaney says. “We’ve set a precedence and the market is confident about the company, so everybody wants to come and talk to us about doing their work efficiently and cost-effectively.” Innovation and Investments The company has also created a platform called iSON Innovation and Investments, which is enabling entrepreneurship in Africa. iSON provides local entrepreneurs with capital, but more importantly enables them by sharing a deep
w w w. i s o n g r p . c o m
13
understanding of each local market’s nuances – ranging from regulation, local laws, and currency management, to local logistics. Another important aspect of this is mentorship and guidance;
14
young entrepreneurs have an opportunity to interact frequently with Awtaney and his experienced management team, which is able to provide insights on scaling and managing sustainable growth in different markets across Africa. iSON Innovation has already made 2 investments in Africa: one of them is a leading taxi aggregation company called Mondo Ride, which is now live in Nairobi and Dar-esSalaam, with expansion plans to launch in 15 additional cities in Africa over the next six months. The second investment is in a mobile digital recharge platform called Oliza, which is expected to launch services this month. “The company operating system is an enablement platform,” says Awtaney. “Start-ups and large companies alike want to utilise our know-how; they want to build their
TECHNOLOGY
Akshay Grover CEO, iSON Innovation and Investments Akshay Grover is the CEO, iSON Innovation & Investments. He is responsible for capital raising, mergers and acquisitions and strategic initiatives for the iSON Group. Grover was associated with Ernst and Young India previously and has expertise in TMT sector across Middle East and Africa, Europe and India.
w w w. i s o n g r p . c o m
15
Africa strategy on the back of our success and our presence. I truly want to monetise the Innovations and Investments platform for use of other companies to assist everyone’s presence in Africa. For example, one company came to
16
us asking if we could bring them to Africa – it was live in Kenya within 45 days, and would go live in ten other countries in six months.” iSON follows a strictly onshore market – “for Africa, in Africa” as Awtaney says – and Africa is 90
T E C H Nto OLOGY Avaya and iSON Technologies Partner Drive Digital Transformation for Africa From its origins in AT&T, then Lucent, Avaya has
To give just one example, the two companies
continued to prove its leading reputation by providing
have successfully delivered customer experience
reliable services to its partners. Today, Avaya is the
transformation for one of Africa’s largest service
only company that specializes in complex business
providers, having designed and deployed contact
communications –internal for companies’ teams and
center technology and managed services across 16
external for their customers – based on open, mobile
countries. The solution leverages Avaya’s leadership
software platforms, with the network infrastructure to
in contact center technology and iSON’s extended
meet customers’ underlying needs.
reach
and
skilled
workforce,
providing
a
fully
integrated customer experience, supporting 60 million Avaya
specializes
solutions
and
in
services
vertical, that
industry-focused
focus
on
business
subscribers in 18 languages, while reducing costs and increasing performance.
outcomes for enterprises of all sizes and types, rather than the traditional one-size-fits-all approach. The
The successful contact center solution implementation
Avaya SDN-Fx networking architecture is the first
has led to iSON winning multiple Contact Center
to deliver automation and programmability from the
awards and delivered a reference for iSON and Avaya
network core to the user edge, providing “connect
in every country. iSON has also won multiple other
anything, anywhere” simplicity – the perfect platform
awards for its work with Avaya in different African
for building Internet of Things strategies and to
countries, including with one of the world’s leading
underpin smart digital transformation.
international banking groups.
iSON Technologies is one of Avaya’s most valued
Contact Center Solutions
partners in Africa, Strategic Win partner of the Year
Today, iSON and Avaya are providing contact center
at the Avaya Partner Forum event in 2015. The two
solutions to one of the largest mobile communications
companies have been working together since 2010,
companies in the world. iSON is working with Avaya
and now partner in 21 countries across the continent.
to deploy Avaya Aura Unified Communications and
iSON is an Avaya Platinum Partner, the highest level.
Contact Center solutions to the company’s operations in seven countries, and giving Avaya a presence in
Digital Transformation
90% of the service providers in Africa.
Together with iSON, Avaya is helping organizations in Africa to progress on their digital transformation
Avaya’s successful transformation into a customer-
journeys and enhance the customer experience.
centric company focused on software and services –
Governments and enterprises across the region are
which account for 73% of revenue – and the strength of
looking at digitization strategies to drive operational
its solutions fit well with iSON’s strategy of customer
excellence, customer and citizen satisfaction, and
experience management. With Avaya able to deliver
deliver greater competitive differentiation. Avaya’s
a complete solution for the customer experience,
client-tailored and outcomes-focused digital and
including voice and data, and offering stable, reliable
smart services elevate organizations of every scale
solutions, iSON is looking to extend the partnership
and accelerate growth through their digital journeys,
outside of Africa, with a goal of operating in the United
with vertical, industry-focused solutions and services
Arab Emirates and other countries in the Middle East.
that focus on outcomes.
Africa is fertile ground for development.
As African nations and businesses look to expand
Avaya and iSON have together planted the seeds of
and play a greater role in the global economy, Avaya
a lasting partnership that is flourishing and delivering
and iSON have strengthened their relationship. Today,
results.
Avaya and iSON work closely on key strategic accounts across Africa, helping to transform the customer experience for leading brands in the Telecom Service Providers, banking, and financial services industries.
For more information please visit our website: www.Avaya.com
w w w. i s o n g r p . c o m
17
percent of the company’s revenue: “For most other large companies in Africa, it is 1 or 2 percent. We are focussed and committed to Africa. We do not have the kind of overheads a US company or even an Indian company would have, ensuring that we can concentrate on the business and the continent. These are a few things that set us apart, and we have got to the scale where there is nobody in the market even a fourth of our size. Once one gets to a particular level, the scale and the processes that have been built rigorously enable delivery of the highest standard of service in the most cost-efficient manner.�
18
w w w. i s o n g r p . c o m
19
CAMAC House, Plot No. 1649 3rd Floor, Olosa Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria 72064. T: + (234) 80879 49563 E: info@isongrp.com