DE-CIX INDIA

A Pioneer Carrier and DataCenter-Neutral Exchange Platform in the Indian Internet Market

Our lives are inextricably linked to internet services. The Internet has increased human productivity and creativity to unprecedented levels. As a result, cutting-edge internet and connectivity services are essential to our survival. DE-CIX India is phenomenally strengthening the foundations of Indian Internet Business and is the most Reliable Interconnection Platform not only in India, but also globally.

Mr. Sudhir Kunder, Country Director of DE-CIX India, is here today to elaborate on the company’s journey. Let us hear more about his thoughts on growth and how the company manages customer expectations to perfection.

Prime Insights: Please tell us something about your company and its offerings.

Mr. Sudhir Kunder: DE-CIX India is the country’s largest interconnection platform. The company is powered by DE-CIX, the world’s largest Internet exchange based in Frankfurt, Germany. We are proud to be India’s first Legally Complaint Service Provider. We are currently present in four cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata. Our company focuses on providing best in class services mentioned below:

DE-CIX India offers its own unique suite of Interconnection Services. We work with a complete customer-centric ideology. Our clientele is both National and International. All our customers are completely enjoying the benefits of having DE-CIX PoPs being located within the Data Centers. We have provided gilt-edge internet services with low latency, lower bandwidth costs, and the highest network uptime. That is how the company creates bars of reliability, astuteness, security, and compliance.

Prime Insights: Can you please tell us about the inception story of your company?

Mr. Sudhir Kunder: DE-CIX India’s Exchange was founded in 2018, and it, like any other business, has experienced ups and downs as well as uncertainty. By Dec’ 2019 we had an active base 74 customers, but we were also experiencing a number of network related challenges.

Since network improvement had been identified as a top priority, hence majority of the company’s resources had been directed towards that goal. This was to ensure that the entire network was at least at par with global standards, or better. By taking this measure at the right time, we were able to accommodate the sudden surge in demand that emanated from all over India during the pandemic period, when the focus shifted from Enterprises hub to Residential areas and repopulated centers.

We made every effort to meet our customers’ needs by providing cutting-edge benefits that India desired, such as Lower Latency, Lower Bandwidth Costs, and the Highest Network Uptime. We set out to be the industry’s most Reliable, Secure, and Scalable provider, with Customer Delight and Customer First as our top priorities as we served each and every one of our clients.

Prime Insights: Please highlight the obstacles you faced in the initial stages of your brand’s journey.

Mr. Sudhir Kunder: Being a player in the Internet exchange industry, we encountered numerous challenges and some of them are mentioned as follows-

• Transport layer being one of the most important components, and by virtue of that being on the higher side, there were multiple challenges in getting that addressed and solved for our customers.

• Educating the Industry on the benefits of connecting to an IXP versus procurement of mixed /improperly put together Cache, Peering and other such Product operating in the market was also the Challenge.

• Ability to overcome multiple stumbling blocks that were there within our business, right from the transport layer to telco discussions to onboarding at a Data Center and the limitations that we saw with some small and medium ISPs to run through the entire cycle and get things done within the shortest period of time.

Having astutely understood our customers’ pain points and challenges for onboarding, we were able to put all essential resources at their disposal, from acquiring ASNs and Licenses to IP addresses and conducting point-to-point discussions with transport partners and obtaining the best possible solutions for onboarding at Data Centres. This streamlined our clients’ interactions with us, making us the most preferred Interconnection Platform in India and globally.

Prime Insights: Please share your thoughts on the essentiality of fostering a conducive workplace for employees

Mr. Sudhir Kunder: DE-CIX India has always planned to create a workplace that constantly motivates and encourages its employees. We all work as a team and support one another on all professional levels. Such collaborative behavior and mindset toward success brings the best results in all tasks. Every day, we pour our hearts into creating a “One Team, One Dream” environment! The ingrained principles of our working environment are of

• Trust

• Respect

• Accountability

• Flawless Interpersonal Communication

• Endless learning opportunities

• Dedicated Teamwork

Prime Insights: How do you keep yourself motivated? What strategies are used to inspire your workforce periodically?

Mr. Sudhir Kunder: One of the most important things that keeps me moving forward by leaps and bounds is setting very high standards for myself and then seeing success in each and every benchmarks.

Management motivates employees by assisting, mentoring, coaching, and educating all employees, regardless of experience level. We always encourage them to try new ideas because they are the only ones who can bring the best results. Leadership at DE-CIX India revolves around the idea of setting unrivaled standards and serving as a guiding force for the future.

Prime Insights: Would you like to share something about theligned for the coming years?

Mr. Sudhir Kunder:

Despite the rapid growth of the INTERNET in India, we see a huge untapped potential which is yet to be covered and the thrust of GOI to go deeper into India and aim for covering 6 Lac villages is a clear indicator of the headroom from a current coverage of 2.6 Lac villages.

We are currently concentrating on establishing POP’s in strategic locations at Data Centers being established by National and International Data Center organizations. We are also working on introducing Microsoft Azure Peering Services (MAPS), Interconnection FLEX, and Blackholing. Our company works diligently across multiple verticals in the Indian market and other SAARC countries. Furthermore, we are constantly upgrading our network to ensure that it can stand strong in times of expansion growth and demand.