Cisco to launch CPN program by Jan

Global networking major Cisco Systems will launch its popular Cisco Powered Network designation in India by early January, a programme that was launched in 1999 in international markets.

The company has also signed up telephony majors Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) and Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd as members and is to confer CPN designation for their Internet Protocol Virtual Private Networks (IP VPN) services.

"Managed services to the enterprise segment have emerged as a key revenue opportunity for major Indian broadband service providers. We will be launching the CPN programme in the country and it will help our service-provider customers tap the revenue opportunity in managed services business effectively," Cisco Systems vice president - marketing (India and SAARC) Ranajoy Punja told Business Standard.

The company is in advanced stages of launching the designation in India, with the rollout expected by the first week of next month. CPN is a designation of quality, performance and reliability of the services being offered.

It is being used by over 350 service providers - including telecom majors AT&T, British Telecom and MCI - in 62 countries around the world. However, the CPN programme cannot be termed as a certification.

VSNL and Bharti have already signed up for their IP VPN services, with an option to extend the designation to the companies' other services. The Indian telecom majors are also offering managed security, managed voice and metro ethernet among others.

Cisco is also looking at offering the programme to other Indian telecom players and is believed to have initiated talks with Reliance Infocomm and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd among others.

For the designated members, Cisco will undertake joint marketing initiatives for the two operators and also fund 20 per cent of the marketing campaigns. Cisco would look at funding joint advertising programmes, logo branding and technical training among others.

"The programme enables companies to concentrate on their core businesses, while for the end customer it means a reassurance of quality," Punja said.

Globally, managed services are a growing market with managed IP service market expected to post a 20 per cent growth year-on-year from the present $20 billion to $41 billion in 2009.