Tata Communications at 15 – enabling a world of digital transformation

Tata Communications celebrates its 15th anniversary today, marking a milestone in its transformation from an Indian public sector monopoly to a leading global provider of communication and managed services that sits at the heart of today’s platform economy. The company continues to make strides in making the Internet fit for business on a global scale through the creation of an open infrastructure, partner ecosystem and platforms that enable businesses to harness innovations in areas such as cloud computing, unified communications, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) and stay competitive. This vision has been supported by the leadership of the Tata group, coupled with the trust of various stakeholders, including the Government of India that continues to own 26% equity stake in the company.

Vinod Kumar, Managing Director and CEO, Tata Communications, says, “A journey of 15 years is a noteworthy achievement for any company, and this one certainly epitomises the positive impact a public-private partnership can create globally. Today’s milestone is a testament to all the people who have been part of our journey and our collective focus and ability to respond with agility to the world around us. It’s a world where ubiquitous connectivity has resulted in technology-driven shifts that were unimaginable 15 years ago, and where new business models emerge and change how organisations operate for good thanks to the cloud, IoT, AI and other yet-to-be-conceived innovations. This platform economy has been coined the ‘fourth industrial revolution’ where cyber-physical systems collide, and one that we are proud to be at the heart of and enable our customers and partners to get ahead and stay ahead by truly being digital.”

Today, Tata Communications runs the world’s largest wholly owned and most advance subsea fibre cable network. This underpins the fifth largest Internet backbone globally, carrying over 25% of the world’s Internet routes. On top of this, it connects operators to 4 out of 5 mobile subscribers and also businesses to over 60% of the world’s cloud giants. This infrastructure serves as the foundation to the platforms and ecosystems that Tata Communications has built to provide digital value to customers. These include, for example, its flagship IZO™ cloud enablement platform, its UCaaS platform and its media ecosystem. All of which, enables any business to harness the benefits that digital transformation brings, at their own pace, in their own way. Across all of this sits security at the core and integrated APIs to enable easy integration with customers and partners.

Pratibha Advani, Chief Finance Officer, Tata Communications adds, “Tata Communications has experienced significant growth over the last 15 years, generating $3.2 billion in annual revenue during the last fiscal year with over 70% of this revenue contributed by international geographies. We are growing at a rate that is much faster than the market on the back of strong performance from our data services business. This growth is reflective of our role in powering today’s platform economy, and we will continue to build on this growth momentum with expansion in our data services portfolio coupled with extending our global footprint.”

Tata Communications has received numerous accolades for its leadership and innovation over the years in recognition of the success of business strategy. Most recently, the company was positioned by Gartner as a ‘Leader’ in its Magic Quadrant for Network Services– each year since 2013. It has been recognised by Frost and Sullivan for outstanding business performance in four categories pertaining to its enterprise business and services. The analyst firm also named Tata Communications Asia-Pacific Managed Unified Communications Services Provider of the Year. In 2016, the company was also awarded the Best Employer in India award by Aon Hewitt and on a global level, Tata Communications’ 8,500 people across 30 countries, representing 40 nationalities, also highlight the company’s global footprint and commitment to diversity.