Vegastream bullish on Indian VoIP market

Stanley Glancy / Mumbai

Michael Robinson

The deregulation of the voice- over-Internet protocol (VoIP) market in India enticed many national and international players to foray into the space. While industry giants like Cisco and D-Link already had marketing networks in place, UK-based VoIP gateway supplier Vegastream has entered into a partnership with Germany’s Snom, a VoIP phone manufacturer, to tap the market, estimated to be between $5million-$10 million. The partnership is strategic for both companies since both have complementary technologies. According to Michael Robinson, vice-president, marketing and business development, Vegastream, this will give them an edge over competitors.

Vegastream already has a major presence in this space and boasts a market share of 10-12 percent in India. The partnership with Snom is expected to double this in the next couple of years. Robinson believes that the tremendous cost savings that can be availed of will be the key factor that will convince people to opt for VoIP technology. “The higher the usage of telephones the greater will be the cost savings,” said Robinson. The gateway can also be connected to a customer’s existing telecom infrastructure, thus providing further savings.

Robinson sees a huge opportunity in diverse verticals like banking and financial services, ISPs, system integrators, government bodies, call centres and the oil industry. The company has already entered into partnerships with OEMs like Nortel and Siemens to further expand its reach. It has also appointed R B Comtec to tap markets in northern India, and is currently looking at more tie-ups to increase its reach across other markets in the country. The company also plans to set up a manufacturing unit over here once it achieves economies of scale.