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IT renovation at Express

Pratap Vikram Singh reports on how Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd is revamping its IT set-up

Maintaining high standards and staying abreast of its field with the support of modest technology in the last one and half decade, the Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd Group is now ramping up its IT infrastructure with large scale deployments including the deployment of an ERP solution from SAP. The Indian Express, has witnessed a good deal of investment in information technology over the past couple of years.

According to Tridib Bordoloi, CIO, Express Group, “The IT renovation going on for the past two-three years is the result of rigorous evaluation and Pan Indian testing conducted over the last couple of years.” The SAP implementation is a nine-month project, which started on May 6, 2008. It will help centralize data. Siemens is the SAP implementation partner that is helping the media giant to customize the software and train its people.

Retrospection

The Express Group had a bunch of legacy applications running on its servers. These had to go, as they were inefficient and holding back the Group. The messaging system that was in use at Express a couple of years back was cc:Mail 8.2 that had around 1,800 users across locations. 60% of the desktops were diskless nodes, 20% ran Windows 98 and 20% were higher-end desktops.

Describing the status of networking and servers, Bordoloi said, “Our backbone LAN servers were working on a Pentium II platform running Novell Netware 3.12 OS with the limitation of 250 client licenses and 10 Mbps bandwidth. The primary protocol of communication was IPX. Our contemporary application usage demanded more.”

Realizing the fact that the IT team needs to maintain the production environment (without any additional downtime) and upgrade the same, Bordoloi said that he based the transformation strategy purely on the need of business process and operations.

Renovation

While initiating an IT renovation exercise, the Express Group’s objectives included setting up a state-of-the-art data center at prime locations, namely, Delhi and Mumbai. The Group also wanted to focus on security and governance. Implementing SAP to consolidate departments and gain overall business control across the organization, consolidate Editorial operations and put in place a complete redundant high bandwidth WAN network for unrestrictive data and system utilization were all imperatives.

Today the Group has an enterprise class messaging system, IBM Lotus Domino running on Linux with a globally available mailbox.

Diskless systems no longer exist and all terminals support pagination and Internet access.

The Group has beefed up its data circuits and Internet gateways. The IT team has converted all links to MLLN/MLDN (Managed Leased Line Network/ Multi Line Digital Network) technology with minimum downtime and better monitoring services. Three gateways to the Internet, region-wise, have been made available at Mumbai (1 Megabit), Delhi (1 Megabit) and Chennai (512 Kilobit). Every center has local broadband Internet connectivity for seamless page and advertisement flow through public FTP.

Ready for the next decade

Bordoloi said, “We are ready for the next seven to ten years in terms of network, servers, desktops and applications. We now have the right platform for both take-off and future propulsion. IT has formulated effective control practices and audit mechanisms for bringing out fundamental improvements in work processes. This will address all our concerns through competitive turbulence and ever increasing expectations.

“The SAP platform will not only provide much needed stability but also enable us to harness IT effectively in order to maximize corporate competitiveness and growth. It empowers pure enterprise with Business Intelligence solutions.

“Our backbone LAN servers are two-way 64-bit Xeon boxes running Open Source technology i.e., Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 (64-bit) without the limitation of user licenses. The network offers 10/100/1000 Mbps bandwidth over fiber/CAT 5 cabling working on Layer 3 switches.”

Strengthening editorial workflow

An editorial workflow system called NewsWrap has been implemented successfully across the country for all editions (including vernacular) resulting in the smooth transfer of stories and pages within the organization. A complete workflow integrates agency feeds, LMS (Library Management System) and online operations as well. It had a major impact in the nodalization initiative for editorial operations in Delhi.

NewsWrap’s Web-based interface lets remote centers and mobile users file stories.

Bordoloi elaborated, “We have upgraded pre-press processes by shifting to state-of-the-art CTP technology (with workflow) across major centers for best printing results with less time. We are keen to generate 120 plates per hour to accommodate last minute breaking news without compromising quality of printing.”

In addition, pre-flight software ‘ASURA” is used for Quality Checking of all ready-to-make pages for production. An Advertisement Material Management System seamlessly integrates advertisement material with edit pages.

A lot of IT development and maintenance work at Express takes place in-house. Bordoloi said, “We have a very experienced team of around 60 qualified engineers managing the network across 17 publication centers.” The team provides online support for standards-based business solutions for the Express Group.

SAP implementation

When it comes to operations and maintenance of the SAP system, the ‘core group’, which consisted of members from across the company’s centers has undergone rigorous training. Bordoloi said, “We have in-house talent pools across centers for the maintenance of SAP.”

The specialized core team slashes the dependency of the Group on external sources and reduces the cost and time, which can easily be absorbed while being dependent.

The Express Group deployed four SAP modules, which included Material management, Media Advertisement Management, Finance and control and Media Sales and Distribution.

Challenges

Work is afoot to replace legacy systems, convert specific business requirements into practical solutions and redesign work processes. These are the major challenges faced by the IT managers at Express while implementing SAP. End user training is a potential challenge, which may come while inculcating the expertise of SAP among the employees, said Atul Aggarwal, Business Analyst, Express Group.

SAP vs. legacy system

Commenting on the benefits of SAP over the legacy systems and software that were in use before its implementation, Bordoloi said, “SAP is fully integrated enterprise software, which provides the flexibility for strategic maneuverability. It has facilitated improved service quality and customer satisfaction, besides increased efficiency in business processes.”

In advertisement management, SAP will provide end to end support for ad sales, i.e., it will facilitate online space availability, single order for multiple insertions, dates, and editions; automatic creation of debit and credit notes; follow up activity reminders and tracking of barter deals.

SAP will also facilitate one stop solution for circulation, subscription and distribution. It will control the number of unsolds, manage transportation control including taxi payments through the systems, and ensure effective complaint management.

In Pre Press functions, SAP will enable automatic advertisement/page distribution across print locations and facilitate online composition of classified ads in customized templates and integration with legacy editorial workflow.

Future drive

With all a sound infrastructure in place, the Express Group is now planning to undergo standardization of its IT processes and would even invest in green IT initiatives.

pratap.vikram@expressindia.com