Mumbai, May 27, 2009 — Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson (NYSE:EMR) and the global leader in enabling Business-Critical Continuity™ and Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) the apex body representing the IT hardware industry in India, today announced the finding of their joint study on Network Power Downtime. The study, an in-depth analysis of the impact of ‘downtime of IT networks’ in corporate India due to the high occurrence of power outages, scheduled as well as non-scheduled, revealed that India Inc lost INR 43, 205 crores in 2008-09. The amount of such direct losses has more than doubled since 2003 when these amounted to INR 22,000 crores.
With significant companies relying on IT infrastructure for automation, productivity and business management, employee productivity and customer management were severely impacted by such downtime. Among the various verticals studied, the manufacturing sector was the most adversely impacted.
The study, in its third round, to map the impact of network downtime in the industrial sector, was conducted by India’s leading consulting firm M/s Feedback Business Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd in January 2009. The study covered around five hundred firms across seven industrial centres namely Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune. Detailed information on downtime experiences, typical causes & solutions adopted, reactions to uptime etc. was sought from senior executives across fourteen major industry verticals including manufacturing, electronics, telecom, IT services, IT enabled services, banking & finance, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, SMEs, retail, hotels, real estate, infrastructure and hospitals.
Mr. Vinnie Mehta, Executive Director, MAIT says, “Contingency planning is part of the India Inc. mindset, based on traditional experiences with infrastructure limitations. This trend will continue in the light of global power failures encountered in Western countries. Firms will need to pay more attention to maximizing uptime if they are to remain competitive in a globally networked economy.”
Commenting on the findings of the study, Mr. Sandeep Nair, managing director Emerson Network Power (India) said, “In India, while the metros have a good power supply, the interiors reflect a different picture altogether. As one moves towards the hinterland, one realizes that there are frequent power cuts. The problem is further compounded by unclean power and other basic constraints like earthing, cabling and lack of a viable infrastructure. This has necessitated deployment of Business Critical Continuity solutions for growing businesses. Today, we are moving towards a borderless world and constant supply of electricity is crucial to stay connected 24X7.”
Key highlights of the study:
- Nearly 62% of the firms polled were extremely dependent upon IT & Automation
- Power disruption frequency highest in Delhi followed by Pune and Bangalore.
- The average speed of restoration is 71 min, Bangalore most affected with high frequency and longer outages. In Hyderabad outages are infrequent but long
- Telecom segment had the fastest restoration, while it was slowest in pharma/biotech, hotels/hospitals and manufacturing
- Downtime losses, across all verticals averaged to Rs 54,434 per hour - highest in telecom and real state/infrastructure companies, lowest in the SMEs
- Major impact of downtime is employee productivity and customer management
- Companies, without alternative sources of power, were highly depended on the grid. Mumbai continues to be most depended on grid for power
About MAIT:
Set up in 1982 for purposes of scientific, educational and IT industry promotion, MAIT has emerged as an effective, influential and dynamic organisation. Representing hardware, training R&D and associated services sectors of the Indian IT Industry, MAIT’s charter is to develop a global competitive Indian IT Industry, promote the usage of IT in India, strengthen the role of IT in national economic development and promote business through international alliances. For more information on MAIT please visit www.mait.com
About Emerson Network Power
Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson (NYSE:EMR), is the global leader in enabling Business-Critical Continuity™ from grid to chip for telecommunication networks, data centers, health care and industrial facilities. Emerson Network Power provides innovative solutions and expertise in areas including AC and DC power and precision cooling systems, embedded computing and power, integrated racks and enclosures, power switching and controls, monitoring, and connectivity. All solutions are supported globally by local Emerson Network Power service technicians. Learn more about Emerson Network Power products and services globally at www.emersonnetworkpower.com or locally at www.emersonnetworkpower.com.in .
About Feedback:
Feedback Business Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd. (Feedback Consulting) is a eighteen year old research based consulting firm, specializing in assessing opportunities across the Indian and select global markets. Apart from conventional business-to-business (B2B) research, FEEDBACK specializes in strategic consulting, and evaluating opportunities across diverse businesses. Feedback consults primarily on client specific studies. For more information on Feedback Consulting please visit www.feedbackconsulting.com