1. AIRCEL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS SOLUTION CASE STUDY
Real Time Access to People and Data from
Remote Construction Sites
High Speed Connectivity Across 20 Remote Locations
“Be it applications, messaging or live video
streaming, the requirement is a robust data network.
Aircel solutions provide us with a robust, flexible
solution that impacts every aspect of our business
from efficiency, productivity to employee morale.’ About MARG Group
MARG Group is among the
fastest growing infrastructure
Amol Vidwans, Head – Information Technology, MARG Limited
companies in India with projects
of INR 3,000 crore under
execution. Its businesses include
industrial, urban and marine
An Infrastructure major, MARG Group decided to revamp infrastructure, real estate, and
EPC (Engineering, Procurement
its IT and communications infrastructure. As it evaluated and Construction). The Group is
now expanding its sectoral
solutions, it realised one-size would not fit all site from
presence to Greenfield airports
metros to remote locations. Hence, a set of connectivity and multi-level car parking
(MLCP).
solutions would be required. With Aircel Business
Situation
Solutions, it found a flexible, feasible set of solutions that Consolidation and access to
information were key goals of the
met all its requirements. From a management perspective, company. Even after deploying
this is a huge improvement over a few years ago. Now all SAP, there was a time lag in
information receipt from its
sites, be it ports or industrial clusters under execution, are remote sites across the country
due to limited connectivity.
all connected on high-speed ILL and VPN networks. This
Solution
provides reliable communication via email, video MARG deployed multiple Internet
conferencing and phone across locations, which improves solutions from Aircel including ILL
and VPN.
inter-site and head office coordination leading to higher
Benefits
efficiency and productivity. In addition, access to up-to-  Up-to-date information
improves information access,
date information on its ERP ensures that the management transparency
can take appropriate decisions on time.  Improves Internal
Communications

2. Situation
Incorporated in 1994, MARG Group is the new face of Indian
infrastructure - undertaking holistic regional development,
unlocking economic prosperity and creating inclusive and
sustainable growth models. Listed by Dun & Bradstreet as
among „India's Top 500 Companies 2010‟, MARG Group has
projects worth more than INR 3,000 crore under execution, a
seasoned human capital of more than 1300, global partners
in the infrastructure space and offices spread across India,
“The management has a Singapore and China.
real-time view of data and
information leading to MARG's portfolio spans across the infrastructure value chain.
enhanced productivity, To create new business entities be it a state-of-the-art port,
Chennai‟s most talked about upcoming mall or an integrated
better material and resource
city, means starting from scratch. Until a few years ago, the
management. Also, there is company had three offices in Chennai itself. While these
greater transparency which were consolidated under one roof, MARG also decided to
would lead to higher enhance the reach of its SAP enterprise resource planning
(ERP) solution.
productivity and on time
delivery of projects.”
Even though it had a state-of-the-art ERP solution across the
Amol Vidwans, Head – Information organization, its reach was limited to 5 – 7 sites wherein we
Technology, MARG Limited have connectivity links. We wanted to connect all our critical
sites on a robust network and extend the reach of SAP,
explains Amol Vidwans, Head – Information Technology,
Marg Limited.
Connectivity solutions are considered a part of the plumbing
of the organization and no one thinks twice about it unless
there is an issue. “As the Head of IT for the group, it‟s my job
to ensure no-one worries about the connectivity,” says Mr.
Vidwans. To obtain live data from remote locations it was
important that we extend the SAP solution across all sites.
Along with this, we had to ensure reliable, high-bandwidth
solutions to ensure data reaches the headquarters in real
time.

3. Solution
As the bandwidth, utilization and requirements would be
unique to each site and location, it was important for us
to go with a partner that offered a range of solutions in
far-flung regions of the country.
MARG evaluated connectivity solutions from a range of
service provider companies and finally selected Aircel.
“The reason we chose Aircel was because it was player
“As the Head of IT for the
that had the most extensive coverage in places where
group, it’s my job to ensure we have operate from; and in addition, the Aircel team
no-one worries about the was willing to work with us on our technical
connectivity.” requirements,” comments Mr. Vidwans.
Amol Vidwans, Head – Information
Technology, Marg Limited
Aircel spent several days evaluating the locations, last
mile options and the bandwidth requirements for each
location. MARG Group‟s headquarters has about 700 –
800 people who use various applications such as email,
voice and data applications as well as video
conferencing. The SEZ, which one of its largest site, has
over 130 employees, while the smaller sites across the
country have 15 – 30 employees depending on the
stage and size of the project.
Each location was sized based on its current
requirements, potential growth etc. before
recommending the ideal mix of connectivity solutions.
For example, the MARG SEZ situated 80 Km outside
Chennai, was not yet connected to the corporate
headquarters. Employing over 130 people, the
requirements of the SEZ were reliability, reach, security,
capacity and cost. In addition, keeping in mind the
growth and needs of the organizations that set up shop
at the SEZ, Aircel recommended that it create a Point of
Presence (PoP) at the SEZ.
Similarly, based on these findings, MARG selected a
bouquet of services from Aircel. These include:

4. 16 Mbps Platinum Internet Leased Line at the
headquarters in Chennai for a Centralized Internet
access for all users in MARG Group.
“A mix of Aircel ILL and VPN  4 Mbps VPN Solution in 2 sites; 2 Mbps VPN solution
services connects all our across 5 sites and 1 Mbps VPN Solution across 12 sites.
The VPN solution is used for all voice and data
locations. We have a requirements as well as accessing and updating SAP.
flexible, scalable and a high
 10 Mbps VPN Solution at the headquarters in Chennai.
performance, private VPN This was essential, as the data center is hosted on-
and high speed access premise at the head office. All offices connect to the SAP
ERP and other centralised applications such as email,
points at the most remote
Project Systems etc. therefore there was a need for high
locations.” speed data transfer
Amol Vidwans, Head – Information
Technology, Marg Limited  The PoP at the Swarnbhoomi SEZ meets MARG‟s
requirements. Also, it will also connect all businesses,
homes and educational institutions within the SEZ.
Benefits
“A mix of Aircel‟s ILL and VPN services connects all our
locations. We have a flexible, scalable and a high
performance, private VPN and high speed access points
at the most remote locations,” says Mr. Vidwans.
Access Provides Up-to-date Information, Increases
Transparency
By connecting all sites, MARG management can access
relevant information in real time. For example, the
management is aware of material consumption, heavy
machinery in use, updates on tasks completed on site.
All this is available in real time. “Armed with this
information, the management will be able to take
decisions to increase productivity through better material
and resource management. Also, this will ensure greater
transparency which leads to higher productivity and on
time delivery of projects,” explains Mr. Vidwans

5. Better Internal Communications
Video conferencing has become an important medium of
choice for most teams and Top Management enhancing
business productivity, reducing spending several hours
to a day in transit. Instead, easy access to their team
members using video conferencing gets the same
results.
For an infrastructure company, simple corporate
communications activities such as town halls or CEO
addresses are a challenge. The widely dispersed teams
makes it practical problem to address all employees
together. Since the company build a robust, reliable
high-speed connectivity, live streaming of Chairman‟s
address have become a regular occurrence.
Explains Mr. Vidwans, “Be it applications, messaging or
live streaming, the requirement is a robust data network.
Aircel solutions provide us with a robust, flexible solution
that impacts every aspect of our business from
efficiency, productivity to employee morale.‟
Good Technology and Investment Choice
“During our evaluation and partner selection process, we
were looking at vendors that offered us a feasible
solution using the latest technology and of course, the
right pricing. Aircel provided us with all this. Moreover,
the team‟s attitude to go the extra mile made us believe
this would be the right investment,” says Mr. Vidwans.
“In addition, the costs were comparable if not lower than
its competition.”
Aircel Business Solutions, a SBU of Aircel