S TEL GEARED UPTO LAUNCH MOBILE SERVICE, DEPLOYS MICROSOFT CRM SOLUTION

S Tel, one of the latest entrants in the Indian GSM mobile space, today announced that it has deployed Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution to streamline its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and provide a seamless experience to its customers for its upcoming GSM Mobile service.

S Tel, a joint venture between Siva Group (formerly Sterling Infotech Group) and BMIC Limited, a subsidiary of Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco), is looking at launching its GSM Mobile services by year end in the largely unaddressed category ‘C’ circle markets of Orissa, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, North East, Assam and J&K.

Deployment of this solution is expected to optimize

customer service delivery through efficient management of day-to-day customer service and self care operations for S Tel.

Commenting on the deployment of the solution, Mr. Shamik Das, Chief Executive Officer, S Tel said, “Tariffs are already competitive in the Indian marketplace. Therefore, quality of customer service is being seen as the real differentiator.

We decided to go in for Microsoft’s comprehensive CRM tool so that we can place customers at the centre of our business. This powerful software will enable us to build distributor, retailer & customer relationships as well as drive down costs and execute operations smoothly. In addition, it will allow us to deliver fast response to customers, accurate information and consistent customer experience. Moreover, given the solution’s quick implementation time we expect to deliver superior customer experience right from the launch of our services, he added.”

Commenting on S Tel’s choice of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Mr. Sushant Dwivedy, Director, Microsoft Business Solutions, Microsoft India said, “We are delighted to engage with S Tel, which happens to be our first customer in the Indian telecom space. We expect the solution to transform their customer service into a strategic asset by helping them gain a 360 degree view into customer engagements and information.” S Tel is a Greenfield operator targeting category C circles. C circles have high potential for connecting large masses of India while also making business sense due to a huge untapped, low penetrated market.

These markets are witnessing a high CAGR of 103% as opposed to 42% clocked by metros (as per inferences from TRAI March’09 Subscriber Report). Overall, C circle markets have so far seen below 24% mobile penetration and contribute only 12% of all India’s subscribers base (as per TRAI report month ended July 2009). C Circles account for 26% of geographical area and 20% of Indian population.