#contactcenterworld

New Delhi, India, Nov, 2022 -- Cloud telephony provider Exotel has received the pan-India Unified Licence for Virtual Network Operator (UL VNO) that will enable it to offer cloud-calling solutions to businesses across India.

It has contact center solutions in Bangalore, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Hyderabad in addition to Karnataka, said a top executive of the company.

Ishwar Sridharan, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Exotel, exclusively told ETTelecom that the company is planning an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 3-4 years at an appropriate valuation, adding that steps are being taken to prepare for the journey.

"We will be will now be able to provide MPPS and intermixing on the cloud, which means that customers can have VoIP calling with a distributed contact center. And for the first time in India, it will be completely regulatory compliant," Sridharan commented.

"Perhaps the contact center industry in India is about $500-$1000 million. By getting an operator's license, I think we have opened up much more than the opportunity that is there today," he enthused.

The development follows Exotel getting a UL VNO license for its home state Karnataka in February this year. The executive noted that the pan-India license will now allow the company to expand in more circles.

"As of today, we are present in 13-15 cities in the country with our existing solutions. On the contact center solution, we have a pan- India license but where we will start out is obviously, Bangalore and Delhi first. Eventually, we will be present in Bangalore, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Hyderabad," the COO said.

Sridharan added that the company will look at entering the states of Gujarat and West Bengal in the future. Exotel would be serving about 70-75% of businesses present in all these states, he said.

Explaining the rationale behind debuting on the market, the COO stated that Cloud adoption has picked up pace given that highly regulated sectors like BFSI are moving to Cloud too for communications, implying that there will be growth in the Cloud communications industry.

"IPO is a journey. We have started on the journey. We are planning an IPO about three to four years into the future...At this point in time, valuation is not at the top of my head. It is just one step in the company building process," he said.

In the long term, the executive noted that the company has got its fundamentals right, such as the headcount and products. "Short- term fluctuations, ups and downs do happen. We are in a phase where I think the next couple of years is going to be difficult."

Exotel will also execute its full-stack approach in Indonesia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) by the end of 2022, followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Southeast Asia, and the Middle East later.

"I do expect the percentage contribution of international (business) to Exotel’s revenues to increase steadily. Today it is about 25%. In about two to three years, I'm expecting it to be around 40-45%," Sridharan said. This year the company hired executives in key positions for the global play, including Adarsh Dikshith as the new CFO, Promod Pillai as VP and Head of Global Partnerships, and Udit Agarwal as VP and Head of Global Marketing.

But the company is not looking to increase its headcount beyond 1,000, while at the same time, intends to stay resilient and maintain financials. "We will be growing at approximately 50 to 60% year on year, and we would like to continue that growth story," the executive concluded.

#contactcenterworld

Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com

Date Posted: Monday, November 14, 2022