Exclusive Interview: Rajesh Madan, COO, ABS India Pvt. Limited

Rajesh Madan is an industry veteran with over 26 years of experience across sales, marketing, services and large projects. As a COO, he is responsible for driving vertical business, handling operations & profitability at ABS India. A transportation vertical leader with a key role in 9 out of 11 operational metros in India. ABS India Pvt. Ltd. is selected as the winner of Urban Infra Solutions Provider of The Year 2019 under the Urban Infra & Leadership Award 2019 program.

In a recent interaction with Urban Transport News team, Mr. Madan has shared his views and thoughts on the role and contribution of ABS India in the sustainable urban mobility sector in India. Here are excerpts:

• Congratulations! ABS India Pvt. Ltd. is elected as the winner of “Urban Infra Solutions Provider of The Year 2019” under Urban Infra & Leadership Awards 2019. What are you feeling after getting recognized among the Indian Urban Infrastructure Industry? 

Mr. Rajesh Madan: Thank you. It’s always a moment of proud feeling to get your organisation hard work done over the years recognised and facilitated. 

• Please tell our readers about your professional journey and leadership experience in the industry?

Mr. Madan: ABS India started its journey as Alcatel Business Systems India Pvt Ltd, later when OEM decided to go indirect route, ABS India was formed and since then we have been in Indian enterprise business landscape as System Integrator. With about 20 plus years of experience and association with world leader when it comes to enterprise solutions, be it voice, data networking, WiFi and cloud solutions, we have been in this segment with success in some of the large and notable projects in Indian infrastructure with key references to transportation vertical. Talking about professional experience, I have been part of this industry with more than 26 years of experience while leading business operations, business development, Sales & Marketing. It is really amazing to drive the current and the past team that has handled the successful execution of key assignments in the areas of telecom, enterprise network solutions and Telecom services in India, Europe and South-East Asia. Today, my organization is proud to mention that along with our OEM, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, we are serving 9 operational metros in India.

• Give us a brief overview with regard to the vision, mission and business /operations of ABS India.

Mr. Madan: Our Vision - We aspire to be the Most Valued Partner Providing Futuristic Enterprise Communication Solutions and all Encompassing Services to our Customers. Our Mission - Bring Inspiration & Innovation to Every Employee and To Give Customers the Most Compelling Sales & Service Experience. We aspire to be a front runner in enterprise solutions across all the segments in India and overseas. Today our operations span across India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Singapore. Our Indian presence is across  40 locations with sales and service capabilities. Apart from this, we operate with about 100 + channels in India. Neighboring countries' presence could give us the reach to far geographies and customers.

• How do you view the Indian government’s ambition to create smart urban infrastructure and public transport systems in various cities? What role do you see your company playing there?

Mr. Madan: It feels extremely pleasing to note the kind of progress and investments that are lined up for urban infrastructure & transportation vertical in India. We are already present in this segment with credit for executing 9 out of 11 operational Metro systems in India with reference to voice and data enterprise communication solutions. We are also credited with the transportation project in Bangladesh. Moving forward, we hope to be preferred service providers for the upcoming such projects in India and overseas. We see ourselves as complete solutions providers including consultancy and post-sales support functions.

• There is a huge focus on digitalisation, enterprise solutions and intelligent systems across the business world. How do you see this impact on the urban mobility sector, both globally and in India?

Mr. Madan: We cannot afford to ignore the profound impact of IoT, Artificial Intelligence and Cloud solutions across all the business worlds leading to digitalisation. We are ready to embrace the change a few of our solutions are born out of these next-generation solutions. Urban mobility is on its way to experience digitalisation and digitally aided or driven solutions like WiFi, IoT powered by Artificial Intelligence.

• Tell our readers about some value-added products, services and solutions being offered by ABS India to overcome the industry challenges.

Mr. Madan: With our experience of handling and successfully executing some of the most complex projects in India and abroad,  the experience has given us that unique competitive edge or advantage. We strive towards the successful completion of each and every project right from project designs, acceptance tests and handover to end-user. We propose unique solutions comprising of consultancy, project management, optimum solutions, implementation and extended support to end-users. These are our unique propositions and selling points. Key to manage challenges successfully will be the above unique propositions.

• What are the key challenges faced by the Company and how are you addressing them?

Mr. Madan: Challenges for every organization are many folds. Our focus is on understanding project requirements, designing solutions, deployment and extended support. Key here will be resources and we have adequately ensured that trained and certified resources to address the challenges.

• Do you have enough capacity to sustain the huge growth that the urban mobility sector is likely to see in the coming times?

Mr. Madan: Definitely. If you notice our vision, we are gearing up to handle huge opportunities that are about to roll out. We have special project groups to cater to these large requirements. We are augmenting manpower and strengthening on-field force and ready to brace every challenge and we see opportunity in every challenge.

• What is your personal vision for the ABS India and where do you see it five years down the line both in terms of the brand and revenues?

Mr. Madan: In 5 years from now, we see ourselves to be the most preferred vendor from a brand perspective in India and overseas. We are on the path to establish as vertical specialists for some of the fastest-growing segments in India including metro transportation.

• Recently, ABS India and Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise jointly organized an event “Transform To Outclass” in Bengaluru, India. Tell us about the main theme of the event.

Mr. Madan: Transform to the Outclass was an event jointly hosted along with Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. The event was all about how ALE solutions and ABS India service capabilities can transform the way business is done and outclass the rest. Theme and the event was all about how customers can keep their productivity and customer satisfaction HIGH and cost of operations LOW.

• What are your views on the contents we covered in Urban Transport News publications i.e. online news portal and Urban Transport Infrastructure Magazine?

Mr. Madan: The contents covered are quite impressive and presented after a thorough analysis of the facts. Kudos to the entire Editorial team of Urban Transport News !!

• Anything else, you want to tell our readers about the future expansion plan of your company.

Mr. Madan: Embrace technology, build capabilities and nurture relationships are the key factors we are bringing on to the table which will be the key differentiators in the near future.

This interview first published in Urban Transport Infrastructure Magazine, January 2020 Edition (Vol. II, Issue 7, Pages 32-33)