IoT Centre, startups to help ITI regain its glory

The loss-making public sector telecom behemoth Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) is looking to diversify into new areas such as Internet of Things (IoT).

The company, which is on a turnaround path, is opening Centre of Excellence for Internet of Things (IoT) by engaging with startups to cater to the growing business opportunity in India.
 “IoT is a business vertical where lots of our products and services can be aligned with our existing capability. The CoE will help us exhibit these solutions,” ITI Chairman and Managing Director S Gopu told DH. The company is focusing on IoT as part of its turnaround plan, he said.

Gopu pointed out that IoT solutions for smart cities is a vast area and many are not aware of it properly.

“We want this CoE to exhibit the technology prowess of ITI along with other partners and the main areas include smart health, smart transport, smart infrastructure, smart environment, smart water and waste management, among others. We have also tied up with startups to come up with solutions in this front,” he said.  The CoE, spread over 20,000 sq feet area, will help ITI to exhibit its product under MoU with partners and startups.

“We have around 20 MoUs in this area and plan to exhibit solutions in digital form or play card live demonstration. We are participating in tendering process of smart city projects and municipal authorities can come and experience our solutions,” Gopu said.  ITI is working with close to 22 startups including Cardiac Design Labs, Yuktix Technologies, Citrus Platform Solutions and Hanbit Automation, among others. 

“Most of these startups are in the IoT space and smart city technologies. ITI is helping these startups to manufacture prototypes and even handhold them in go-to-market strategy,” Gopu said.  Under the Swachh Bharath Mission, ITI is associated with the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) to install feedback devices at the public and private toilets to regularly monitor and maintain cleanliness of toilets. Recently, the MoUD has given directives to 12 state governments to consider procurement of feedback devices from ITI.

“To manufacture these devices, ITI has tied up with startups and the volume of this business is going to fetch good revenues in the coming days,” adds CMD.