Benefits of Private Networks for Indian Enterprises

Private networks are no longer the future of tech. They are the present. 

The need for fast, secure, and reliable connectivity is increasing across industries as enterprises constantly seek ways to increase efficiencies, productivity, innovation, and competitiveness. As technologies such as Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things mature, the need for robust, reliable, and secure private networks increases to provide multi-device connectivity and low latency.

What are private networks?

Private networks are Non-Public Networks (NPN) dedicated to an enterprise to meet their business demands. The enterprise has complete control over this network and can have dedicated network elements that can be customised to meet specific business requirements.

A private network has dedicated resources such as network infrastructure, platform, and/or spectrum. While these elements might not be necessarily physically dedicated, they can be logically dedicated as is the case with network slicing.

Private networks provide greater access control and are limited to set user groups across the enterprise. These networks are designed to meet the specific and unique needs of the enterprise and can offer exceptional performance benefits to customers

Market size and future forecast

Given its importance in the enterprise context, the private network market is showing an upward trajectory. Reports show that the global private network market is expected to reach USD 36.08 billion by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 47.5% from 2022 to 2030. 

The market is expected to move on this upward trend as enterprises and industrial segments look at gaining greater control while reducing dependencies on public carrier networks. Private networks are expected to fuel internal/onsite coverage as well as intra-company communications across business locations including factories and manufacturing units, smart buildings, and other enterprise facilities.

The growing importance of private networks in India

The pandemic has prompted enterprises across industries to augment their digital transformation efforts to boost productivity and cost efficiencies. Some of the key reasons for the growing importance of private networks in India can be summed up as follows:

The increasing maturity of new-age technologies

The Indian AR and VR market worth USD 1.69 billion in the year 2021 is expected to grow to USD 9.28 billion by the end of 2028.  IoT revenues are expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2027) of 10.14% leading to a market volume of US$1,527.00m by 2027.

The rise in adoption of technologically advanced solutions, an increase of application areas in end-use industries, the surge in smartphone penetration, and increasing digital savviness to drive better organisational outcomes are some of the reasons driving tech maturity across sectors.

While these technologies promise golden opportunities, they need secure, low-latency networks to deliver on their promise. 

The ambition to become a global manufacturing and supply chain hub

India aspires to become a global manufacturing and supply chain hub. The Indian government is set on making the country’s manufacturing sector more competitive on the global scene.

The manufacturing sector is, as such, gearing up to leverage digital technologies like IoT, sensors, digital twins, automation etc. to improve productivity, and optimise processes/ There is also a demand for transparency, elevated safety, and cost control for RoI.

Private networks become the underlying ecosystem enabling secure data exchange and ensure high reliability, high volume, and always-on operations. 

Wireless automation at the enterprise level

The adoption of wireless automation at the enterprise level is also set to propel the adoption of private networks in India. The need to accelerate computing while ensuring that the data is secure while in transit and at rest becomes an important point to consider here.

5g technology has opened up new possibilities for businesses to create private networks. With 5g network, businesses can now build their own private networks that are more secure and efficient than ever before. This is further propelling the push towards private networks as companies are looking for ways to protect their data and increase their productivity.

Why is enterprise demand for private networks increasing?

Private networks are being seen as enablers of operational efficiencies and productivity. Robust and well-designed private networks provide access seamless connectivity across departments and real-time data to elevate decision making capabilities and improve efficiencies.

In a signal example of the value of private networks, Vi, in collaboration with Nokia, has delivered one of India’s first private network infrastructures to power L&T heavy engineering’s journey into Industry4.0. A reliable and stable network supports the scaling needs of this, and other heavy engineering companies. It helps drive outcomes such as increased productivity and better collaboration across all departments through seamless connectivity.

Secure connectivity, seamless coverage even in hard to reach areas in plants, low latency and  superior experience across the network across departments and units, whether in office or across the shop floor come as a Vi assurance. In L&T, the private network enables seamless collaboration across devices, laptops, mobiles, and micro-controllers.

Not only that, maximising worker safety by capably monitoring high-risk areas also becomes effortless with a robust, reliable and extensive private network.

Vi’s private network experience ensures that the network design enables greater coverage and efficiencies, while improving security as businesses move towards trends such as Industry 4.0 and digital transformation for business success.  

With the VI advantage, business can set up their own private networks and drive better organisational outcomes. Spilt-second decisions, identifying and enabling process reconfiguration opportunities, and attaining new level of efficiencies especially around automation are some of the clear benefits of employing the Vi private network. Apart from that, businesses can also drive self-optimisation of process improvements and predictive maintenance using this well-designed, secure, and robust network.

The time has come for private networks to deliver on their promise.

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