"Ciena is widely known for advancements in optical technology"

As the Vice President and Sales Leader for India, Amit Malik is responsible for driving Ciena's sales strategy in India, a key growth market for the company.

- Amit Malik

During his over 10-month stint with the company, he has been instrumental in supporting service providers' 5G plans and growing bandwidth demands. In an interaction with Shubhendu Parth, he talks about the changing dynamics of the communication and connectivity sectors, the challenges of managing data deluge, and the evolving enterprise solutions market. Excerpts: 

How do you perceive the evolution of the communication and connectivity sectors?

What new developments do you anticipate beyond the current discussions about 5G and its strategic implications? Let me first take a step back and examine the big drivers of technological evolution. It all began with a significant focus in India on enhancing connectivity. Initiatives like Digital India aimed to bridge the gap for the unconnected population. As these efforts progressed, the emphasis shifted towards not just connectivity but fast and reliable connectivity, recognising it as a platform for innovation and growth. We have seen this play out with the impact of 4G, where video content, for instance, became a significant income source for many. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed a surge in innovative ideas facilitated by connectivity. Now, with 5G, there is anticipation regarding its killer use case and potential for monetisation. However, it is important to understand that the true value of these platforms lies in fostering innovation, which takes time to materialise. While we are already witnessing promising ideas, it is a process that unfolds gradually. Fixed wireless access, such as the Air Fiber project by Jio and similar products by Airtel, is already reshaping connectivity paradigms, especially for households and small clusters. This theme of evolution in connectivity is ongoing and dynamic.