Vi Business expands enterprise client ties amid 4G, 5G transformation, says Chief Enterprise Business Officer

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Vi Business, the enterprise arm of Vodafone Idea, said it has not only retained but also expanded relationships with its enterprise clients over the past two years, even as the company underwent a major network transformation with 4G and 5G expansion. In an interview with Moneycontrol, Arvind Nevatia, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Vi Business, said the unit now has stronger contracts, deeper client engagements, and steady improvements in churn metrics.

Vi Business has adopted a partner-led, cloud-neutral strategy, working with players like Yotta and CtrlS to build a multi-cloud platform layer and managed services capabilities, while also exploring new partnerships.

Private 5G is another key focus, with the enterprise arm actively running proof-of-concept trials across sectors such as manufacturing and mining. Enterprises are testing mission-critical applications on Vi’s 5G network, and while monetization is still at an early stage, Nevatia said demand is shaping up along the lines of the rapid “hockey stick” adoption the company saw earlier in IoT smart metering.

Edited excerpts

Has Vi managed to retain clients in the last two years across sectors?

We have successfully retained and expanded relationships with our enterprise clients over the last two years. Stronger contracts and deeper engagements have resulted in steady improvements in churn metrics.

In enterprise, stability is critical because customers commit to long-term deals for connectivity and applications. Naturally, we had to address that concern.

Over the past two to three years, we have deepened account relationships and grown our business, with proof points that include winning long-term contracts. Recently, we announced a major smart metering deal, securing a healthy order book with multiple partners. We have also maintained a consistent order book in the hyperscaler domain, especially with Google, AWS, and Microsoft, for the critical connectivity of their data center sites.

So while challenges remain, we have demonstrated both stability and delivery.

For Vi Business, the share of wallet from core enterprise accounts is growing.

Absolutely. Over the last few quarters, we’ve seen consistent improvement in operational metrics such as churn and revenue per account. Enterprises are deepening their engagement with us by expanding from connectivity into adjacent services like security, cloud, IoT and managed services. This growth in share of wallet reflects not just account retention but stronger and long-term relationships - proven by multi-year contracts and expansion with Fortune 500 customers and hyperscalers.

Airtel recently launched its Sovereign Cloud. Is Vodafone Idea also working on its cloud strategy?

Vi Business has adopted a partner-led, cloud-neutral strategy. Rather than tying ourselves to any single hyperscaler or data center provider, we are working with partners like Yotta and CtrlS while building a multi-cloud platform layer and managed services capabilities. This approach ensures enterprises can seamlessly navigate hybrid environments—public, private, or co-location—without being locked in. Our aim is to give CIOs flexibility, professional services support, and a one-stop, peace-of-mind experience, while expanding partnerships as the market evolves.

While we continue to grow with existing partners, we are also exploring new ones. Our evaluation process considers product features, value proposition, geographic fit, and customer needs.

Competition is investing heavily in cloud, data centres, security, and CPaaS. What is Vodafone Idea’s enterprise strategy - are you competing across the board or selectively?

Our stated strategy is partner-led in adjacencies. We will selectively choose our battles and investments.

In core mobility, we build our own products. But in adjacencies like cloud, we’ve adopted a multi-partner, cloud-neutral model. We partner with Yotta and CtrlS, and maintain neutrality across AWS, Google, and Microsoft. Instead of capex-heavy data centres, our focus is on platform play and managed services. Most enterprises today operate in hybrid environments, and our role is to provide a platform, professional services, and flexibility across cloud providers.

With the gradual launch of 5G for mobility customers, is Vodafone Idea working on its private 5G strategy?

Private 5G is a strong focus for us. We are actively engaged in proof of concepts across industries like manufacturing and mining, where enterprises are testing mission-critical applications on our 5G network. While monetisation is still in early stages, we see strong demand building up much like the hockey stick adoption curve we witnessed in IoT smart metering.

If enterprises are allowed direct spectrum for private networks, would telcos still be the preferred route?

Globally, we haven’t seen non-telcos making significant headway in private networks. That suggests telcos will remain the preferred route in India too. But it’s early, and we’ll have to see how things evolve.

For Vi Business, which verticals have been strong growth drivers?

Government, SMB, BFSI, and hyperscalers verticals have delivered robust growth in the last 1-2 years. In Government, we’ve secured long-term deals such as smart metering projects.

SMBs continue to be a strong engine, with our ‘Ready For Next’ program scaling up meaningfully. In BFSI, our secure connectivity and IoT solutions are driving adoption, including remote branch ATM use cases. With hyperscalers like AWS, Google, and Microsoft, we are delivering critical connectivity for their data centres and sites supported by a healthy and consistent order book.

Together, these segments underline Vi Business’s relevance across India’s digital ecosystem.

Beyond smart meters, what are your IoT focus areas?

In IoT, connected cars are a big area—we are the dominant leader in India, with almost all major automakers on the Vi IoT platform. We’ve also migrated fully to our new Smart Central IoT platform, which unlocks advanced features and enables continuous innovation. The focus is on deepening relationships and creating value through this platform.

You also announced SD-WAN and managed services partnerships, including with HPE. Is that a focus area?

Yes, absolutely. Partnerships like HPE are central to our strategy. We’re actively building depth in this area, adding management capacity, scouting partnerships, and making existing ones work harder.

On security, you have partnerships with Fortinet, Cisco, IBM, Trend Micro, Netscout, etc. How are these helping your offering?
There are two pieces of security for us. One, embedding security into our core offerings—for example, SD-WAN now comes with secure SD-WAN and SASE features. Two, our standalone portfolio like Vi Secure (endpoint, web, mail security). While we’ve launched this, I’d say we’ve just scratched the surface. A refresh is underway, and we’ll soon have new action here.

GPU-as-a-service has gained traction with Tata Communications and Jio. What’s Vi’s approach?

We’re in the evaluation phase. Internally, we use GPUs for AI applications, but as a monetizable enterprise service, we’re still assessing the space.

Is there in-house software development for enterprise services?

Yes, absolutely. We’ve just launched Cloud Contact Center as a Service in partnership with Genesys, integrating AI features like sentiment analysis and intelligent call routing. Our model is to partner with leaders, add value through our platform and managed services, and deliver customer-centric innovation.