Mr Low: The Mumbai office leverages on the vast pool of multi-talented IT professionals in India.

e-Cop ( http://www.e-cop.net/ ) is the trusted partner for managed risk and information security services to enterprises, and governments. Its services include Managed Security Services, Technology Consulting Services, and Professional Security Services.

e-Cop operates and maintains several ISO/IEC 27001-certified Security Operations Centres (SOC) around the world. These are powered by advanced, award-winning security event correlation technology developed internally by the company's R&D team.

According to e-Cop's Group Chief Executive Officer and President Mr Marcus Low, e-Cop's entry into the Indian market in 2005 was part of a two-pronged approach to expand its global presence. "The Mumbai office leverages on the vast pool of multi-talented IT professionals in India to enhance the company's synergy with partners and enables it to deliver unprecedented local support to its clients. At the same time, it allows the company to provide back-end support in multiple operational disciplines to its regional business," he said.

Mr Teo Choo Siong, e-Cop's General Manager for International Markets, tells iN.SG more about the company's experiences in India.

How did e-Cop first venture into the India market?
e-Cop was introduced to prospective customers and business partners during a conference in India around 2005. This gave us a fair understanding of the Indian market and its potential to add value to our global operations.

Tell us about e-Cop's operations in India.
With India's unique positioning as strategic IT hub and vast talent pool, it made sense for e-Cop to launch a Centre of Excellence there, to support various professional security services. Today, the Global Resource Centre (GRC) in India supports e-Cop's global operations in a highly competitive market. e-Cop also powers Allied Digital Services'  Security Operations Centre (SOC) in India serving customers as far as the United States.

What are some of the characteristics of the Indian market?
India is a dynamic and price sensitive market. For our line of business, the markets are also under-prepared. We foresee a strong growth in demand once better compliance policies are introduced.

What are some of the key learning points that you can share?
e-Cop's theory of localisation worked for us in India. One has to localise for Indian markets to be successful here. Being creative and selecting the right channel in such a diverse demography is also a key challenge.

With localised SOCs, organisations and the government agencies feel more comfortable because sensitive information does not have to leave the country. Of course, localised SOCs means localised services, be it understanding the local information security needs or simply speaking the local language to support the customer.