Marshal Correia, Vice President & General Manager, India, South Asia, Red Hat
Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of enterprise open-source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver reliable and high-performing Linux, hybrid cloud, container and Kubernetes technologies. In his interaction with tele.net, Marshal Correia, Vice President & General Manager, India, South Asia, Red Hat, discussed the company’s key product and service offerings, challenges and roadmap for the Indian market…
What are Red Hat’s key products and service offerings?
Red Hat is an enterprise software solutions company with an open-source delivery model. We have been in existence for nearly three decades and are widely recognised for Red Hat Linux. However, we have evolved significantly beyond that.
Our core focus is on building platforms for our customers, enabling them to develop and deploy smart applications faster, thereby helping businesses achieve critical goals. This includes speeding up time-to-market, fostering employee collaboration, differentiating products and accelerating product launches. For example, Red Hat Linux, one of our core products, has a significant presence and spans various industries. It has become an integral part of daily life in India as applications like UPI, stock trading platforms and ticket booking systems rely on our solutions. Our commitment to open source has remained constant throughout.
In terms of artificial intelligence (AI) and telco operations, we have a strong presence on both the network and IT sides. The telco cloud used by many operators runs on our platform, leveraging network function virtualisation to provide scalability and flexibility. Another major service we offer is automation, having recently introduced OpenShift AI. This platform is designed to build and operationalise AI at scale. It aligns with India’s vision of democratising AI. By creating public-private infrastructure and policies to establish Red Hat as a hub for AI-based applications, we are making AI accessible at a low price point for workstations, while our OpenShift AI supports large-scale deployment.
We are also collaborating with IBM Research Labs on advanced initiatives. This includes open-source large language models, small language models using Rinite, and tools like InstructLab that can train the models.
Our hybrid cloud expertise ensures we cater to our customers wherever they need, whether on public clouds, on premises or at the edge. Hybrid cloud is one of our strengths, and we continue to innovate to serve diverse use cases.
What are the company’s current focus areas in the Indian market?
The current focus in the Indian market is primarily on telcos. It is about enabling the development and deployment of applications on our platform or their consumption and delivery on the same platform. This is particularly relevant for networking applications, such as building operational technology networks and 5G networks. These solutions often come from our partners and are deployed on our platform as well.
In terms of AI, the focus is on leveraging it to serve business needs. For telcos, this includes creating virtual assistants and enhancing customer service capabilities. On the network side, AI is used to optimise resources and reduce power consumption. Once these internal challenges are addressed, telcos can monetise these solutions. For example, they aim to deliver services like virtual assistants and AI-driven capabilities to enterprises or industries such as healthcare, agriculture and logistics. They are exploring edge services that use AI for inference, helping industries deliver higher quality products and services. Red Hat ties this approach together by addressing diverse needs across sectors like public safety, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and finance, ensuring that AI and platform solutions drive innovation and efficiency
in India.
Are there any challenges that your compnay is currently facing?
Some of our customers have not yet embarked on the cloud-native journey and are still using legacy technology. As they explore advanced radio access network, they must upskill their teams, making the transition more challenging for them.
This challenge is also evident in the AI space. Many operators lack the expertise needed to apply AI effectively. To address this, they must collaborate with data scientists and network subject matter experts to identify key performance indicators for optimising the radio network, core network and edge operations.
What are your plans and strategies for the next two to three years?
Our plans for the next two to three years involve continuing to support our existing products, which are already deeply integrated into Indian enterprises and government sectors. These products include our core infrastructure solutions, such as the basic operating systems, virtualisation technologies, and OpenShift AI for building cloud-native applications. We aim to further enhance our hybrid cloud offerings to better serve our customers.
A key focus area is the edge cloud, where we see significant opportunities for telcos to monetise their assets. They have a strong presence, and we want to help them leverage this technology with innovative solutions. Another important area is AI. We are committed to democratising AI and making it accessible through open-source initiatives, ensuring it is scalable and beneficial to a wide range of users.
