Mantri Developers Appoints Cisco as Its Strategic ICT Partner to Drive Smart Urban Development in India

BANGALORE, INDIA--(Marketwire - Mar 27, 2012) - Mantri Developers, India's leading real estate developers, today announced its collaboration with Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) to develop new ICT-enabled real estate models 'Mantri Connected Communities and Smart Homes.' This collaboration combines Cisco's Smart+Connected Communities vision with Mantri's experience as a pioneering smart urban developer to provide connected and sustainable communities and an enriched living experience to its residents.

Through a framework agreement signed today, Mantri Developers Private Limited (MDPL) has appointed Cisco as its strategic ICT partner to provide its Master ICT Planning expertise and Smart+Connected Communities solutions. The agreement applies to all residential projects that are currently in the design or construction phase, along with future projects comprising over 28 million sq ft of super built up area over the next five years.

As the Master ICT Planner, Cisco will help integrate technology into the heart of the community, to deliver citizen services such as intelligent concierge, doctor consultation, private tutoring and other digital life style solutions creating sustainable and connected communities that bring enhanced value to the residents of Mantri properties. This alliance will help integrate Cisco's Smart+Connected Communities solutions into 12 of Mantri Developers' residential projects across South India. As part of this collaboration, Cisco is bringing together a consortium that includes Radius Infratel, BPL Technovision, Control4 and Microland.

Integrating technology with urban infrastructure development will help bring about enhanced conceptual living for the 21^st century residents. Using Cisco's Smart+Connected Communities platform, MDPL will now build smart sustainable communities where residents of Smart Homes will have access to features such as wireless door locks and video door stations for security, smart interiors with customized settings for lights, blinds, AC and a touch screen panel on the wall with IP control lights. Residents can benefit from easy access to entertainment via Audio-Video Integration and safer living through gas detection sensors. All these solutions will help transform the properties into sustainable and connected communities setting new standards for the 'home of the future.'

The collaboration marks a beginning of a new chapter in Indian urban development making digital living a reality. The collaboration also reinforces that visionary urban developers such as MDPL are progressively moving towards designing and building infrastructure by integrating intelligent networks as an integral part of their urban development efforts.

Key Highlights

• As the Master ICT Planner for Mantri Developers, Cisco will help transform all Mantri projects into connected sustainable communities. Furthermore, the collaboration will provide the developer with greater opportunities to earn additional revenue by monetizing technology led services offerings. Most importantly the collaboration will offer residents urban services that provide enhanced living standards.
  
  
• Technology solutions such as integrated data & voice and wireless services, Fibre to the Home, digital signage, common area IP video surveillance and energy management systems will transform each residence into a state-of-the-art home fulfilling the increasing need for security, energy conservation, enhanced productivity and digital lifestyle.
  
  
• The collaboration between the two companies will help set new standards in real estate development in India, as the companies together help transform the 'business of construction' through technology enablement. Iconic projects by Mantri Developers such as Mantri Espana and Mantri DSK Pinnacle, and future projects will represent connected communities, where residents, visitors and businesses can experience a digital lifestyle.
  
  
• The new communities built by Mantri Developers based on Cisco's ICT master plan will extend the reach of advanced citizen services for residents and enhanced future living for the city dwellers. With the network as the platform residents can now use technology to access a better digital lifestyle and an enhanced quality of life.
  

As Mantri Developers embarks upon its goal to build and develop a cumulative 34 million sq ft of real estate by 2013, the company's collaboration with Cisco will help ensure their offerings are world-class, standardized and technologically advanced. Over the last 12 years, the company has set a strong track record of delivering approximately ten homes per week. Combined with Cisco's transformational Smart+Connected Communities vision, Mantri Developers is now set to position itself amongst the top developers in the world's urban development industry.

Executive Quotes

Mr. Sushil Mantri, chairman and managing director, Mantri Developers Pvt. Ltd., said, "Technology is changing the way we live today. At Mantri Developers, pioneering innovations has been the cornerstone of our endeavours and this collaboration with Cisco reaffirms our commitment to think beyond the traditional for our customers. Smart Home is one of the latest offerings from Mantri. This collaboration will help us push the boundaries of innovation to create intelligent spaces. By applying digital technology and digital infrastructures we aim to streamline and enhance operations, reduce the cost of the building and promote environmental sustainability through energy conservation. Our strategic relationship with Cisco will help us deploy Cisco's Smart+Connected Communities strategy into our projects and through our combined vision enable technologically advanced urban development in India."

Wim Elfrink, executive vice president, Emerging Solutions and chief globalisation officer Cisco, stated: "Mantri Developers is using ICT as a strategic differentiator by building technology into the projects upfront. By integrating intelligent networks into the heart of the residential projects, Cisco can make the projects much more sustainable allowing them to be smarter, better designed and better managed. People want to stay in a community that enables overall sustainability -- economic, social and environmental. We believe our collaboration with Mantri Developers is a very important step forward in enabling smarter projects in the Indian real estate industry. Our collaboration is to innovate new ways of offering urban services so citizens and residents can enjoy a better quality of life, using the network as the platform."

Anil Menon, president, globalisation and Smart+Connected Communities, said: "At Cisco we believe technology can enable city transformation in many ways. Using the network as the platform and establishing strategic collaboration, we can bring about a renewed and improved citizen experience in communities. Cisco is proud to partner with Mantri Developers, an iconic real estate developer which has pioneered several concepts. We believe our collaboration will help re-define the Indian real estate industry by transforming how realty is built, managed, and experienced."

About Mantri Developers
Mantri Developers Pvt. Ltd. is a leading developer of world class Homes, IT Parks, Retail Spaces and Educational Institutions. Mr. Sushil Mantri founded Mantri Developers in Bangalore in the year 1999. In just 12 years, the company has over 24 projects to its credit. Today, Mantri Developers has over 10 million square feet of constructed area, over 30,000 satisfied residents and 8 million square feet under various stages of construction.

The company plans to focus on the residential sector, retail, hospitality, IT Parks and educational institutions in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Additional resources:

• More information on Cisco's Smart+Connected Communities initiative http://www.cisco.com/go/smartconnectedcommunities
• Video series on Cities of the Future: http://newsroom.cisco.com/songdo
• Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CiscoSCC
• Follow Cisco Smart+Connected Communities on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CiscoSCC

About Cisco
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