The Hindu Business Line : India is key to Cisco’s globalisation strategy

Its Senior Vice-President (Industry Business Strategy Operations) for India and SAARC, Mr Ajay Goel, said, “We can expect some blip in the short-term, but over the medium and long-term, we are bullish.”

“The short-term correction is not due to slowdown in business. Some of our customers, who have been stung by the US sub-prime crisis are adopting a wait-and-watch approach, but the business is buoyant. We are poised to grow,” he told Business Line.

Stating that the company came to India not “only” because of cost arbitrage, but more for innovation, growth and talent, Mr Goel reiterated, “Cisco is here to stay.

India offers far bigger things than cost. The kind of talent pool available here and partners who helped transform Cisco are incomparable. India is not a low-profit destination. On the other hand, it is the key for our globalisation strategy.”

Excerpts from an interview:

How is India involved in your globalisation strategy?

In the last three months, we have transformed our India business. Our organisation here will be responsible for our business within the country.

Cisco’s globalisation centre in Bangalore will develop solutions for the emerging markets and be responsible for new innovation, talent and growth.

We plan to take the headcount to 10,000 in a span of five years. We have scaled it to 4,000 over the last nine months.

We are not looking at mass recruitment, but have vowed to bring 20 per cent of our best talent in the global space to this centre. Our charter is to provide a holistic technology and business solution.

It is a new market for Cisco and is expected to bring business relevancy for our customers.

Your hiring plans?

We are looking to hire rapidly. We will go to colleges and universities, tie up with entrepreneurs with innovation building talent. We will look for people in marketing, human resources, operations, customer advocacy and core technology development.

We will not resort to mass recruitment, but will hire specifically for projects, developments and approach people with specific skill sets.

Our talent pool at the Bangalore globalisation centre is a mix of people from Europe, China, West Asia, Africa and Asia. A number of Indians have sought relocation from California to our centre here.

Why did Cisco decide on an innovation centre in Bangalore and what have you done since the establishment of this facility?

The market is moving towards the emerging markets, and these are growing rapidly.

These markets demand a certain kind of technology. One cannot push the developed countries’ technology.

For instance, the units here may not need the same technology as in the US.

The model has to be created for India (specific markets) and it does not have a legacy. Further, the country has been progressive in the adoption of technology. Bangalore is well connected.

We will drive partnerships with mega players such as TCS, Infosys, Satyam, HCL and Wipro to develop solutions for other emerging markets.

Do you see a slowdown?

There is a slight dip in the GDP but no practical slowdown in business.

Customers who have been affected because of the US sub-prime crisis are adopting a wait-and-watch approach, but the business is bullish.

There is a positive impact to technology adoption. CIOs are willing to understand and adopt new technology, take risk.

Any plans of setting up similar centre of excellence in other emerging markets?

We are looking at China. It may not be on the likes of the Bangalore Globalisation centre, but some kind of investments is bound to happen.

We have committed $ 1 billion investment in India.

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