The Hindu Business Line : `Create more product development companies'

Companies leveraging Indian intellectual arbitrage are hitting the headlines these days and BroVis Wireless Networks, a Silicon Valley-based firm with product development headquarters in Chennai, is the latest the join the roster.

The company is the subject of a new case study in the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) that focuses on the Indian subcontinent and other emerging markets. The case study focuses on how entrepreneur-driven technology ventures can leverage globalisation and be successful.

The Stanford study could well signal that the time has come for everyone to stop thinking in terms of `advantage Indian labour' and move to `advantage Indian intellect.'

Speaking to eWorld, Muthu Logan, founder, President and CEO of BroVis, says the study validates their thinking and business model. "We are already enjoying the fruits of the labour by taking the India advantage route "in totality" four years ago. Not only are we taking advantage of the intellectual capital here, we are also tapping the growing market here for wireless infrastructure."

The company first started working out of Chennai about three years ago. "Then we were doing about 60 per cent of the development work," says Logan.

Now, 100 per cent of the R&D work is being done in Chennai. "This includes all hardware, software architecture, design and implementation work, system integration and testing and also full systems manufacturing."

He adds: "I cherish the growing ecosystem in India - talent pool, fast-track telecom and service provider companies, dynamic enterprises, Government initiatives with respect to rural growth, manufacturing suppliers, etc."

The BroVis CEO is also happy to see a pool of quality of engineers with good work ethic and academic training. However, he adds, their exposure to pure product development has been minimal to none.

"Most of the engineers have worked in service-type engineering organisations, with practically no exposure to innovative product or system development practices. In Silicon Valley, product development is like clockwork for many engineers."

Product development continues to be an area where India lags behind. Logan believes that if India is to sustain and enhance the intellectual arbitrage, "we need to create more product development companies. Engineering institutes should encourage innovative product thinking in the classroom through projects and co-op work arrangements."

BroVis leverages US, India and Taiwan for different areas of business development - in Logan's own words, "the US for knowledge platform, India for R&D and knowledge workforce and Taiwan for contract manufacturing."

He strongly believes that this model of globalisation is here to stay. "We are probably one of the first to embrace this global thinking in totality. There will be more companies - start-ups and big ones - taking this route. This will be the model of the future."

What will happen when countries start closing the gaps? "I am sure that the countries will try to close some gaps, but it is just not that easy because of the momentum swing and mindset. For example, software companies in India have reached such a level that now they are opening offices in other emerging regions to `raise the bar' even higher."

Now that venture capitalists are beating a path to India, a great deal of money is being earmarked for the IT and wireless start-up spaces.

Logan advises start-ups to not fight shy of taking VC money.

"It has helped accelerate our growth - both in terms of product development as well as sales penetration. My belief is that any startup needs a good VC to provide lot of help and guidance during the growth phase, along with adequate capital."

He adds: "In the case of BroVis, we are experiencing good revenue growth along with having credible VCs and capital, which makes the path to profitability faster."

Despite the mobile phenomenon growing by leaps and bounds in the country, few companies have tapped the mobile opportunity to alter the way business is done.

Logan thinks that the fundamental reason behind this is that the current mobile infrastructure in India is based on voice-centric, narrow band (or low-speed) technology.

"This type of infrastructure is not conducive to run any value-added or rich business applications. On the other hand, a true broadband mobile infrastructure, such as WiMAX or 4G, provides sufficient bandwidth for mobile users to download apps faster and transact faster — be it e-mail, business transaction, video or photo sharing, etc."

He cites the example of South Korea, which has done a "tremendous job of implementing a BroView, a variant of WiMAX, to change ways of doing business."

India also has a long way to go even in the area of e-commerce. Logan believes that greater broadband penetration will change all that. "It will provide multifold advantages for India. With greater penetration India will be able to overtake the US in terms of transactions."

BroVis's deployments span a wide gamut - from large enterprises and campuses to Government and Defence, from rural kiosks to residential last-mile.

This has been possible because the company has been focused on building software-centric systems, from the very start, says Logan. "With this approach, we have immense flexibility to customise products for various segments in a rapid manner."

The company recently launched BroadMESH, a new wireless solution in the Wi-Fi Mesh category. It caters to the needs of citywide Wi-Fi projects, residential colonies, satellite townships and industrial parks.

Logan has worked in the US for over 20 years and has held various marketing and business development positions at leading technology companies such as Lucent, Ascend, Intel and Solectron. He holds an MS in industrial engineering from the University of Texas and has served as technology advisor to three VC firms in the US.

dmurali@thehindu.co.in

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