During October 2005, when John T Chambers, Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, on his second visit to India announced a grand package of $1.1 bn including a $200 mn venture capital fund for India's technology entrepreneurs, the message was loud and clearthe networking giant means serious business in India. This was in contrast to Chamber's first visit in 2001, when he earmarked only $250 mn for Cisco's India operations. At that time, China, where it relished a market share of 74%, was accorded top priority in Cisco's emerging market business. Now, with dissipating market share in China as a result of increased competition from local networking players, Cisco is shifting its focus on India in a big way as its revenues here have been increasing at a healthy 40% p.a. In fact, Cisco now wants India to be its Globalization Center East (GCE), which means that all the operational and corporate activities of the router major at San Jose will be replicated in India. The idea is to convert India as the global hub, after San Jose, to develop technologies in software, routing and networking management. And almost all of the company's primary business functions like sales, marketing, finance, HR, engineering and customer support will all be represented in India, through its globalization center, just as in the US. And for that the California-based company is investing heavily in the manufacturing facility in Chennai and in the R&D center in Bangalore in partnership with Foxconn, the Taipei-based manufacturer of electronics and computer components. And as a vanguard of new business initiatives in India Cisco has also roped in Wim Elfrink, Senior Vice-President, Customer Advocacy, as the Chief Globalization Officer.
|
