Tech Shout!

Networking company Cisco Systems is planning to enhance its Research and Development existence further - upwards of 10,000 from the present staff strength of 2,000 people across R&D and sales – and announced manufacturing of IP phones in India.

In sync with Cisco’s outsourced manufacturing model, the networking company has selected Foxconn, one of its global contract manufacturing; to work with it on manufacturing certain products for India as a pilot.

Cisco Systems CEO and chairman John Chambers announced the plans during a joint press conference with the minister for communications and IT Dayanidhi Maran.

Chambers is currently on a three-day Delhi-Bangalore trip that’s his second within a year. During his last trip in November 2005, Chambers had announced a $1.1 billion investment. Chambers stated that over $ 750 million of this will go towards R&D facilities and training and development in India.

Cisco will be expanding its investment commitment to India by tripling its workforce over the next three years.

This will be in addition to about 2000-strong workforce the company has through strategic partners.

Thus Cisco’s direct-indirect workforce is expected to touch 10,000 in three years. He, however, did not reveal any further details about investment.

Chambers noted that Cisco leads in 10 of the 12 product segments it is present in worldwide. In addition, it is also among the companies worldwide that is most aggressive in acquisitions.

Through its $100 million Cisco Capital (Cisco’s venture fund), it already holds close to 16 per cent investment in Bharti group manufacturing company Bharti Teletech, which makes telephones and some low-end telecom products.

In November 2005, Chambers had announced setting up of a one-million square foot, 3,000 people campus in Bangalore for Cisco’s R&D, IT, sales and customer support teams in India. The company is spending approximately $50 million on this new, integrated campus, which is expected to be completed by June 2007.

Cisco had first established its R&D facility in India in 1998. An extension of the company’s global R&D based in San Jose, the center has been involved in core product research and development and engineering across Cisco’s entire product family.

It is already the largest development centre for Cisco outside of the United States.

It also has joint development centers with Wipro Technologies and Infosys Technologies in Bangalore, HCL Technologies in Chennai and Zensar Technologies in Pune.

On Friday, Cisco announced that veteran employee Jangoo Dalal will take the role of the company’s new president for India and SAARC region after a gap of almost eight months since the previous executive was moved. Cisco has seven sales offices in India.