BANGALORE, India, Oct 31 (AFP): US computer networking giant Cisco Systems plans to more than triple its workforce in India and turn the South Asian nation into a platform to tap and service markets worldwide.
Chief executive officer, John Chambers, who pledged 1.16 billion dollars in investment for India two years ago, outlined the company's plans late Tuesday after opening a 50-million- dollar facility in the southern city of Bangalore.
Chambers, who has expanded the company to 35 billion dollars in revenue from 1.2 billion dollars when he took over as CEO in 1995, tacked on 100 million dollars in additional venture capital funding.
From 3,000 current employees, the California-based Cisco will increase its workforce in India to 10,000 by 2010, and expects to generate 20 per cent of its "future leadership" from the country, said Chambers, who is also chairman.
"This is a country that knows how to partner," he told reporters, adding Cisco saw India as intrinsic to its growth and not merely as a low-cost location. "It's a part of our long-term strategy."
Cisco will use the one-million-square-feet Bangalore facility to devise networking technology solutions for customers in emerging markets in Asia, including China, and the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, Chambers said.
The Banglore location, which will eventually also serve Cisco customers in developed markets like North America and Europe, will accommodate staff from its research and development, information-technology and customer support teams.
It will also house Cisco's largest campus data centre outside the US and serve as a focal point to demonstrate the company's technologies to customers.
Cisco plans to turn India into global hub, triple workforce
FE Team | Published: November 01, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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