Motorola has opened a new research and development facility
in India, underlining that country’s increasing role in the global IT
economy.
Engineers at Motorola Labs will focus on converged networks, autonomic
networking, enterprise applications and embedded systems. The work will
support Motorola’s larger seamless mobility strategy.
This will be the 11th Motorola Lab worldwide. The group contributes a
significant number of patents each year to the company’s portfolio of more
than 21,000 patents.
While this is the first lab in India, Motorola has had product
engineering facilities in the country since 1991. It has more than 1,700
people working there.
The company’s research investment in India will increase to $85 million this
year, up from approximately $50 million in 2002. The budget is expected to
grow 10 percent to 20 percent per year.
A Motorola spokesman in India was not immediately available for comment. In
a statement, Amit Sharma, Motorola’s vice president for South and Southeast
Asia, said the move makes sense given the number of customers, partners and
suppliers in the country.
“Co-location with Motorola product engineering (also at Bangalore) ensures
strong technology transfer to Motorola’s networks, global software and
mobile devices groups,” Sharma said.
It will also give Motorola a better understanding of the Indian market,
which is increasingly viewed as a place to sell networking goods and services.
The Indian market for equipment and services is expected to jump to $24.3
billion by 2006, up from $13.7 billion in 2001, according to telecom
research firm Frost & Sullivan.
The offshoring movement has created demand for networking equipment. Those
facilities need the fast, secure phone and Internet connections, experts
said.
