When information management technology giant EMC began investing in India in 2003, it looked like a me-too move. Every other major global technology company was establishing a presence in India, so EMC would too.
But it’s now clear that EMC has something much grander in mind. Today, EMC announced it plans to spend US$1.5 billion on building up capabilities in India over the next five years, which represents a tripling of its investments over the past five. A key element is its new R&D and services complex in Bangalore, which will initially employ 2,000 people and has room for 3,500. A companion piece is a commitment announced yesterday for EMC to do joint research with faculty and students from the International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore. It looks like EMC is pretty serious about engaging the best minds of India.
“We have come a long way and will continue growing,” John Herrera, vice president of global delivery for EMC said.
EMC now has R&D and services staff working in China, Russia, Egypt, and Israel, as well as India. The strategy from the start, according to Herrera, was to go after the best talent available in the world, accelerate international growth, and drive innovation. And what of wage arbitrage? “When we started we didn’t have cost-savings as one of the key goals,” Herrera said. Frankly, I’m a bit skeptical about that, but I accept Herrera’s assertions that these other goals were very important. He says the increase in the costs of doing business in India in recent years haven’t deterred EMC from expanding there.
EMC is signaling strongly that it seeks innovation from India--not just cheaper labor. When the company holds its third annual global innovation conference on October 14, the main stage for the virtual event will be at the Bangalore campus. Also, the staff in India submitted the largest number of proposals for the innovation competition that is to be the centerpiece of the conference. “It’s a good year for Bangalore to take the lead,” Herrera told me.
EMC is doing some interesting things to engage its global workforce. But, for now, the main point I want to make is that this company is doing the right thing vis a vis its Indian employees. It doesn’t treat them as commodity brains to be had on the cheap. It signals that it expects great ideas and work to come from them. I bet it will.
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