Cisco's flat world moves
Cisco's Chief Globalization Officer Wim Elfrink says that Cisco plans to have at least 20% of its top executives working in India in the next three to five years.
Why? According to Business Week:
"One reason lies in the size of India's market. While Internet penetration in India stands at a mere 4.5%, the online market there is one of the fastest growing in the world and the Indian cellular market is white hot.
"The other issue is cost. Huawei can compete against Cisco on price because of its cheap talent pool. Facing those pressures, Cisco will find it hard to maintain its high margins unless it develops its own vast force of low-cost engineering talent.
"Cisco also wants to acquire the best Indian operations in its field to accelerate growth. As part of its ambitious investment plan, Cisco has set aside $100 million in a venture capital fund to buy out Indian companies. It has invested in a couple of outfits such as gaming destination Indiagames.com. (Cisco acquired Linksys, a home networking company, in 2003.)"
