In the first year of operations Netgear posted a growth of 350%. Last year, the company grew its local business by 130%. Do you think you will be able to sustain this bull run?

Yes. And if we dont, then there is something wrong with the way we work. If we continue working the way we are, then we can hope to increase this to at least 40% in the next two years. The networking market, too, is growing at 40% y-o-y. Therefore, I dont see why we cant continue to have 100% growth in a burgeoning economy like India.

What other investments do you plan to make in India?
We have been thinking of having an Indian manufacturing unit, but no deadlines have been set. The main reason we have sat on this decision is because of lack of infrastructure in the country. If we have a manufacturing unit in India, it has to be in a place with a good airport and seaport. On average, Netgear ships around 2 lakh products daily from its manufacturing unit in China. Of this, 30% is shipped through sea while the rest is flown to different geographies. Also, our manufacturing units dont cater to local geography but ship to the entire world, so we need to be sure that India can handle this bandwidth before we invest in a plant here.

Netgear has been talking about localizing its products for India. Do you really think besides tweaking the GUI or the language any other dramatic localization is done?
We have two R&D centersone in Santa Clara and the other in Taipeiand they are constantly coming out with innovations. Most of the localizations are in terms of language and the look and feel of products. But we also develop products that we feel will do well in some geographies.

What predictions can you make about the networking business?
I believe in the years to come, all communications will be driven through the Internet. Today, we have the phone, TV, radio, and other media. But, over the time, all these will come together and you will have a single interface. To make this happen, some elements are needed. The first is a good network and security gateway for the computing power and data to come in seamlessly. Next is distribution over existing utility networks like power rather than setting up a totally new infrastructure.

Vinita Bhatia
maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in

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