EMC sees a bright future in India
Firm plans to invest $1.5b over 5 years
EMC Corp. of Hopkinton is betting big on India as a major market for data storage hardware and software, and as a key source of first-rate engineering talent.
On Wednesday, EMC said it would invest $1.5 billion in the country over the next five years, three times as much as in the last five years. The money will be used to expand EMC’s services business, which helps businesses integrate the company’s products into their data centers. EMC will also build up its customer support operation in India, as well as research and development labs. Activities that are now hosted at multiple locations will be centralized at an EMC 60-acre “Center of Excellence’’ in Bangalore.
“India offers tremendous opportunities in innovation and market potential,’’ said EMC chief financial officer David Goulden during an opening ceremony for the newly expanded Bangalore center.
“India’s long been a highly educated, lower cost labor force in technology,’’ said Steve Duplessie, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group Inc. in Milford. In addition, Duplessie said, EMC was “enhancing their Asian customer support with low-cost, English-speaking knowledge workers.’’
But EMC also uses its Center of Excellence program to gain access to technical expertise from academic scientists and engineers around the world. The company runs similar centers in Israel, Russia, Ireland, and China.
Most of the research conducted at large companies like EMC is not focused on basic science but on product development. Engineers do not spend as much time working on theoretical concepts. Yet improvements in the underlying science could eventually lead to new business opportunities, so EMC uses its Centers of Excellence to form alliances with local universities that conduct such research.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com. 
