Cisco's billion dollar Indian bet

Cisco is investing over a billion dollars in India to tap into the country's markets and intellectual capital.

Unlike other companies that treat the country as a glorified call center, Cisco views India as a cradle of innovation with thousands of engineering graduates a year. Eventually, 20 percent of Cisco's top management will be based in India, with Cisco's Bangalore campus serving as its "second headquarters." Bangalore's 5,000 employee staff is expected to double over the next few years.

Cisco employees in San Jose and other western outposts worry about their jobs, as there are more than 1 billion people in India, 1 billion people in China and 300 million people in Indonesia.  The Bangalore campus puts Cisco executives within a five hour flight of 70 percent of the world's population.

More than half of Cisco's nearly $40 billion in revenues came from North America last year, but if the company is to reach its aggressive growth targets of 12 to 17 percent per year, broth in emerging markets will be critical.

For more:
- San Jose Mercury News reports on Cisco's quest for global dominance.

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