In an effort to accelerate the delivery of next generation cloud networking and application performance solutions worldwide, Riverbed Technology has setup a new R&D center in Bangalore. At the facility, the engineering team of the company will be expanding as much as 3-fold over the next few years, in order for them to accelerate their delivery process, for cloud networking and application performance projects they have at hand.
The new center will be the largest Riverbed R&D facility outside the US, and focus on solving some of the toughest challenges businesses face in the digital era. The building will also serve as the new headquarters for Riverbed’s Sales and Operations in India. Riverbed has a strong reputation for pioneering market-leading solutions that make applications work better – whether they are delivered on premise, as a service, or in the cloud. Today, the company is redefining the networking market with an application-focused approach. Jerry M Kennelly, Chairman & Chief Executive, Riverbed, spoke about the decision to open the R&D facility, and elaborated about the reasons for it saying “At our core, we are an engineering company that builds its own technology, and India is a central player in our strategy of global shared development,” to which he further added, “The availability of world class talent, advanced infrastructure and proximity to other fast-growing emerging markets of the world are key reasons behind this. The decision to open the new facility in Bangalore reinforces India as a global R&D hub for Riverbed, one that will play a vital role in the future of the company.”
Riverbed made its India entry in 2014, with the first R&D facility, with the aim of bringing the new team into the product innovation pipeline of the company. Its flagship offering, the Riverbed SteelHead, targeted towards customers in the mobile, SaaS, and cloud, got much of the developments taking place with the newly built team. The expansion of the R&D center in Bangalore will enable the team to take on a greater share of development in emerging technology areas such as software-defined edge and software-defined WAN (SD-WAN).
The current new facility will be headed by Kartik Subbanna, the Vice-President of Engineering, reporting directly to the U S based Vineet Abraham, who is the Senior Vice-President of Engineering. Since going private in April 2015, Riverbed has increased its investment in R&D as a percentage of its overall revenue as part of the company’s broader strategy to evolve its products to address the demand for a different approach to networking, fueled by the rise of cloud and hybrid IT environments.
“We live in an era of great disruption – and it is only through the strategic use of technology that businesses can evolve at the speed and scale needed to thrive,” finally adding, “Riverbed has embraced this change, and has transformed its own business in order to help organizations better seize opportunities in the digital era,” said Nandan Nilekani, former Chief Executive of Infosys, and also former Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, while laying emphasis on the strategic point of view.