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Software/IT Services/Business Process Outsourcing
Security software maker McAfee, Inc. has elevated India from a relatively minor sales and
support operation, launched by predecessor company Network Associates in 1998, to a
key component in the Santa Clara firm’s global strategy. The McAfee India Centre in
Bangalore, established in 2002, grew to 600 employees in 2006 and today totals more than 900.
McAfee has committed $80 million in new investment to India over 2006–2010; India accounts for
one-third of the McAfee workforce, and the India Centre generated about 100 patent submissions in
2007. It is also credited with doubling McAfee’s global margins, from 13% to 25%, over 2002–06.
The company was drawn to India earlier in this decade by the same factors influencing other
companies—a need to lower costs in the depressed post-tech bubble market; access to talent in
the post 9/11 visa environment; proliferation of security attacks on Windows-based PCs; and
rapid demand growth for security products in the India market, particularly from the banking,
insurance and telecom sectors. In addition to its captive centre, McAfee has partnered with
Wipro, HCL, Infosys and TCS.
Building an End-to-End SMB Solution
A key challenge for McAfee has been to differentiate itself and grow market share in a highly
competitive market dominated by a small number of large Indian distributors without strong
loyalties. Until recently, Indian market interest in security has not ventured far beyond basic
antivirus and firewall protection.
McAfee uses three distributors—Ingram Micro, Inflow Technologies, and Redington India—and
has a three-tiered program for its approximately 400 channel partners that rewards loyalty and
performance with special training and certification, increased levels of tech support, expanded
product lines and other benefits. It has also pushed the concept of “proactive security,” an endto-end
security solution integrating antivirus, firewall and intrusion protection that is able to
identify new viruses based on abnormal system behavior and responding quickly to segregate it.
In July 2004, McAfee added Bangalore to its network of 11 global sites to monitor threats, identify
attacks, and develop software patches in response. Half of McAfee’s worldwide staff of antivirus
researchers already worked in Bangalore; with viral and worm attacks taking place with increasing
speed, India’s time zone helped complete a 24/7 response capability.
In March 2006, McAfee turned over full responsibility for six security product lifecycles—from
requirements to development to customer support—to the India Centre and put programs in
place to bring Asia-Pacific customers into the product innovation process. This includes a joint
development program to solicit customer input in solution design, access to global development
lab resources and technology, and full deployment support.
Dublin-based Sybase Inc. has had an India presence since 1997. Prior to that time, it
had an outsourced IT relationship with HCL Technologies, dating back the late 1980s.
Today, it has offices in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai, plus a captive
technology development center in Pune that collaborates with the firm’s other centers worldwide.
Sybase develops database software solutions, focusing on internal enterprise data flow and
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