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ADC in alliance with Hughes, Kshema

Fakir Chand in Bangalore

Undeterred by the tech slowdown back home, ADC Inc., the US-based global supplier of Internet products and services for broadband and multi-service networks, has entered into strategic alliances with Hughes Software Systems and Kshema Technologies, the two Bangalore-based IT companies, for jointly developing software components for broadband technologies.

The $3.2-billion Fortune 500 company has set its sights on the Indian sub-continent for outsourcing its software requirements that will drive the broadband and communication systems of its customers, worldwide.

"We are here to tap the rich Indian software talent to leverage our strengths in fiber optics, network equipment, and integration services for providing cost-effective solutions to our customers," declared ADC director for offshore development Nagabhushan Rao in Bangalore on Wednesday.

Though the partnership with Hughes and Kshema is part of ADC's strategy to make foray into India in a big way, Rao admitted that it could be a coincidence that the company had timed its entry into the sub-continent when the meltdown in the US economy has forced his company to down size its operations globally, including cutting jobs of 7,000 employees.

It had 21,000 professionals worldwide, including 11,000 of them outside the US.

"It's part of the trend in the US tech sector to look more towards India for outsourcing our software needs from cost and quality point of view, claimed ADC vice-president Michael Day in a teleconference from Minneapolis, US.

ADC is also planning to set up its own R&D center in Bangalore by 2003 with 250 software personnel for innovating and developing technologies in the areas of convergence. "We want to take advantage of the efficiency and the huge software engineering talent that is available in India," Day affirmed.

Operating through its wholly owned subsidiary under the Software Technology Park of India, ADC will channel projects to both the companies.

"We expect to do 6-10 projects during the current year in the areas of broadband connectivity and access, network management, and integrated services," Day told rediff.com.

With competitive broadband technologies and products, ADC enables global communication and carrier service providers to deliver high-speed Internet, data, video, and voice services to consumers and enterprises. Its customers include local and long distance telephone companies, cable and broadcast television operators, wireless service providers, and private network operators.

According to HSS president and managing director Arun Kumar, Hughes has been working on ADC products and services since September last to support its development projects in collaboration with Kshema.

"Apart from setting up the dedicated development facility for ADC, HSS will also be a preferred vendor to ADC for its voice-packet products and convergence technologies."

Kshema president and CEO Anant Koppar said the company's telecom focus and expertise in voice, data, wireless, and broadband access was bound to add huge value to the alliance with ADC and Hughes.

"This partnership will consolidate our leadership position in the converging communication sector."

ADC's game plan is to reduce the operating costs of the network and activate customer services rapidly. It will enable its customers to ramp up their customer base for delivering broadband services and shore up revenues.

The company boasts of about 30,000 products in its inventory.

"At the core of today's communication networks are components that enhance speed, bandwidth and quality of Internet/data, video, and voice transmissions. It is these software components that will ultimately determine the performance and reliability of any customer's network. We will be outsourcing these components from Hughes and Kshema," Rao stated.

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