Monday, October 06, 2008

TEKTRONIX TO MAKE INDIAN CENTRE ITS R&D HUB

Preeti Mishra, Bangalore, October 6, 2008
Financial Chronicle

Backing its belief that the country’s software pool can go beyond mere code-writing, Tektronix Inc is busy using its India development centre for developing cutting-edge technology.

Right now, the 150-strong Indian team is working on Display Port, the next generation of High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), among others. HDMI is a high-speed serial data interface between any audio/video source, such as a set-top box, DVD player, next generation gaming console or A/V receiver and an audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital television (DTV), over a single cable.

Tektronix’s Indian team has already been a part of the HDMI interface adopted by the Philips Authorised Test Centre, worked on the latest chipset launched by Intel recently.

In fact, of the 12-15 new products introduced last two years, almost 85 percent was developed at the Indian centre, says Badri Malynur, Team India site manager, Tektronix Inc.

Over the past five years, the US-based test, measurement and monitoring equipment firm has transformed the Indian facility into a global product development centre. The site has already generated around 7 patents, and several more are in the pipeline.

“We are getting to a stage where one in three engineers working on any given Tektronix project will be from the India centre. The centre here is playing an increasingly critical role in the development of global products which have the opportunity to have a big impact on technological innovations around the world,” he says.

Of course, it takes almost six months of training for an engineer to become productive. To accelerate the process, engineers are also encouraged to participate in ‘Plug Fests’, tech symposiums that are held in various parts of the world where companies check on interoperability of products and applications, using Tektronix testing measurement tools.

The company also collaborates with Indian engineering colleges including REC and MS Ramaiah College of Engineering to mentor students.

Going forward, Malynur wants to shape the Indian R&D centre into a base that churns out products for the global market.

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