NetScaler enters Indian market

BANGALORE: US-based networking solutions provider, Netscaler has announced the opening of sales and marketing operations in India, two years after the company opened its research and development center in Bangalore. It expects the Indian sub continent to contribute four percent of its total revenue by next fiscal. It is launching its flagship 9000 series of secure application networking systems.

"The 9000 series offers a complete unified networking solution platform with customer requirements such as security, optimization and delivery being fully met. The core of the product rests on the patented request switching technology which was developed by NetScaler after three years of research," said NetScaler, President and CEO, BV Jagadeesh.



The company also announced the appointment of Apara Enterprise Solutions as its value-added reseller for the country. Netmagic, provider of managed service offerings and enterprise solutions, has been chosen as a partner in the integration side of the product.

With the total employee strength of around 110, NetScaler's R&D personnel constitute 50 percent of this total with around 40 percent of the workforce concentrated in India. Around 45 R&D personnel work in the company's India operations, with five more stationed in the country for customer support. According to Jagadeesh, this strength will be increased by a 100 people in one and a half year's time.

"Growth in the Indian market for networking products such as these should occur in the next two years. Four to five years from now, I would estimate the Indian market size at round $40 million. We expect almost four percent of our total revenue to come from India within the next one year," said Jagadeesh. He, however, refused to reveal the revenue figures for NetScaler.

Investors like Sequoia Capital, Goldman Sachs and others have invested in NetScaler. The organization has raised around $60 million in three rounds, notching around $13 million in the last round alone in December 2002. Netscaler expects to break even in June next year.

(CNS)