Zinnov launches 5K architect program

BANGALORE, INDIA: Zinnov, a leading globalization advisory and market expansion firm, in conjunction with the MNC R&D industry, today announced a first-of-its-kind initiative of creating 5,000 architects - senior R&D and technical leaders - by 2016.

India has become an R&D hotbed with 874 MNCs having set up 1,031 centers and 45pc of the top 500 global R&D spenders having a presence here. However, Zinnov reports indicate that the majority of product teams across these companies are still at an early stage of product maturity i.e. engineering support (22pc), module leadership (44pc), largely attributable to the fact that capabilities are currently skewed towards engineering delivery rather than product conceptualization and design skills. The reality is that in the area of hardware product development, just 2pc of talent in India possesses conceptualization skills as compared to that of 10pc in the Bay Area, US. Similarly, for software product development, just 5pc  of the talent pool in India has conceptualization skills as compared to 15 pc in the Bay Area.

While cost arbitrage continues to be a key driver for R&D globalization, there is a pressing need to for Indian MNC R&D companies to take on big technology bets to drive innovation from here. Technical leaders - known as architects - play a critical role in driving these initiatives, especially in new technology areas such as 3D printing and big data, where India centers aspire to take the lead. Organizations, however, face several challenges in building a pool of qualified architects, which includes poorly defined technical career path resulting in a glass ceiling, unclear reporting structures, lack of social acceptance, and limited clarity of these technologists roles.

The Zinnov 5K Architect Programhas been developed with a vision to address these challenges and build a pipeline of 5,000 architects who can steer R&D in India to the next level. The intention is to broaden the funnel of aspiring architects, create excitement around the profession, channelize this excitement into an aspiration and institutionalize the creation of 5,000 architects by 2016.

Launching the initiative, Pari Natarajan, CEO, Zinnov, said, "For India R&D centers to reach the next level in driving value, the ecosystem needs to be focused on developing the next generation of leaders who can provide original solutions to problems, have deep knowledge in technology domains and are thought leaders for the technologist community. The 5K Architect initiative is Zinnov‘s contribution to create conditions conducive for these big technology bets and high-value innovation from India. As a country, we have the inherent capability to solve big problems; through this program we along with our ecosystem partners hope to groom individuals into leveraging their potential for the industry's benefit."

At an industry level, the 5K Architect Program will focus on tech-talks and the creation of role models. This includes highlighting success stories, evangelizing new-age role models, acknowledging the contribution of technologists, educating people on technical career paths and highlighting industry best practices. Zinnov has already received 40 nominations from organizations for technical role models, and eight individuals across India have been identified as evangelists in 2013 alone.

Tech talk sessions across the industry will focus on areas in which India is poised to take big technology bets. These include predictive analytics, data sciences, cloud computing, big data, internet of things, mobile internet, 3D printing, clean technologies and operational intelligence. Over 80 participants nominated by their employers have attended these talks so far. These forums are rapidly growing and Zinnov expects to see substantial traction in the knowledge interchange meets.

Zinnov in partnership with Jed-i, an organization that aims to re-instill the passion for engineering through structured engineering and business programs, has established an Active Learning Program. This extensive, hands on program covers technology skills, business skills and soft skills and is currently being delivered to 25 participants.

Manish Choudhary, Vice President, Worldwide Engineering, Pitney Bowes Inc. commented,

"Zinnov 5K Architect Program is targeted towards bridging a big gap in the technical talent pool in India. Through this initiative we hope to develop and nurture that necessary skill set."

Niranjan Maka, Managing Site Director, VMware India R&D, added, "India needs an ecosystem to develop technology and solutions architects if we have to create and deliver innovative and disruptive technologies / products to a global market".