Calix to develop the next generation broadband solutions in India

Recently the communications service provider, Calix, launched its India Development Center (CIDC) in Bengaluru. The CIDC will place a lot of emphasis on growing the Calix Cloud platform's development teams. We spoke to Michael Weening, President & Chief Operating Officer for Calix, about this centre.

Excerpts from the interview:

DQ: What was the idea behind setting up the Calix India Development Center in India? What opportunity does the region hold? 

Weening: Our newest research and development (R&D) center in Bengaluru is part of our mission to enable even the smallest broadband service providers to simplify their businesses, excite their subscribers and grow their value. The 21,000-square-foot facility will expand research and development, commercial operations and marketing to support the next phase of hypergrowth for Calix as we look to continue the innovation behind our industry-leading platforms and solutions. 

DQ: Why did Calix choose Bengaluru as a state to set up the center? 

Weening: As India’s Silicon Valley, establishing the center in Bengaluru was the logical choice to be able to access pools of top tech talent that possess the skill sets needed to support Calix’s steady growth.  

DQ: In your opinion, how is the development of next generation solutions transforming the broadband industry? 

Weening: The premier cloud and software platforms we provide for top local broadband businesses in North America and Europe are helping broadband service providers bridge the digital divide. Bringing secure internet connections and services to remote and rural communities ensures access to greater career opportunities, educational resources and more services, which previously were largely only available to residents of major cities. Through our technological innovations, our customers are able to strengthen smaller and rural communities for generations to come. 

DQ: How will the vision of work from anywhere concept help Calix in acquiring top talent? What are the different employee initiatives that Calix runs? 

Weening: Unlike companies that adopted work-from-home policies out of necessity during the pandemic, Calix’s flexible work culture has existed since 2016, and our commitment to this is a big factor in attracting top talent. In India this will be no exception; Calix India Development Center (CIDC) teams are able to embrace a hybrid working model with colleagues at the new center, where we plan to double the initial workforce to over 100 employees by the end of the year. 

DQ: According to you, what are the core values and beliefs that make Calix’s work culture unique? 

Weening: We have developed an award-winning culture through a unique set of core beliefs and best practices. Alongside our longstanding commitment to a flexible work culture, we are also deeply invested in continuously innovating our transformative platforms and systems for broadband businesses’ success, and as such have been able to attract the very best and the brightest engineering talent.  

There’s a growing trend that people want to work for a company making a difference nowadays. Our teams rally around the important work the company does to lead change that has a direct and positive impact on the lives of broadband subscribers around the world. Not only is there a real belief in the company’s mission, but employee feedback from across our growing global organization has placed Calix in the top ranks of U.S. companies with the brightest long-term outlook for success, culture and world-class engineering. What’s great to see on a daily basis is that each of our employees contributes to the possibility of these long-term outcomes by making Calix a better place to work through a “better, better, never best” mindset.