National Instruments on an Expansion Spree in India

National Instruments, the automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation major is significantly upping its ante in India and scaling up its R&D initiatives. The company is also inking strategies in line with the Government of India’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Start Up India’ initiatives.

National Instruments started its India operations in 1998 and since then India has played a crucial role in its R&D initiatives. It is interesting to note that the company invests 16% of its global annual revenues in R&D. Clearly the company is leveraging the talent pool available in India for it global R&D. The company has a R&D center in Bangalore which helps customers across the globe. NI India R&D has received more than 7 patents for innovations in the fields of Motion Control algorithms, RF and software development. National Instruments has a rich legacy of 40 years. What started in a humble way 40 Years ago has today become a leading player.

SCALING UP R&D

Recently the company has launched the NI India Business Incubator program and also announced the expansion of its R&D Center in India. Company sources say that both these initiatives are in line with the government’s 'Make in India' program and to enable Indian engineers to become global knowledge partners in driving innovation and development across industries and domains.

Scott Rust, senior vice president of Global R&D at NI, speaking to Dataquest said that company has carved a niche because of its platform based approach that has enabled it to be an early mover in addressing the megatrends like IoT and 5G.  "Our platform provides the fastest way for engineers and scientist to access new technology and accelerate productivity, innovation, and discovery.  By providing access to NI's platform and technologies, we are investing in future innovators and contributing towards sustainable development in all markets that we serve," says Rust.

The expansion of the India R&D center ensures that NI has access to the top talent instrumental in building a platform that meets the needs of all engineers and scientists today. NI also works with leading universities to hire the best and brightest talent within the region and provides world-class, formal and on-the-job training to create a long-term and sustained career progression.

“We strongly believe we can help the Indian startup ecosystem overcome technological hurdles and succeed faster. Our platform provides the fastest way for engineers and scientist to access new technologies and accelerate productivity, innovation, and discovery.  By providing access to NI's platform and technologies, we are investing in future innovators and contributing towards sustainable development in all markets that we serve," adds Rust.

BUSINESS INCUBATOR PROGRAM

Through NI India’s Business Incubator Program, NI will provide increased access to NI technology, technical training and support to shared local communities like domestic Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), academic incubation centers and startups.

According to Jayram Pillai, MD, NI India, "For Make in India to succeed and sustain, manufacturing in India should bring more benefits to the table than just cost of labor. Companies can differentiate themselves by adopting smart technologies to reduce defects and improve quality.”

“NI’s technology provides a flexible and powerful platform to build these intelligent systems that power the factory of the future. Startups are an integral part of building the future and we believe that the NI India Business Incubator Program will contribute to the Make in India initiative, “ adds Pillai.

To extend its reach and maximize the impact of the Business Incubator Program, NI is partnering with mission-aligned local organizations, as well as experienced technology and business consultants, to provide world-class support and assistance to the applicants. It is also aligned with the flagship initiative of the Government of India, Start-up India, which strives to build a solid eco-system to support innovation, promote domestic startups and generate viable economic growth by generating large-scale employment opportunities.