http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/dec13/b2.asp

Google to set up R&D arm in Bangalore

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 12 (Reuters & PTI)



Google Inc., number one search engine in the United States on Thursday said it plans to open its first offshore research and development center in Bangalore, India, early next year.

The Mountain View, California, company which is widely expected to do an initial public offering in 2004 is the latest in a long line of high-technology companies to set up shop in India, which has large number of educated workers who are paid hourly wages that are significantly lower than in the United States. “We just want more really great engineers,” Google vice president of engineering Wayne Rosing told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s clear there are a significant number of really talented computer scientists in India.”







<rajanurs folds his resume into a paper-plane and shoots it out of the window towards google india centre> :D

I'll tell you why they did it too!

In india programmers are much more cheaper than anywhere else... they will work for what may seem to us very little amounts of money...

Originally posted by websterworld
I'll tell you why they did it too!

In india programmers are much more cheaper than anywhere else... they will work for what may seem to us very little amounts of money...

Yep, money is a factor, obviously. But that is not the ONLY factor. Fact is, for your money you can get great PhDs like no where else! There are many countries with cheaper programming labor, but that is not what google is after...they are opening an R&D there which is really the backbone of keeping the innovative spirit of Google going.

...where I live.

All the multinationals came here because we are very educated and work for rates a lot less than the US. But slowly our salaries started rising and rising until the multinationals found cheaper countries and moved elsewhere...

Same thing will eventually happen to India when, I dunno, some African country or something gets it together IT wise....

I think it's great it's happening to India, and hopefully they'll see the same kind of results we saw here (better infrastructure etc.) without the negative stuff (the rich-poor gap increasing dramatically, prices becoming ridiculously expensive etc.)

Eventually the ICT specialists in India will start asking for higher wages, and then all the 9 million companies there will have some trouble on their hands.

Google just want to cut costs, that's obvious.

It will all even up eventually. Couple years ago I was getting "off-shore development" spam offereing programmng at $2 - $5 per hour. Now it is $10 - $20 hour. Anything that helps closing the gap between ritch and poor nations is good thing. Google is just following smart business practices and moving to place where they can get more brain power for dollar. Go Google.

Originally posted by sasha
. . . Google is just following smart business practices and moving to place where they can get more brain power for dollar. Go Google.
It's not like Google are sacking USA staff and replacing them with the Indian staff. Maybe Google just wanted to expand more into that part of the world with their infrastructure?

I personally think they're trying to expand their brain power, with their engineers/programmers etc. I don't see this as a company looking to replace USA workers with those from India.

Originally posted by sasha
It will all even up eventually. Couple years ago I was getting "off-shore development" spam offereing programmng at $2 - $5 per hour. Now it is $10 - $20 hour. Anything that helps closing the gap between ritch and poor nations is good thing. Google is just following smart business practices and moving to place where they can get more brain power for dollar. Go Google.

Ditto.

Originally posted by RajanUrs
<rajanurs folds his resume into a paper-plane and shoots it out of the window towards google india centre> :D
You can certainly try, but:
a) over 1,000 people apply to Google every day
b) just to get a job interview, you need to be an Ivy League graduate. Work experience means nothing for them, even if you worked at Cisco for 20 years.

Source: Fortune mag.

Good luck.

Originally posted by websterworld
I'll tell you why they did it too!

In india programmers are much more cheaper than anywhere else... they will work for what may seem to us very little amounts of money...

I would have never guessed. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Aussie Bob
It's not like Google are sacking USA staff and replacing them with the Indian staff.

Not yet at least. ;)

Originally posted by Artashes
You can certainly try, but:
a) over 1,000 people apply to Google every day
b) just to get a job interview, you need to be an Ivy League graduate. Work experience means nothing for them, even if you worked at Cisco for 20 years.

Source: Fortune mag.

Good luck.

Although I agree, the compeition in India will be fierce, I somehow don't the "Ivy League" applies there... but Google does have a tendency to higher the best of the best.

Originally posted by JustinH
Although I agree, the compeition in India will be fierce, I somehow don't the "Ivy League" applies there... but Google does have a tendency to higher the best of the best.
I think they'll just "move" crucial people (Ivy League major engineers and programmers) to India. No major trouble for Google. They'll just hire local personnel to do other non-important to their core business things.

What about pakistan... will that ever happen in Pakistan?

Originally posted by Darktwist
What about pakistan... will that ever happen in Pakistan?
Is Pakistan an e-commerce attractive market? I doubt it. What's the total population of that country? And what % of population has computers? Then how many of those who have computers have Internet access? What above average wages? Can people afford activily engage themselves in e-commerce operations?

Originally posted by Artashes
Is Pakistan an e-commerce attractive market? I doubt it. What's the total population of that country? And what % of population has computers? Then how many of those who have computers have Internet access? What above average wages? Can people afford activily engage themselves in e-commerce operations?

No, no and no.

Pakistan just isn't a suitable place for google like India is.

Originally posted by Artashes
I think they'll just "move" crucial people (Ivy League major engineers and programmers) to India. No major trouble for Google. They'll just hire local personnel to do other non-important to their core business things.

Couldn't disagree more. The engineers and programmers work directly at both the datacenter and Google's main headquarters. The company is very profitable, so there is no point on trying to "save money". For that to happen, the CEO would have to do the very thing that both founders are very much against.

Originally posted by JustinH
. . . The company is very profitable, so there is no point on trying to "save money". . .
There's always a "point" in saving money, in any business. Let's not forget that Google will be a public company shortly too, so the pressure to increase revenue and decrease expenditure, will be greater.

reality check:

Will Google to set up a R&D center in any place that has lower wages? Definitely NO

Will Google set up a R&D center in any place that has the best brains? Probably YES

Originally posted by Aussie Bob
There's always a "point" in saving money, in any business. Let's not forget that Google will be a public company shortly too, so the pressure to increase revenue and decrease expenditure, will be greater.

Although I agree, the idea was that Google was founded by two people who put strong emphasis on educational background, not where you came from. The overwhelming majority of employees graduated from Ivy League schools (most with honors). It seems silly to think that Google would go from paying better then anyone, to moving where wages are the extreme opposite.

reality check:

Will Google to set up a R&D center in any place that has lower wages? Definitely NO

Will Google set up a R&D center in any place that has the best brains? Probably YES

India does have lower wages, but I'd certainly argue they have "the best brains". Although India has some very good talent in technology-related fields, the US exceeds any country in the world, in terms of technological capability and talent. I'm not saying some companies wouldn't move to India for the brains and lower wages, but I don't think Google would, as it certainly doesn't fit their profile.

and to read between the lines:

______________________________________________

He said Google hopes to hire about 100 engineers for its Bangalore centre. A company spokesman said the move aims to take advantage of India’s “considerable engineering and technical talent” and is not a cost-cutting move.




Google has been looking to expand the pool from which it selects employees with compter-science and engineering backgrounds, he said. The company realised that it will be restricted in that goal if it requires those employees to work in the US, because many people cannot obtain work visas, he added.




The Google executive also said he had been impressed by Indian officials during tours of various Indian cities. “It’s clear India is going to be a major player,” he added.




It employees some 1,000 engineers in its Mountain View headquarters and in Santa Monica, California, and in New York.

_________________________________________________


....so we are talking of about 10 percent of Google strength to be located in its first offshore R&D centre in India with one sixth of the world's population and a developing market.

We can't say that everyone in India is the brains of the IT world, but we can't say that everyone in USA is the brains of the IT world either. India has the best balance. People will tend to work for lower wages than in USA and are also equally skilled.

Originally posted by RajanUrs
....so we are talking of about 10 percent of Google strength to be located in its first offshore R&D centre in India with one sixth of the world's population and a developing market.

Yes, 100 people, but it certainly doesn't sound like they will be firing anyone from the US either... which moot's the idea that Google is going to "offshore" their engineers and programmers. Sounds to me, like they are hiring in other countries for different prospectives on "how things work".

Again, it's not like Google is going to move their entire R&D to India... that wouldn't make any sense.

Originally posted by JustinH
Yes, 100 people, but it certainly doesn't sound like they will be firing anyone from the US either... which moot's the idea that Google is going to "offshore" their engineers and programmers. Sounds to me, like they are hiring in other countries for different prospectives on "how things work".

Again, it's not like Google is going to move their entire R&D to India... that wouldn't make any sense.

You're right. Here's a more in-depth news report on the R&D facility in Bangalore: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/32379.html

Either way, placing it in Bangalore is great, was there for a few days in summer 2002, nice place to be.

How about we all wrap our things here and go work for Google? I would love to work there... Hell, you'll be treated as a celebrity if people know you work there. Seriously, funny story - I use AdSense and so it happened that a check I received from them was, well, a big number. So I go to my bank, try to put it on my account and a pretty lady, seeing the address: "Google Inc. blah-blah..." smiles and asks with excitement: "Oh my God... Do you work at Google?!" Well, how could I say No to that. "Yes. As a matter of fact I do. Google Canada." - I announce without hesitation. "Wow.. so what's it like? What do you do there?", she asks with an even bigger excitement. "I advice on how to make their search better so lovely people like yourself can enjoy it even more." Lying felt good for the first time in my life. ;)

PS: I have a freedom to dream, don't I?

Best,

Originally posted by Artashes
How about we all wrap our things here and go work for Google? I would love to work there... Hell, you'll be treated as a celebrity if people know you work there. Seriously, funny story - I use AdSense and so it happened that a check I received from them was, well, a big number. So I go to my bank, try to put it on my account and a pretty lady, seeing the address: "Google Inc. blah-blah..." smiles and asks with excitement: "Oh my God... Do you work at Google?!" Well, how could I say No to that. "Yes. As a matter of fact I do. Google Canada." - I announce without hesitation. "Wow.. so what's it like? What do you do there?", she asks with an even bigger excitement. "I advice on how to make their search better so lovely people like yourself can enjoy it even more." Lying felt good for the first time in my life. ;)

PS: I have a freedom to dream, don't I?

Best,

Haha, that's brilliant. But since my adsense is giving me little money, it will be at least another month until I cash in a cheque.

To say US is smarter than other countries is a load of bull evident with so may new generation entreprenuers and professionals having landed in USA thorugh its porous immigrantion policy. To claim that Indians are brainer is also a jumbo pile of crap. If a student is really brilliant then opportunity knocks at his college doors itself with several top corporates searching the campus to grab the best brains. And the others make a beeline to the US Consulate and apply for visa to get a higher education or work opportunity. USA does have very advanced infrastructures and research facilities in comparison to Indian learning centres but India does have some premier institutes like IITs, IISc, IIMs which has produced some top brains in the world. It is this same backbone supporting India'sR&D in space, computing, nuclear energy and aeronautics. These institutes may not appear to be advanced and sophisticated in comparison to US but the dedication and hardwork that happens in them is comparable to any other country in the world. You got to be here to understand better what is India.

This is really good news, nothing is more refreshing than seeing your country flourish!

People who say that the same thing which happened with Ireland will happen in India need to look at the complete picture, India has huge population and that results in more fierce competition which further prevents Salaries from increasing as you will always have a comparable talent willing to replace the existing one.

Originally posted by JustinH
Although I agree, the idea was that Google was founded by two people who put strong emphasis on educational background, not where you came from. The overwhelming majority of employees graduated from Ivy League schools (most with honors). It seems silly to think that Google would go from paying better then anyone, to moving where wages are the extreme opposite.
They simply recognise the talent pool available in India and want to tap into that knowledge [broaden Google's intellectual base] for the greater good of the company.