India spawns global technology products, services

By S. John Tilak

BANGALORE (Reuters) - When Google Inc executives in India found that the country was largely "terra incognita" when it came to digital maps, they saw the makings of a new product.

The fruit of their labor was Google Map Maker, a wiki of maps to which users in some 160 countries can now contribute, mapping out their local roads, schools and businesses.

Research and development work in India by global technology giants is helping create products that not only use Indian expertise but also have originated in the country.

As they design products and services, technology companies are tapping India's unique characteristics, drawing inspiration from the country for product ideas and looking to take advantage of the attractive market that India offers.

"We have a concept: locally inspired innovation for global products," said Rick Steffens, who heads Hewlett-Packard's systems technology and software division, which focuses on storage and server product development in Bangalore.

Products created wholly or in part in India include Intel's Xeon server chip, Google's Map Maker and SAP's Business ByDesign software suite.

"Now in the product development side, what you're starting to see is the entire life cycle of a product -- from concept to completion -- actually being done out a single hub in a remote location like India," said Noshir Kaka, director at global advisory firm McKinsey & Co.

"A lot of the companies have used the logistic part of using India as a services hub to develop a whole suite of new products and applications out of India."