India on the move, want it to be our largest mkt in Asia: NetApp Global CEO

NetApp, which completes 20 years in India, has one of its largest research and development centres in Bengaluru

George Kurian, chief executive officer (CEO) of global data storage and management services firm NetApp wants India to be the company’s largest market in Asia. At present, India is among its top three markets in Asia. He also said that India is one of the fastest-growing storage markets in Asia.

“We are very confident of India’s opportunity to grow as a market. We have the aspiration to serve a much broader market here. Due to the entrepreneurial roots of the Indian population, there is confidence that India would continue to grow at a pace that outpaces other Asian markets,” said Kurian, in a media roundtable meeting in Mumbai.

He was also bullish about the prospects of India’s growth story and also wants to take the learnings from here to other global regions.

“India is a nation on the move. It has strategic advantages, large demographic opportunities and an urban population. India has demonstrated its ability to lead in some business models.

For us, it is a market that we are not just part of because of the size and scale. We also learn things that are happening here and replicate it in other regions,” he added.

NetApp, which completes 20 years in India, has one of its largest research and development (R&D) centres in Bengaluru. The company has over 3,000 employees in India. 

What is driving NetApp’s growth in India is large enterprises in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) and telecom spaces. It is also the government and rising small and medium enterprises.

“We see that in the emerging multipolar geopolitical landscape, India offers a balance, independence and neutrality…. India stands out in terms of economic strength and we are excited about that,” he said.

In terms of macroeconomic trends, Kurian shared that the global economy looks in a much better place compared to last year.

“The challenges that we saw a year ago are beginning to stabilise. We are hopeful for a soft landing in the US, with interest rate increases having slowed down. Within that, IT spending is getting prioritised to drive business,” said Kurian.    

He also emphasised that there are two broad themes. First, every company is becoming a technology firm, which is being driven by the need to digitise. Second, data is the foundation of digital business.

 “If you look at the latest trend in data, it is artificial intelligence (AI). Everyone will have access to AI models and large language models. What will make this uniquely yours is the proprietary data set and how you use it to help transform your business,” he added.

On the latest buzz around generative AI, Kurian said that the company has been working on AI with partners such as Nvidia since 2018.

AI tools are an enabler for improving productivity in businesses, and accelerate certain business processes, among others. If AI is able to deliver on this promise at scale, it can be transformative.

“If AI is able to be productive, it can have a huge impact. McKinsey has done a study that says AI can improve the overall economic growth by 7 per cent…,” he added.

He also added that generative AI has also led to improvement in productivity of software development teams by 20-25 per cent. It reduced time by up to 50 per cent.