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In the decade of 1980s when socialism was starting to be dismantled, computers were frowned upon as the machine for the noveau riche with no use to agriculture, which was till then and still is, India’s economic backbone. India’s tryst with software led to the massive computer industry the success of which is unparalleled elsewhere.

This perhaps explains why a home-grown networking hardware company MROTEK could sell over a million of its networking device.

MRO-TEK recently launched its one millionth networking product. Started in 1984 at a time when telephones took three years to be installed post application and booking, networking was a buzzword on the IT front. The bandwagon was related to software but MRO TEK was on the hardware front. The company targeted indigenous research. They are the forefront of three research areas such as copper, optical and wireless. The company has been awarded the best vendor award from India’s largest private telecom operator Bharti Airtel; it has ventured into ticketing in Andhra Pradesh and is planning to go global.

MRO-TEK Chairman and Managing Director S. Narayanan said the millionth distance so far was covered in 22 years however he said ''we would like to achieve the next million in a shorter span of time as the demand for our product picks up.'' He said the main focus of the company would continue to be in R&D and manufacturing on access networking.



Figure 1: MRO-TEK Chairman and Managing Director S. Narayanan Handing Out the One-Millionth Product to Karnataka Information Technology Secretary M N Vidyashankar

Powered Ethernet switch for accessing high-speed Internet connection and the product Daisy had the distinction of being the millionth. The firm rolled out its one-millionth product from its assembly unit located at Electronic city located at the outskirts of Bangalore.

Karnataka Information Technology Secretary M N Vidyashankar who commended the performance of MROTEK said the promoters had struggled against all odds to celebrate the achievement. MROTEK was the first networking company from Karnataka to achieve this feat. Coinciding with the vision of the State government the company was planning to expand to tier two and tier three cities, he added. He also said, in the next 50 years the IT industry will see convergence of technology and mobility.

Bangalore based MROTEK over the years had been reducing Single channel standalone media converter-FCAT, next generation intelligent residential gateway called IVY, Ethernet powered switches and intelligent bandwidth manager.

Narayanan said MROTEK was being positioned to address the wireless technology sector also besides focusing on areas such as enhanced broadband management, application specific products, solutions and customer penetration.

Stepping up behind China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE, some Indian companies are trying to create a niche space in the networking market worldwide. Another Bangalore headquartered company Tejas Networks, a provider of Ethernet-over-Sonet boxes, has started selling its products in the US. The company does not sell its products under its own name but acts as the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), for multinationals.

On the other hand, Telsima is rolling a broadband switch for wired and/or WiMax traffic. M.T. Karunakaran, CEO of Telsima said, "The primary focus is India, but we would like to build a global company."

Mr Parthasarthy, Director of STPI said that convergence is highly needed as we are fast moving in the communication world.