Data storage infrastructure and services giant NetApp is looking to hire smaller engineering teams that they can scale with artificial intelligence (AI) tools, said chief product officer Syam Nair, reflecting a broader shift in hiring strategies across large technology companies.
NetApps biggest innovation centre globally is in Bengaluru, with over 3,600 engineers that started over two decades back. Teams here are building and innovating its core products for the rest of the world. Overall, including other functions NetApp has about 28,000 employees in the country.
NetApp’s strategy aligns with its American technology peers such as Microsoft, Meta, Google among others who have been undergoing targeted restructuring within workforces globally to benefit from AI-driven efficiency, while also hiring in selective skill based roles.
Speaking to Moneycontrol, Nair said, “A lot of the engineers need to be AI first and need to adopt these technologies. I keep thinking about it while building teams. I am now focused on having smaller, nimble teams that can actually scale with other tools. That's very different from building large scale teams and distributed teams.”
“This also means you need teams work hand in hand, spending most of the time designing. Now the coding doesn't stop by end of the day, because the AI agents can continue to code through the night,” he added.
Nair said the company would still require human in the loop who will be entirely accountable for the code. They will also now solve harder problems and think more about designing.
“It's a change that will actually bring in a lot more productivity, much higher reliability, and much more quality in terms of the digital economy. It's good for all of us,” Nair said.
NetApp’s India business
Citing IDC’s numbers, Premalakshmi Ramakrishnan, Area Vice President for India and SAARC, NetApp said that the company has been growing “phenomenally” in India, clocking in a CAGR of 29 percent over the last six years.
“We are the number one in external storage marketplace as an OEM. We are also number one with 45 percent market share in enterprise segment. Over the last 5-6 years, NetApp in India has been growing in double digit consistently,” Ramakrishnan said.
She added, “We are expanding into cloud-ready workloads and AI-workloads not just traditional workload. We are in a phase of growth (in India), this momentum will continue.”
Sectorally, NetApp’s India customers include the top three telecom players, manufacturing, automotive, healthcare and also the cloud service providers. The company is closely working with 20 State governments and the central government for data centres, surveillance projects, city modernisation projects to name a few.
Ramakrishnan told Moneycontrol, “We have the enterprise, corporate, and the mid-market, or as we call it SMB segment. In enterprise, we have more than 40 percent market share, and we have a leading position in that. Mid-market is an evolving industry for us. We have a very good presence.
“On an average, we are looking at close to about 80 to 100 new customers every quarter across the sectors,” she added.
Also read: MC Interview: We will double our India business in the next couple of years: NetApp’s George Kurian
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.
Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.
