American networking specialist Riverbed Technology has opened a new R&D center in Bangalore, India.

The company plans to triple the engineering team in the region over the next several years, with the facility set to be its largest R&D center outside the US.

Flowing to India

In 2014 Riverbed opened its first Indian R&D facility, which the company says has played a “critical role” in the development of SteelHead, its bookend technology that aims to ensure optimal performance of applications between data centers, branch locations, cloud networks, and end-users.

The new research center will take a greater role in emerging technology R&D, with the company highlighting software-defined edge and software-defined WAN (SD-WAN).

“At our core, we are an engineering company that builds its own technology, and India is a central player in our strategy of global shared development,” said Jerry Kennelly, chairman and CEO of Riverbed.

“The availability of world class talent, advanced infrastructure and proximity to other fast-growing emerging markets of the world are key reasons behind this. The decision to open the new facility in Bangalore reinforces India as a global R&D hub for Riverbed – one that will play a vital role in the future of the company.”

Nandan Nilekani, former Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, and co-founder of Infosys, added: “We live in an era of great disruption – and it is only through the strategic use of technology that businesses can evolve at the speed and scale needed to thrive.

“Riverbed has embraced this change, and has transformed its own business in order to help organizations better seize opportunities in the digital era.”

The R&D facility will be led by Kartik Subbanna, VP of Engineering, who will report to US-based Vineet Abraham, Riverbed’s SVP of Engineering.

Riverbed competitor Cisco has its own R&D center in Bangalore which was responsible for nine percent of the company’s new patents in 2015, according to The Economic Times.