By IANS,
Bangalore : IT bellwether Wipro Technologies Tuesday announced partnership with the US-based Harman International Industries for co-development of embedded audio and infotainment products for automotive, consumer and professional markets.
The partnership entails Wipro to set up a Harman India development centre at its Bangalore and Chennai facilities, with about 250 engineers initially and ramp up the resource strength to over 1,000 employees by 2011.
The $4.1-billion Harman designs, manufactures and markets a range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets.
“As the world’s largest provider of research and development (R&D) services, we will bring a range of capabilities to Harman’s solutions. The new centre will focus on software and hardware engineering to develop next-generation embedded solutions for Harman’s customers worldwide,” Wipro joint chief executive Suresh Vaswani told reporters here.
With an order book valued at $14 billion from the three verticals, Harman’s flagship automotive division provides integrated solutions to consumers across platforms, ranging from premium audio to navigation and hands-free communications.
Harman chairman and chief executive Dinesh C. Paliwal said the strategic engagement with Wipro would broaden and optimise his firm’s engineering footprint in developing embedded products for the three divergent markets.
“Our new venture in India with Wipro will enrich our portfolio of cutting-edge engineering solutions,” Paliwal said.
Harman will, however, retain the IP (intellectual property) developed in the centre by Wipro engineers.
The partnership will also complement the outsourcing of Harman’s IT infrastructure services to Wipro Technologies.
In the professional market, legendary artists such as Quincy Jones, Celine Dion and Peter Frampton use Harman’s audio systems to create memorable musical performances.
“Our custom audio systems are used extensively in recording studios at Disney Land and Universal, Sydney Opera House, the Royal Shakespeare theatre, Lincoln centre and recently in the Beijing Olympics at a dozen venues, including the opening and closing ceremonies at the Bird’s Nest,” Paliwal recalled.
In the consumer market, Harman’s sound and entertainment technologies such as Kardon, JBL and Infinity are used in global electronic brands.
“Emerging economies in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe are full of growth opportunities, as brand-conscious consumers in Russia, India and China embody the next wave of global demand for consumer electronics. To address these markets, we have introduced mid-range consumer and automotive products to improve our volumes,” Paliwal added.