Adobe launches second R&D centre in Noida

Adobe Systems announced that it has completed its second R&D centre in Noida. The new centre has the capacity to house 450 additional employees. The company launched its first R&D centre in Noida in 2002. Adobe spent $ 8 million to build the second centre, and the company is planning to add 150 more employees by the end of 2005.

According to Santanu Narayen, president and COO of the company, "We have launched this new centre to ensure that we are fully committed to India, and we will make sure that this country contributes significantly to our global revenue." Adobe started its Indian operations in 1997, and in the last four years the company has filed 25 patents from this country. The company's global topline grew by 29 percent in 2004 over 2003.

One of the concerns that Adobe is facing is piracy. Narayen said that more than 90 percent of its product usage here is pirated, and this needs to be curbed. Naresh Gupta, managing director, confirmed this: "According to Nasscom, the piracy figure is around 70 percent in India, but we fear that our products are pirated the most, and this figure would be close to 90 percent."

The Asia Pacific region contributes 20 percent of revenue for Adobe. "We are growing at a brisk pace in India, and in the coming years we feel that this country is going to contribute substantially to our global revenues," Narayen stated.