Arrcus, a US-based hyperscale networking software company, is reportedly in discussions with Indian players to explore onboarding white box vendors in India. This move is fueled by the increasing data center activity within the country. Large Indian companies with diversified interests are viewing this as an opportunity.

India as a Strategic Market

Arrcus sees India as a vital market for deployment and a global hub for talent and development. Shekar Ayyar, CEO of Arrcus, has stated that India is a "super important market," particularly as cloud technologies and AI take hold. He considers India one of the "hotbeds for innovation," especially in networking. The company is also committed to developing its technology in India, with a significant presence in Bangalore and plans for potential expansion. Ayyar emphasized that finding sophisticated networking talent is a worldwide challenge, and India provides an attractive base.

Driving Factors

Several factors are driving Arrcus' expansion in India:

• AI and Digital Economy: India is leading the global AI revolution as an innovation hub and a consumer of AI. Arrcus' ACE-AI networking fabric seamlessly connects xPUs (GPUs, DPUs, CPUs) and AI workloads across datacenters, cloud, and mobile networks, which is crucial for India's rapidly growing AI and digital economy.
• Data Center Growth: The regulatory mandates for data localization, data sovereignty, and cloud computing have led to India becoming a hotbed of data center build-outs.
• 5G Expansion: India's rapid adoption of 5G, cloud services, and AI has created a need for a modern, flexible networking backbone.
• Government Initiatives: Government's initiatives such as Digital India.

Arrcus' Solutions and Strategy

Arrcus offers disaggregated solutions that deliver innovative, agile, and cost-effective networking. Their solutions include:

• ArcOS: An independent, Linux-based 64-bit network operating system that powers the next generation of network infrastructure. Ayyar describes the open ArcOS platform as the "Android of Networking," offering Indian enterprises a best-of-breed, flexible alternative.
• ACE-AI: A networking fabric designed to connect xPUs and AI workloads.
• ArcIQ: A network visibility and analytics platform.

Arrcus' strategy in India involves:

• Expanding Partnerships: Arrcus is expanding its partner ecosystem in India to facilitate the supply of open, disaggregated networking solutions. They are working with local semiconductor providers and multinational allies like Fujitsu, EdgeCore, and UfiSpace.
• Local Talent and Leadership: Arrcus has appointed Vikram Anand as Managing Director of India sales and business development. Their growing engineering team in India is led by Ashutosh Sharma. Arrcus plans to double its workforce in India.
• Focus on Key Verticals: Arrcus is focusing on telco, data centers, and networking, which are becoming increasingly important in light of AI. They have already gained traction with some customers in the financial services vertical.

Benefits of Onboarding White Box Vendors

By onboarding white box vendors in India, Arrcus aims to:

• Reduce Costs: Arrcus' routing and switching can be deployed on white box hardware from multiple manufacturers, freeing customers from vendor lock-in and reducing costs. Customers can see a 30% to 40% cost advantage compared to incumbents.
• Increase Flexibility and Agility: Arrcus' software-driven network operating system offers greater flexibility and speed to market.
• Promote Open Networking: Arrcus is disrupting the industry with disaggregated solutions, allowing enterprises to break free from traditional, monolithic systems.

Arrcus' move to explore onboarding white box vendors in India aligns with the growing trend of disaggregated networking and the increasing demand for AI-ready infrastructure. This strategy could help Arrcus gain a stronger foothold in the Indian market and challenge traditional networking vendors.