An Indian networking maker is developing its own network operating system while redesigning hardware around local components and expanding in-house networking capabilities.
India’s push to build networking equipment locally faces a problem that goes beyond assembling hardware: even when a router or switch is manufactured in India, critical silicon and the software running the equipment can still depend on overseas ecosystems. MRO-TEK is attempting to address that gap by developing its own network operating system alongside its networking hardware.
The Bengaluru-based company is developing a proprietary network operating system for its network equipment, with testing underway and a launch planned for the current financial year. The move could give its networking products greater control over the software layer instead of relying entirely on third-party network software.
Group Captain C.S. Krishnadas (Retd.), CEO, MRO-TEK Networks Ltd., explains that what makes the approach interesting is that the company is not treating localisation simply as a sourcing exercise. The company says some of its products have local content levels reaching about 75%, with the company owning the underlying hardware and software IP. Where equivalent Indian components are available, its engineers have also been evaluating them as replacements for globally sourced parts. That replacement process is more complicated than simply swapping one component for another. Every alternative component has to be tested for function and reliability before it can be introduced into an established design. This is particularly important for products where long-term reliability is a selling point.
The company is also approaching reliability differently for products intended for demanding environments. For military-grade communication equipment, MRO-TEK says environmental, EMI/EMC, and other qualification requirements have to influence the design from the beginning rather than being treated as checks at the end of development. This forces engineers to consider reliability, materials, filtering, and mechanical aspects much earlier in the product-development cycle. Another interesting part of the strategy is what happens between prototype and volume production. They say a product first has to prove its software on the prototype hardware and then survive the transition to the automated production line. Initial production runs are progressively increased before the company gains confidence for larger-scale manufacturing.
The next phase could make this approach more significant. They plan to move from their existing facility towards a much larger manufacturing setup, eventually targeting about 100,000 square feet with multiple SMT lines. At the product level, its roadmap extends from validated lower-speed networking equipment towards higher-speed switching, software-defined networking, security appliances, and data-centre networking. For them, therefore, the more interesting question is not simply how much networking equipment can be made in India. It is whether an Indian networking company can gradually take ownership of more of the technology stack, from product architecture and electronics to the software that makes the hardware work, while building enough manufacturing capability to scale it. The proprietary network operating system and the upcoming manufacturing expansion could be the next pieces of that puzzle. The company has also indicated that a military product already in the prototype/qualified stage is among the developments expected to emerge soon.
