India revenue will touch $100 mn by 2025: German mobile security firm

The company is seeking to invest up to $10 million in its India operations over the next two years

German mobile security company Giesecke + Devrient Mobile Security or G+D expects its India business to grow up to $100 million (around Rs 7 billion) by 2025, backed by rise in demand for connected devices, especially in the automobile space. 

The company, which has a 500-people strong research and development (R&D) centre in Pune, is also seeking to invest up to $10 million (approximately Rs 700 million) in its India operations over the next two years, CEO Carsten Ahrens told Business Standard.

"A major part of our global R&D operations are managed out of our Pune centre, and going forward we are looking to invest around $10 million in the next two years (in India)," said Ahrens. 

The Pune R&D centre was established in 2008 and has been leading development activities for G+D’s global clients since then. G+D's Indian arm generated revenue of around $40 million in 2016-17.

A major part of G+D's investment is going towards hiring of talent and building technology as the innovations done by the company in India is used for the company's global operations. The investment is a testimony of the large scale adoption and popularity of smartphones and data services across the country in addition to the rising popularity of connected devices.

While Indian car manufacturers are yet to disclose their R&D efforts towards connected cars, G+D has initiated discussions with manufacturers to provide connectivity solutions. "Many companies are making investments towards dedicated devices in India and we are also working with clients in telecommunication and fintech space to offer solutions. We are already supplying connectivity solutions to more than 80 per cent of connected vehicles globally and we have initiated conversations in India as well," added Ahrens.

G+D is working with telecom providers and device manufacturers to manufacture eSIMs. eSIMs allow manufacturers to embed SIM cards into devices and change configuration on the go instead of the removable SIM cards that are commonly used. In May this year, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) released guidelines for usage of machine to machine communication SIMs including eSIMS.

G+D which is seen as a global leader in eSIM management with over 70 per cent market share, was among the first few companies to introduce eSIM technology in India. Global eSIM market stood at $180.3 million in 2017, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 29.4 per cent between 2018 to 2025, according to a report by Data Bridge Market Research.

Samsung Gear S2 smart watch was the first consumer device to have G+D eSIM technology in 2016. In India, G+D has deployed eSIM technology for Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel for Apple Watch 3. The same technology is also used for connected devices, particularly in cars globally. It allows the users to change network provider without changing the physical SIM card. 

Reliance Jio is also in said to be working internally towards connected car solutions. The connected vehicle market in India is still in a stage of infancy in India though Maruti Suzuki last month had announced its India specific connected car solutions.