Niranjan Maka believes that VMware is just starting out on its journey to transform the computing landscape. Virtualization changed the way that companies utilize their computing power, and he said there's a similar opportunity in the areas of data center and networking. He believes the Indian R&D center will play a big role in this change.

This was the floor that 50 VMware Indian R&D workers developed the vCloud Connector (VCC), which sits at the heart of the recently released vCloud Hybrid Service. The VCC seamlessly transfers a customer's workloads between their private and public cloud assets. Maka said the vCloud Hybrid service was jointly developed by the company's Bangalore and Palo Alto offices.

This data center was used to simulate how the vCloud Connector , and other products, would work in the real world. It's also where the company develops prototype software products for customers. A bigger data centre will be located in the new US$120 million R&D building.

The building hosts the company's 800-strong workforce, almost double the number employed two years ago. This figure is  expected to grow to 1,000 by year-end. These workers contribute in a range of areas including software defined data center, hybrid cloud and end-user computing.

In order to maintain morale, staff are encouraged to explore their personalities outside work. This includes the Take Three program that encourages workers to take a three-month sabbatical to develop a product that complements their everyday work.

Sitting opposite Oracle's offices in the Kalyani tech park, VMware occupies six floors in the building: 1st and 2nd floor are for R&D; 3rd is for operations and sales; 4th, 5th and 9th floors host the company's global support services. However, the company's presence will soon be consolidated in a 3,000 person US$120 million building, being constructed on the other side of Bannerghatta Road (not shown here).