December 14, 2022
When Danaher wanted to strengthen its global hub for research and development two years ago, the company made Venkataraman Ravikumar (Ravi) the Vice President of the India Development Center (IDC). Below, Ravi discusses the IDC’s place in the Danaher family, how its work influences Danaher and the world, and how it provides top talent with career growth opportunities.
What is the IDC, and how did it start?
The India Development Center is a multi-platform, multi-operating company (OpCo) ecosystem that serves as the center of gravity for software delivery and product development for Danaher across the globe. We represent 14 different OpCos, and we have about 800 people working here, creating solutions that meet the needs of all Danaher OpCos, not just those represented in the IDC.
The IDC started eight years ago as a Beckman Coulter R&D group in diagnostics, but Danaher took governance of the IDC about two years ago. It was primarily a software design and delivery center, but there was a desire to move into hardware development, chemistry, and all product development globally. We are also slowly getting more into digital work, such as providing artificial intelligence, machine learning, data sciences, hardware design and subsystem-level engineering.
How do OpCos come together there?
Danaher is an OpCo-centric organization. We created a governance structure for the IDC so that when an OpCo signs on with IDC, it joins a steering committee which includes one member for each of the 14 OpCos.
The committee meets once every three months to evaluate which cross-platform IDC initiatives—processes, people or growth and innovation—need to be prioritized. The impact of this is felt by all of the OpCos.
We also use a multi-OpCo test bed to try and make improvements in our processes and the way we deliver software. Within the IDC, collaboration is key and we operate without silos; this model allows us to make improvements that not only serve individual OpCos, but Danaher as a whole. It’s common to see associates from multiple OpCos working together to solve a problem. If something works in the IDC across multiple platforms, we package it and push it through the Danaher Business System for continuous improvement across the entire globe.
How does the IDC develop talent and promote the career growth of associates?
The IDC has very strong associate value propositions. For example, all of the 14 OpCos in the IDC are consistent with compensation, benefits around work from home and health insurance coverage. Our commitment to consistency also informs our Diversity + Inclusion efforts, ensuring that every associate within the IDC is treated equitably.
We partner with Udemy, so every associate here has a license, and they can get as many certifications as they want across any course Udemy offers. We also have a separate education policy in which we reimburse up to a pretty large amount every year for higher learning.
And lastly, whenever a leader for any OpCo visits, there are opportunities for everybody at IDC to interact with them. This gives associates the ability to network, and the ability to understand the industry and how the customers benefit from you across multiple platforms.
What challenges is IDC working on at this moment?
We are in the middle of our journey transforming from software development to product development. Different OpCos are at different maturity levels in this transition, which means there is a lot of work to be done to integrate some of the less mature OpCos.
For me, the definition of success would be when I don’t have to talk to people about the differentiation between software development and product development. When it becomes common knowledge that if something needs to get done, IDC is the only destination to get it done.
What skills are you looking for in candidates?
There are many skills required for candidates to succeed at the IDC. One of the most important is the “jugaad” mentality, which is a “let’s figure it out” solution mentality. However, Danaher believes in standard work and process, so we blend the “jugaad” mentality with the Danaher Business System collaborative approach to continuous improvement. A highly successful person in the IDC has that Indian element of crazy innovation, but at the same time, they are structured and able to follow through on an action plan, all while being comfortable with ambiguity.