Rockwell Automation and Cisco launch a joint factory-automation push in India, combining industrial controls with networking gear and a workforce-training program to target the country's manufacturing modernization drive.
Rockwell Automation and Cisco announced a joint push into India's factory-automation market, pairing industrial controls with networking gear and a workforce-training program.
The centerpiece is a "Full-Stack Software-Defined Manufacturing" reference design that marries Cisco's software-defined networking with Rockwell's automation software. The companies also opened a demo pod at Rockwell's Gurugram facility, built under Cisco's Country Digital Acceleration program, and launched a digital-skills initiative through Cisco Networking Academy and Rockwell's Learning+ platform.
"India's manufacturing sector is at a defining moment," Dilip Sawhney, managing director of Rockwell Automation India, said in the release. "By bringing together industrial automation expertise and modern digital infrastructure, we are helping manufacturers build operations that are more resilient, intelligent, and ready for the future."
The reference design aims to let factories move data securely between information-technology and operational-technology networks, giving operators real-time visibility for efficiency gains and AI-driven decisions, the companies said. The Gurugram demo pod will let customers and partners test and co-develop setups before scaling across plants.
Cisco's Kartika Prihadi, vice president for partner and routes-to-market sales in Asia-Pacific, Japan and China, said the collaboration helps manufacturers "move from automation to autonomy."
The skills initiative targets the manufacturing workforce's digital gap, covering networking, cybersecurity and industrial-automation basics. India's push to become a global factory hub has created demand for workers who can run software-defined production lines, a need the companies aim to fill.
Rockwell, based in Milwaukee, employs about 26,000 people. Cisco, the San Jose, California-based networking giant, has run its Country Digital Acceleration program in multiple markets, funding infrastructure and training projects with local partners.
The partnership follows a pattern of tech-industrial tie-ups in India, where the government has offered production-linked incentives for electronics, autos and other sectors. Both companies have existing India operations; the collaboration formalizes joint sales and development work.
Neither company disclosed financial terms or revenue targets for the initiative.
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