At around 26 million users, India is the second largest user base for professional networking site LinkedIn. China, however, may be close on the heels given that just over five months into the launch of a Chinese version the user base has already touched 5 million.
India, which leads in the APAC (Asia Pacific) region, accounts for 8.6 per cent of the global user base, behind the U.S. which accounts for 33 per cent. Most of the growth was witnessed in the past 4-5 years, when awareness about professional networking has grown, said Ganesan Venkatasubramaniam, head of engineering at LinkedIn Technology Center, India. “India is, of course, a key focus area for us. For the longest time, the focus was on the U.S. which was, of course, the large user base. But today, two-thirds are from outside the U.S. Of these, India is big, and we are doing a lot to learn what works here and what are the needs of users specific to this geography,” he explained.
Engineering teamThe engineering team, which includes the Slideshare team (the New Delhi-based company it acquired two years ago), is about 40-member strong. India is the only geography outside the U.S. where all functions from research to sales and operations are carried out.
Though there are plans to expand this, and certain key products are being worked on here, Mr. Venkatasubramaniam did not share any expansion road map for the country. Mr. Venkatasubramaniam let on that a lot of key features — the rich media features that allow you to upload presentations — are made by the Slideshare team in New Delhi. The company employs 540 people across tech, operations, sales and support here.
Mobility focusWhile no specific road map to increase engagement in India was shared, the company is gung-ho on its focus on mobile. At present, 43 per cent of its traffic is from mobile devices, a figure, the company hopes, will touch what it terms as “mobile moment”. “We hope soon to cross the point where more than half the traffic is from mobile devices. So, we are focussing on mobilising,” he said, adding that he expected the trends to be similar in India.
Apart from mobility, other India-specific features that have been introduced include a filter for India hiring, called the recruiter app which presents a way for global companies to get specific information on India hiring. Other tweaks include introductions such as the Blackberry app, which was launched keeping India and Brazil markets in mind.
