Expanding into India is an important step for international companies building a new office, Global Capability Center (GCC), Offshore Development Center (ODC), support operation or project team. One of the first operational challenges is ensuring that employees have the right technology from their first day.
When a company is preparing to hire its first 10, 50 or 100 employees in India, IT infrastructure needs to be planned alongside recruitment, office setup and business operations. Laptops, MacBooks, desktops, workstations, servers, networking equipment, monitors and accessories all need to be available at the right time and in the right quantities.
For companies entering India for the first time, working with an experienced enterprise IT deployment partner can make this process considerably easier.
Start With Employee Roles and Technology Requirements
The first step is understanding what each employee will actually need.
Not every employee requires the same hardware configuration. A finance employee may only need a standard business laptop, while a software developer, designer, engineer or data scientist may require a higher-performance system.
Before ordering equipment, companies should categorize employees based on their roles.
Typical categories may include:
- Management and executives
- HR and administration
- Finance and accounting
- Software developers
- Designers and engineers
- Data and analytics teams
- IT and cybersecurity teams
- Sales and business development
- Customer support teams
Creating role-based hardware standards makes procurement easier and prevents companies from purchasing unnecessarily expensive systems for every employee.
Decide Which Devices Employees Need
For the first 100 employees, laptops will usually be the primary computing device. However, some teams may require specialized equipment.
A new India operation may need:
- Business laptops
- MacBooks
- High-performance laptops
- Desktop computers
- Graphic workstations
- GPU workstations
- Monitors
- Docking stations
- Keyboards and mice
- Printers
- Servers
- Networking equipment
For example, a software development team may require laptops with higher RAM and faster processors, while a design team may need dedicated graphics capabilities.
Companies can explore enterprise IT equipment solutions when they need multiple categories of business-ready technology for a new operation.
Create a Device Plan Before Employees Join
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is waiting until employees have joined before arranging their equipment.
If 100 employees are scheduled to join over several weeks, IT teams should work with HR to create a deployment schedule in advance.
A simple plan can include:
Week 1: 20 employees
Week 2: 25 employees
Week 3: 30 employees
Week 4: 25 employees
This allows the IT team to prepare equipment in batches rather than trying to arrange 100 devices at the last minute.
Planning ahead also provides time for configuration, testing, labeling, asset allocation and delivery.
Consider Flexible IT Equipment Instead of Buying Everything
For an international company entering India, purchasing 100 devices immediately may not always be the most practical approach.
The company may still be evaluating its long-term office size, employee growth, technology standards and project requirements.
Flexible IT equipment rental can provide an alternative.
Instead of purchasing every device at the beginning, companies can deploy the equipment they need for the initial workforce and scale their requirements as the business grows.
This can be particularly useful for companies establishing their first India office, launching a GCC or building a temporary project team.
Rental Plaza provides enterprise laptop and IT equipment deployment for businesses requiring scalable technology across India.
Prepare Devices Before the First Day
Providing a laptop is only one part of employee onboarding.
Devices should ideally be prepared before employees arrive. Depending on company policies, this can include installing required software, configuring user accounts, applying security policies and preparing standard settings.
An enterprise deployment checklist may include:
- Operating system configuration
- Company software installation
- Security configuration
- Endpoint-management setup
- User account preparation
- Device labeling
- Asset tagging
- Wi-Fi and network configuration
- Antivirus or endpoint security
- Testing
- Employee allocation
Pre-configured devices can significantly reduce the amount of time IT teams spend preparing systems on the employee’s joining day.
Build an Asset Tracking Process From Day One
Asset management becomes more difficult as employee numbers increase.
A company with 10 employees may be able to track devices manually. Once the organization reaches 100, 500 or 1,000 employees, a structured asset management process becomes much more important.
Each device should be associated with information such as:
- Asset identification
- Device configuration
- Assigned employee
- Department
- Location
- Deployment date
- Warranty information
- Replacement history
- Return status
Starting this process when the first 100 employees join creates a strong foundation for future growth.
Plan for Employees in Multiple Indian Cities
International companies do not always build their entire India workforce in one city.
A business may establish an initial office in Bengaluru and later expand to Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, Mumbai, Chennai or Noida.
This means the IT strategy should consider multi-city deployment from the beginning.
Instead of sourcing devices separately in every city, companies can benefit from standardized configurations and centralized coordination.
A PAN India deployment model can help maintain consistency while allowing equipment to be delivered to employees or offices according to hiring schedules.
For international companies establishing operations in India, Rental Plaza’s solutions for international companies are designed around the requirements of new India offices, GCCs, ODCs and distributed teams.
Don’t Forget Temporary Employees and Contractors
The first 100 employees may not all be permanent employees.
International companies frequently work with consultants, contractors, temporary employees and project-based teams during the early stages of expansion.
These workers may need IT equipment for several months rather than several years.
Buying permanent equipment for every temporary requirement can create unnecessary inventory.
Flexible deployment allows companies to provide the required equipment during the project and adjust their IT inventory when the requirement changes.
Plan for Support and Replacement
Device deployment does not end when employees receive their laptops.
Hardware can experience technical issues, accidental damage or performance problems. A company with 100 employees should have a clear process for reporting issues and arranging replacements.
This becomes even more important as the workforce grows.
Companies should establish clear expectations for:
- Technical support
- Device replacement
- Troubleshooting
- Escalation
- On-site assistance
- Hardware recovery
- Multi-city coordination
Businesses with larger deployments can also consider a structured enterprise support SLA to establish clear service expectations.
Prepare for Growth Beyond 100 Employees
The first 100 employees are often only the beginning.
An international company may start with 25 employees, reach 100 within a year and then expand to 500 or even 1,000 employees.
Therefore, the initial IT infrastructure should be designed with future growth in mind.
Companies should establish standardized device configurations, procurement processes, asset management procedures and support workflows that can be scaled as employee numbers increase.
A scalable approach also makes it easier to respond to sudden hiring requirements.
Build a Flexible India IT Deployment Strategy
Entering a new country involves many moving parts. Office space, recruitment, payroll, legal requirements and technology all need to come together.
IT should not become a bottleneck for employee onboarding.
By planning device requirements early, standardizing configurations, preparing equipment before joining dates and establishing support processes, international companies can create a smoother technology experience for their India workforce.
Flexible IT deployment can also allow businesses to avoid overcommitting to hardware before their long-term requirements are fully established.
Conclusion
Equipping the first 100 employees of an international company in India requires more than simply arranging 100 laptops. It requires a structured strategy covering device selection, bulk deployment, configuration, asset tracking, support, replacement and future scalability.
For companies establishing their first India office, GCC, ODC or project team, flexible access to business-ready IT equipment can simplify the expansion process.
Rental Plaza supports corporate and international organizations with laptops, MacBooks, desktops, workstations, servers, GPUs and other IT infrastructure requirements across India.
Whether a company is onboarding its first 20 employees or preparing for a 1,000+ employee expansion, the right IT deployment strategy can help employees become productive from day one while giving the organization the flexibility to scale as its India operations grow.
