World class is an often-heard phrase in any conversation with Surya Santhanagopalan, the dapper head honcho of one of Motorola’s software divisions. And no, he isn’t based in Bangalore, nor is he promoting the familiar India value-proposition of costs.

Surya is the managing director of Motorola Malaysia Software Center (MMSC), also called the Motorola Multimedia Sdn Bhd. He has reason to. What began as an experiment in 1999 has now turned into one of Motorola’s best performing units, growing almost double every year in capacity and revenues. And Surya rattles off a string of firsts—the distinction of being assessed at Software Engineering Institute (SEI) CMM® Maturity Level 5 in two years, one of the few companies in the world, the distinction of being the best performing unit in the company for the past year and so on. Today, MMSC is doubling capacity and moving to new facilities in the Multimedia Super Corridor that the Malaysian government has built in Kuala Lumpur.

A decade ago, the then-prime minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohammed bid to enter the Internet economy and connected world. In far-reaching diktats—effects of which are bearing fruit now—the ruler allotted prime real estate to the project and cleared up vast tracts of hillside to establish Cyberjaya. By 2011, local officials expect the high-tech corridor to be supporting a working population of approximately 50,000 and a resident population of more than 120,000. Almost a decade later, the project is nearly complete in its first phase and Surya cannot hold back his glee. “Motorola has been in Malaysia for thirty years—not known to many—and has been an active supporter of the Malaysian government and economy,” says Surya. “The software project was another experiment to build value-based businesses in Malaysia and we have succeeded in this.”

The growth hasn’t been easy. “The infrastructure and facilities are world-class,” says the Motorola software head. “But human resources is still a growing proposition. That said, the results of Dr. Mohammed’s plans are now delivering results. New colleges and technology universities are maturing all over Malaysia and the talent pool is growing.” Surya’s strategy has been two-pronged. He has promoted cross-pollination, where experts come to the Malaysian facilities to work with the team, and has also sent his staff on learning deputations to facilities around the world. “Malaysians bring good English skills, international educational experience, and amazingly hard-working attitude to the table. It has been a wonderful experience.”

Motorola’s long-term presence brought familiarity with the land and people, and Surya was brought in from Texas Instruments in the U.S., where he was a program manager for the wireless communications program, to set up a software unit in the established Malaysian facility. “The Malaysian project has focused on quality of talent, where a core of senior talent grows the pool,” says Surya. “You can’t scale up like you can in India—say, hire a 1000 people in a month’s time. But that has not held back our growth.” Surya’s team works on end-to-end application products for Motorola’s various needs—embedded software in mobile phones to automotive intelligent components, typically bidding for each of the projects. Surya is now ramping up his team, establishing another office in Penang, with a team of 50 working out of the recently-established Penang offices. “We are about a third the size of the India software group,” he says, “and with an increasing talent pool in KL and Penang, we will be nearly half the size in the near future.” Apart from the product offers, MMSC has also been delivering some services platforms—billings, support and so on.

Today, MMSC has moved out of handling Motorola business alone and consults with regional businesses. “About thirty percent of our revenues come from regional businesses,” says Surya. “We share a lot of our knowledge base and expertise with enteprises in the Asia Pacific market, where the Motorola name adds to the seriousness of our offer intent.” MMSC is in a similar state of an offshore outsource supplier—time lag, establishing communication channels, handing off projects, and so on. Nevertheless, Surya says, his world-class team has managed to deliver—every time. On the other hand, courting clients outside Motorola has not been very easy. “When we approach a client, there are strains of suspiscion—why would Motorola want to work with competition, or what can it do for us? But we have been winning, steadily.” Surya underlines Malaysia’s importance as a growing business force. “The infrastructure, good economy, increasingly international workforce all make it a great place to set up business. It could also be the key to the ASEAN market,” he says.