Satyam to build software development centre in Australia

Sydney: India's IT major Satyam Computer Services will build a new software development and training campus, creating 2,000 jobs, in the cosmopolitan town of Geelong in Australia's Victoria state.

Speaking at the future site of the development at Deakin University's Geelong campus Monday, Satyam founder and chairman Ramalinga Raju said: "We are delighted to be able to announce Geelong as the location of the new Satyam Technology and Learning Centre and we look forward to cultivating new friendships with Victoria and Australia."

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Geelong is located 70 km southwest of Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria.

State of Victoria's Premier John Brumby said the centre was expected to boost the state's economy by around Australian $175 million ($161 million) annually within a decade.

Brumby said: "Satyam's decision showcases what Victoria and regional centres like Geelong have to offer big business. This is great news for the people of Geelong and Victorians generally. This new project will more than double the current number of Satyam jobs in Australia."

The new centre will mirror the company's campus-like facilities at the head office in Hyderabad and feature facilities for training, research and development, a convention centre and housing.

Satyam will source around 70 percent of all recruits for the new Geelong centre from Victorian and Australian universities. The company has laid major emphasis on local employment generation and today over 42 percent of associates in Australia are local nationals.

It will train and employ local ICT professionals to develop and provide end-to-end IT solutions for Satyam's 570 customers including Coles Myer, Medibank, National Australia Bank (NAB), Nestl鬠Optus, Qantas, Queensland Rail, Suncorp, Telstra, Unilever, Vodaphone and Westpac.

The state's Information and Communication Technology Minister Theo Theophanous said: "Victoria is the largest source of ICT university graduates in Australia so it is fantastic to see global companies recognising the value of our highly-skilled workforce."

Victoria's ICT sector generates annual revenue of $24.4 billion, exports of over $1 billion and employs around 85,000 people, over a third of the national ICT workforce.

Deakin University has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with India's major biotechnology company, Biocon. Biocon is helping Deakin in establishing a mammalian cell bioprocessing facility at the Geelong Technology Precinct (GTP) at the university's Geelong Campus.

Some of the other top Indian ICT companies already located in Victoria include Birlasoft, iGate, Infosys, NIIT, Patni, TCS and Wipro.

Earlier in March, India-based global integrated technology and operations company, iGATE Global Solutions Ltd announced that it would be investing $2 million and creating up to 40 new jobs in the picturesque and affluent historic gold mining city of Ballarat in Victoria.
Source: IANS