IBM plans software campus in Bangalore

IBM plans software campus in Bangalore — `Construction work under way; land sought in Mysore'

The Hindu Business Line

Though bulk of the growth in headcount in 2004 was on account of the acquisitions, IBM has been adding more people in India to execute the increasing number of projects that were offshored.

Bangalore , Aug 10

IN a bid to expand and consolidate its rapidly growing operations in Bangalore, the Big Blue IBM is setting up a huge software development campus in the city. IBM's investment in Bangalore campus could run into several millions.

IBM has acquired about 10 acres of land in northern parts of the city, where it has started the construction activity, highly placed sources said. It also sought some 50 acres of land from the Karnataka Government in Mysore to expand its development operations, they added.

An IBM spokesperson neither denied nor confirmed the company's expansion plans. At present, IBM has about four leased facilities in Bangalore from where its global services, business transformation, software labs and the application management services division operate.

The company has an employee headcount of close to 25,000 people in India, the bulk of whom are in Bangalore. IBM has been ramping up its India operations rapidly over the past couple of years as it offshored more projects and reduced jobs elsewhere globally to cut costs. The company's headcount at the beginning of 2005 stood at 23,000, a growth of some 150 per cent compared to early 2004.

Though bulk of the growth in headcount in 2004 was on account of the acquisitions, IBM has been adding more people in India to execute the increasing number of projects that were offshored.

The buy-outs included the $170 million Daksh eServices deal that brought in about 6,000 employees into the IBM fold. Also the acquisition of Rational and Trigo which had development centres in India brought in several hundred of developers into the IBM fold.

Sources said IBM has been hiring aggressively in India for its global services division and the BPO outfit. Most of the hires are laterals and the company has been hiring people for its operations in Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai and Gurgaon. IBM could be adding on an average of over 500 people every month, sources said.

IBM recently announced that it would slash some 13,000 jobs, mainly in Europe to cut costs. Sources said some of those jobs could come to India as the company is expected to move some of its operations out of Western Europe to lower-cost regions.