Bangalore, Sep 9 (Inditop.com) Global technology storage equipment major EMC Corp will invest $1.5 billion in India over the next five years to expand its research and development (R&D) activity and business operations, a senior company official said Wednesday.
“The incremental investment will be in scaling operations, people and capacity building at our R&D facility,” EMC India managing director Sarv Sarvannan told reporters here.
The $14.9-billion US-based IT major has secured regulatory approvals for the proposed investment in its Indian captive unit, signalling that the global meltdown that had impacted discretionary spending is ebbing.
“The additional investment will be a three-fold increase over what we have spent ($500 million) in India during the last five years,” EMC chief financial officer David Goulden said.
The investment will be in three areas to scale EMC India’s operations to the next level.
The areas will be expansion of R&D infrastructure at its centre of excellence here, increasing the centre’s global service capabilities and scaling headcount.
“India offers tremendous opportunities in innovation and market potential. The fresh investment plan demonstrates the important role India will play in our long-term strategy worldwide,” Goulden said.
Earlier, inaugurating EMC’s 60-acre campus in the technology park on the city’s outskirts, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said the company’s investment was a testimony to the self-sustaining ecosystem India had built.
“We have a proactive policy to facilitate investments for the growth of Karnataka and Bangalore as the IT capital of India,” Yeddyurappa said.
The campus, hosting the company’s largest R&D facility outside the US, will help the Indian subsidiary to attract quality talent drive innovation and growth out of India.
The company has about 4,000 employees, with about 2,000 working at vendors’ sites.
On the outlook for IT outsourcing, Goulden said though the worst of the global recession was behind, as evident from easing of budget pressures on tech spending, recovery would not be rapid.
“Instead, it will be slow and steady with recovery creating opportunities by mid-2010,” Goulden added.
