Microsoft to hire more, unveils new campus

The world's largest software maker, Microsoft, made its place in the Indian information technology firmament more secure.

Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer, Microsoft, inaugurated the company's largest development centre outside the US in Hyderabad.

The software behemoth also struck a development deal with Infosys and reaffirmed its partnership with Wipro.

Microsoft and Infosys Technologies will make a joint investment of $8 million to develop a software deployment tool that will help in faster deployment of the latest version of the Windows operating system.

Ballmer also said Microsoft would hire several hundred new staff at the Hyderabad campus in the next year. The company currently employs about 800 people in product development and support services in Hyderabad. "I am quite sure of hiring hundreds over the next 12 months," Ballmer said.

While inaugurating the Hyderabad campus, Ballmer said nearly to half of Microsoft's global software applications would be developed at the centre and added that the global delivery centre, India, would manage the company's worldwide in IT infrastructure.

The 28-acre campus will house the company's development centre, the global delivery centre, India, and the sales and marketing division. "The work we are doing here is not low level. It is very high level creative engineering," said Ballmer. The Hyderabad campus is part of Microsoft's $400 million investment plan in India announced by Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates in 2002.

In Bangalore, Ballmer met Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and Infosys Chief Executive Officer Nandan Nilekani. Apart from the software development tool, Infosys and Microsoft will also develop a portfolio of solutions and services that will enable clients to realise a simplified and flexible IT environment.

"Microsoft and Infosys share a commitment to help customers use technology to improve every area of their businesses. Microsoft's long-term focus will be on delivering an integrated, manageable and reliable platform, combined with Infosys' unique delivery model and deep consulting skills," Ballmer said.

Reaffirming the relationship between Microsoft and Wipro, Sudip Nandy, chief strategy officer of Wipro Technologies, said: "While Microsoft is our customer, Wipro also uses their tools to address software concerns of our customers, besides licensing their software for our hardware products. The relationship has many dimensions to it." At Hyderabad, Ballmer said the plan to hire local talent in India would not mean loss of jobs in the US. "There are so many growth opportunities in our business that we can invest in Hyderabad, while continuing to hire at our headquarters," he said.

"India is one of the fastest growing IT markets in the world and an important region for Microsoft," he said. The Hyderabad centre will be used to develop core products of the company like MSN, Windows and Longhorn.