Volkswagen sets up IT delivery hub in India, invests 3 mn euros

Move will help Volkswagen strengthen its presence in the country as India will now also serve as the IT backend for all its brands

German auto major Volkswagen Group today announced the set up of its IT delivery and support centre in Pune, Volkswagen IT Services India. The company has invested Euro 3 million (around Rs 22.5 crore) in setting up this centre.

The latest move will help Volkswagen strengthen its presence in the country as India will now also serve as the IT backend for all brands from the German automotive giant, across geography.

Inaugurated by Martin Hofmann, Volkswagen AG Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Uwe Matulovic, Head of the Management Board of Volkswagen Group IT Services GmbH, the new entity will enable the aforementioned brands to take advantage of the talent pool of IT experts.

The workforce will be operating from Pune to collaborate with different IT organizations of the Volkswagen Group in Germany and work on future related projects and drive innovations.

Hofmann said, "India has always been a key destination for Volkswagen in the global scheme of the company from a talent building, manufacturing, consumption and export point of view. With the newest addition, we are also offering our brands the opportunity to unlock the potential of their IT investments with the support of the IT talent pool we've put together in India. As the team here will eventually extend its services to cover all the brands in the Volkswagen Group portfolio, India's significance will only be further amplified."

Uwe Matulovic said, "Since Volkswagen IT Services will form the common entity supporting diverse brands across geographies, the idea is to ensure that while we follow a standardized set of global guidelines, we also make them relevant to the multiple dynamics we will be catering to."

At present, Volkswagen IT Services India Private Limited employs 300 personnel with expertise in areas like JAVA, Microsoft Technologies, Business Intelligence, SAP, ServiceNow, Mobility & Testing. This team of tech experts will be focused on providing end to end IT software development and support the roll out of IT solutions across different brands. Additionally, the team will also work on helping brands take advantage of technologies like Cloud Foundry and Social Media Analytics. Over the next few months, the company aims to increase its employee headcount by another 150 tech professionals.

"It's a proud moment for us in India to be able to support our group companies across the globe from here; keeping in line with the 'Make in India' initiative. The new organisation will also focus on building IT mobility solution for the group and would adapt the agile way of development with Test Driven Development, Pair Programming and Code Sharing techniques," said Sidharth Yadav, Managing Director of Volkswagen IT Services India & CIO Region APAC.