Hyderabad: Hitachi Solutions Ltd, a Japan-based information and telecommunications company, on Thursday announced the setting up of its largest development facility outside the United States in Hyderabad.
“Hyderabad has a lot of engineering talent, which is relevant to Microsoft Dynamics. Also this city offers cost advantage over other cities and can give us a sustainable growth,” said Mr Ananth Subramanian, chief executive officer of Hitachi Solutions India, explaining the rationale behind the decision.
The Hyderabad facility can accommodate 200 consultants, while the Chennai office, which is expected to opened on Saturday, will house 100.
With this, Hitachi has joined an array of international companies, which are placing their bet on Hyderabad, after the uncertainty caused by Telangana agitation subsided.
The Telangana factor, Mr Subramanian said, did not affect the company’s decision. “Though there was a lot of hue and cry about this issue, we did not face any problem on ground. We are not concerned about the regional issues.”
Other IT majors, who have recently, announced their expansion plans in Hyderabad include Oracle, Amazon, TCS and Infosys.
Currently, Hitachi has 100 consultants in India. Of this, 50 are located in Hyderabad and the rest are in Chennai and Pune. “Going forward, Hydera-bad will be our primary hub and Chennai will the second. Pune will cater to some of specific skillsets,” Subramanian said.
According to Mr Mike Gillis, chief operating officer of Hitachi Solutions (business solutions group), the Japanese major would increase the total headcount in India to 500 by 2015.
Giving a new geopolitical dimension to the move, Masakazu Kuji, member of board of Hitachi Solutions India, attempted to hint at the growing uneasy relations between Japan and its larger neighbour China as one of reasons for Hitachi’s new focus on India.
