Tuesday, Apr 03, 2007
Business
Symantec opens centre http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/03/stories/2007040305401700.htm
Anand Parthasarathy
Second facility in India
CHENNAI: The global security and storage infrastructure leader, Symantec, on Monday inaugurated a second centre of innovation here on Monday. With the Pune centre having grown by a third to over 2,000 engineers within a year of its inception, a second centre in Chennai was "an important next step for us to access not just new markets, but new talent,'' Symantec's U.S.-based Chairman and Chief Executive, John W. Thompson, said. Rich in talent
"There is no better place, so rich in talent,'' he added. The strength at Chennai was expected to grow quickly from less than a dozen engineers at present to around 1,000. Symantec planned eventually to build a pool of 5,000-6,000 skilled employees in India, he added.
While complementing the work done in Pune, the Chennai team will more sharply address what is known a "Security 2.0'' - technology for next-generation data security challenges.
Inaugurating the new facility, which is the first occupant of the DLF IT Park in Chennai, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran told the visiting Symantec CEO that "You will never regret taking this bold decision to come here,'' and pointed out to the rich human resources that the region offered. Mr. Maran thanked the Pune-based engineers of Symantec, who were watching the inaugural event in Chennai by live Internet video. "By your work, you gave Symantc the confidence to expand in India,'' he said.
DLF's IT Park
The Chennai-based U.S. Consul General, David Hopper, said it was not at all surprising that leading IT players like Symantec increasingly chose Chennai for their high tech activities - he cited the infrastructure, human talent and good official support as key factors.
A. S. Minocha, Chairman, DLF Commercial Developers, which is creating the 41-acre IT Park on the Mount-Poonamallee High Road, said this was the first notified special economic zone for development work in IT in the city. The facility would offer 6.6 million sq. ft. of the scalable SEZ campus space. The first phase of 1.3 million sq. ft. was ready for occupation, he said.
Copyright © 2007, The Hindu.