Satyam to launch 2000-seat centre in Malaysia

Mumbai: Global consulting and information technology services company Satyam Computer Services Ltd will establish a 2000-seat software engineering global delivery campus (GDC) in Cyberjaya (Malaysia), about 50 km south of Kuala Lumpur.

The largest and first GDC outside India will serve as a major technological development and software support facility for the company's ASEAN, US and West Asian customers and will complement the 100-seater global solution center (GSC) established about three years ago.

Satyam has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Multimedia Development Corporation, an agency of Malaysia's ministry of science, technology and innovation. The MoU was signed in the presence of Malaysian prime minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawl, deputy prime minister Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak and other cabinet ministers.

"Satyam was one of the first organisations to recognise Malaysia's potential as an IT hub; we did so as early as 2003," said Satyam's founder and chairman B Ramalinga Raju.

"Malaysia's advanced infrastructure, rich ICT talent pool, and competitive cost environment make it a strategic destination, an excellent place to establish a business presence. In fact, Satyam has been servicing numerous customers from our global solution center (GSC) in Kuala Lumpur for three years, he said.

Satyam's partner, Malaysia's Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), oversees the multimedia super corridor (MSC) initiative. The MSC, Malaysia's government-designated high-tech zone, is spread across a 750-square km area, and features a state-of-the-art infrastructure. It is designed to make Malaysia a global IT leader by providing intellectual and strategic leadership end by helping Malaysian and international companies reach new technology frontiers.

Satyam's Malaysian operations, which has been accorded the MSC status, started as early as 2003 when the organisation set up its first development center in Kuala Lumpur to serve as the nearshore hub for its ASEAN customers.

Satyam spearheaded its first mass recruitment programme for fresh graduates in Malaysia in the year 2004. Till date more than 65 Malaysian engineering graduates have been trained by the organisation and absorbed as full time employees in the global solution center in Kuala Lumpur.

The company currently employs is 150 professionals of which 2/3rd are Malaysian locals. With a growth plan of increasing headcount to 2,000 associates over the next four years and better consolidation plans, the company is set to emerge as the biggest player among its peer group in Malaysia.