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Ravi Kumar, president at Infosys (photo source: Dallas Business Journal)
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By Brian Womack
Dallas Business Journal | Staff Writer
A massive tech-services firm is investing in the Dallas area with an innovation hub that will bring training and new jobs.
Infosys, an Indian company with more than 200,000 employees, unveiled plans Tuesday for the “Technology Innovation Hub” in Richardson. It plans to hire 500 American workers in the state by 2020 with a “good portion” in the North Texas area, said Ravi Kumar, president, in an interview.
“Dallas is a big hub for technology talent,” Kumar said.
The move follows the opening of other hubs, including sites in Indianapolis and Raleigh, N.C., along with others that have been announced across the country. Infosys said it was hiring 10,000 American workers by 2019 in May of last year. It’s already hired more than 6,000.
“This is a part of a journey,” he said. “Our next big milestone is to actually set up a hub in Richardston, Texas, and build a talent pool there.”
Infosys is putting resources into the region as it looks to serve customers across the state. The new site will focus on telecommunications, retail, manufacturing and banking, he said.
The hub will include graduates from the state’s network of colleges and universities, along with community colleges, the company said in a statement. The area’s higher education offerings were instrumental in drawing Infosys to Richardson, he said. The central location in the U.S. and its proximity to a number of its clients also were factors.
“Large companies come to us to seek help,” he said. We “partner with them and help them stay relevant in the digital age.”
Infosys’ announcement comes after others in the tech-services industry, including those with ties to India, unveiled plans for investments in North Texas.
In March. Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT) said it was planning a 45,000-square-foot Texas Technology Center, which will be home to the company’s U.S. cybersecurity center and house advanced analytics operations. It was set to initially employ up to 150.
In April, Tata Consultancy Services said it was adding more than 200 new employees to its ranks in Plano as part of its agreement with Transamerica to transform the administration of its U.S. insurance and annuity business lines, according to a statement.
And in August, Cognizant Technology Solutions officials said it would hire 1,100 employees over the next five years for its new 50,000-square-foot center in Irving, more than doubling its presence in the city.
“Infosys’ expanded investment in Texas is fantastic news for our state and will provide Texans with the training and skills they need to compete in today’s technology-driven economy,” said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in a statement.
The company’s training system plucks college graduates and prepares them for their future with an eight- to 12-week training session, Kumar said in the interview. While math and science degrees were preferred in the past, he sees opportunities with students coming from a more broad background. That can include liberal arts and design degrees, he said.
“We are an employer who has an extraordinary culture of training and learning,” he said.
The company has seen surging demand or technology trends that include the cloud and cybersecurity. There’s also increased interest in artificial intelligence as companies look to stay ahead of their own rivals.
“New-age digital talent has to be close to where your clients are,” he said. “You have to co-create and co-innovate along with your clients.”
To read this article on the Dallas Business Journal’s website, click here.