Oracle ships out to India

Oracle, the enterprise software company, has bought a large area of land in Hyderabad where it plans to build new offices. It has also announced a major extension to its existing Bangalore-based 'Asia' headquarters.

The company's plan to extend existing operations in India will see Oracle triple its physical office space in Hyderabad, capital of the technology-rich Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Oracle stated the land will be used to build a '500,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art, world-class development facility to host employees primarily involved in e-Business application development for Oracle's global customer base.'

Derek Williams, Executive Vice President of Oracle Asia Pacific, said: "It is quite likely that we'll grow to 4,000 [workers] over the next four years."

Asked if jobs were being moved from the US to India in order to cut costs, Mr Williams said: "We obviously put our development facilities in the country that makes most sense.

"Costs are important but not as much important as intellectual capital."

Mr Williams also said Oracle was planning a separate, third, 'Internet sales unit' in India in order to boost marketing.

Oracle was one of the first software companies to set up operations in India, in 1991. In 1994, the company built a 213,000 sq. ft. business park in Bangalore, which it will now extend.

The Bangalore-based business park houses three major Oracle divisions and is the only foreign-based park to host three units of this size and scope outside the company's main headquarters in California.

The park accommodates 1,200 of Oracle's 2,200 Indian workers, many of whom are software engineers.

Mr Williams, Executive Vice President of Oracle Asia Pacific, said: "India is a jewel in Oracle's crown. We have invested well in expanding our presence in India and plan to continue to do so. We greatly value the Indian capability and we have charted out an aggressive growth plan in India.

"We anticipate that the coming years will add strength and luster to the ever-expanding commitment demonstrated by Oracle Corporation."