RALEIGH – India-based Infosys officially opened its Raleigh Center at Brier Creek Parkway Wednesday, where the company already has 130 employees at work.
North Carolina state and local officials attended the opening ceremony where Infosys, an IT consulting and outsourcing firm, will anchor the 121,000-square-food Legacy at Brier Creek Building at 7751 Brier Creek Parkway.
The company already has a total of 495 of the 2,000 employees it committed to hiring in North Carolina by 2021. The company plans to hire 10,000 in the United States in coming years.
In an exclusive interview with WRAL Techwire, Infosys President Ravi Kumar said the company, which has more than 209,000 employees globally in 82 sales and marketing offices and 123 development centers, chose Raleigh for the new center for three main reasons.
First, he said, “One of our biggest streams of talent comes from schools, so it’s a great opportunity to tap into the university system, Duke, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and Wake Tech. We thought this was a great opportunity to tap into that academic system.”
Kumar explained, “We’re a unique employer. We go beyond STEM and hire from liberal arts schools, design schools and community colleges. We train them in the technology we want rather than looking for specific expertise. So we look for learning ability. We’re a unique employer. We create talent where it didn’t exist. It’s the only way to compete.”
In Raleigh, he said, “We’ll specialize in financial services, high tech manufacturing, cybersecurity, open source and data and analytics.” The company has an artificial intelligence-powered core technology.
What draws employees to Infosys?
People want to work for Infosys because “We do exciting innovation-powered work with clients. They have the ability to learn and stay abreast of everything new in technology to keep them equipped for the skills of the future. The majority of our clients are global Fortune 2000 companies,” Kumar said.
In addition to the academic talent pool, “We have a good healthy pipeline of clients in NC and surrounding states that we cater to,” he said.
Third, he said, “The government has been very cooperative and supportive.” North Carolina awarded Infosys nearly $25 million in state grants to land the center and jobs commitment.
Asked about the state’s controversial “bathroom bill,” since repealed, Kumar said, “We’re an equal opportunity employer and we don’t discriminate. We’re strongly committed to that.”
Kumar said talent and government support will also attract other high tech companies, whether based in India or tech giants such as Amazon and Apple. Infosys doesn’t fear the competition, though. “Because of our unique model, we’re not concerned about who appears in this market or what they’re doing here. We’re a market leader,” Kumar said.
He said, “This is an extraordinary time for us. We’re excited about all the support from the community.” The Infosys Foundation, which does support STEM and computer science education, will also be active in North Carolina.
Infosys operates in 45 countries and has $10.9 billion in annual revenue.
Previously on WRAL Techwire:
Infosys President: Workforce talent, education are keys to NC expansion (+ video)
