“Apple Inc is to open its first technology development centre outside the United States in Hyderabad, India,” V L Srinivasan reports for ZDNet.
“The new centre will be built on 250,000 square feet of land in the real estate firm Tishman Speyer’s WaveRock facility at Hyderabad’s IT corridor at a cost of $25 million (150 crore rupees),” Srinivasan reports. “It is anticipated to create 4,500 jobs for locals.”
“The California-based multinational technology development company will initially open its innovation centre in June and launch fully fledged operations by the end of this year. It plans to develop maps and make them available in its iPhones and Mac systems,” Srinivasan reports. “‘It’s a very positive development as Apple has not looked at cities only in India, but across many places in Europe and other parts of the world. Their decision to have the facility in Hyderabad is a strong endorsement of the city as a major IT hub in the country,’ Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary to IT department in the state of Telangana, told ZDNet.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s getting more and more serious about India with every passing day.
SEE ALSO:
Why Apple should not get too excited over India – February 9, 2016
Apple on course for approval to open India retail stores, source says – February 8, 2016
Apple CEO Cook’s focus on India is insanely great – January 27, 2016
Apple seeks to open their first retail stores in India – January 21, 2016
Hardly the first. Apple opened its first overseas development center in ISRAEL a few years ago following their acquisition of RAM technology company Anobit. Initially based in Haifa, in a technology cluster just a few miles from the Technion (Israel’s MIT), they’re now based in Herzliyah. Tim Cook was there just a few months ago.
It was probably a concession to allow more stores. The timing makes it appear that way.
India will become almost as big as China. As CC stated the timing is rather important. Bottomline…..Apple Stores will open throughout India to everyones delight……!!$$$$
So that’s why the apparent lack of software quality and attention to detail.
Well, at least now when you get telephone tech support, it really will be from the source.
Sorry, bad joke. I couldn’t resist.
I see noise ahead. If Apple can maintain discipline in their international work culture and quality, networking ‘offshore’ development locations seems inevitable. But India is a massive ‘mind fsck’ compared to the puritan foundation of the US. Get ready for incomprehensible culture clash and lots of cross-eyed incoherence. Oh and security concerns? Yes, lots of security concerns.
If I may speak so crudely, this is “the bribe” Apple needed to get India to relax its onerous ownership law to allow Apple to build and control its own retail network in country. All on the up-and-up of course. It’s a good strategy. They get good local press for investing and creating jobs and they don’t have to directly bribe any politicians. Win- win!
I am totally against Apple Store in India given the pathetic burecrazy there and the bribes, not too sure about software development center, but then again apple does great software outside of India so why not use that?