MphasiS opens Wollongong facility

HP subsidiary MphasiS has tipped $2.5 million into a 'Near Shore' development and service delivery centre in Wollongong.

The Indian outsourcer planned to employ 265 staff at the centre over the next five years to service local telecommunications customers and conduct testing.

In accordance with an agreement with the NSW State Government and University of Wollongong, the centre would be located at the university's main campus until mid-2011.

It would then relocate to a 1,288 square-metre commercial space in the University's Innovation Campus.

MphasiS' ANZ director Sudhir Mathur (pictured, right) told iTnews that Saturday's launch of the centre was phase one of its staggered investment plan.

"This is a strategic move for us to grow our business locally," he said.

"The last two to three years have been really good for us; we know that Australia has weathered the global financial crisis really well."

While he expected most MphasiS' current customers to remain on their offshore contracts, Mathur said the Near Shore Centre might attract new customers and categories of work.

I received a photo from the cricket match that followed the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the inauguration of the MphasiS centre on Saturday in Wollongong.

From left: The University of Wollongong’s Vice Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton with MphasiS’ PA Krishnan, President, infrastructure technology outsourcing business unit & sales for Asia Pacific, Japan and India, and Sudhir Mathur, Regional Director for Australia and New Zealand.

He said the company was "very actively talking to new customers" for the centre, declining to disclose details of any deals to date.