iSOFT Group Plc, the UK-based provider of software for hospitals and healthcare organisations, has announced that it will invest £53.89 million in its Indian application development operations over the next three years. The firm says that it will increase its number of employees in India to 800 from the current 300 and make its Chennai, India, operation its main software manufacturing centre. The Indian operations announcement was made in February after iSOFT was selected by local service providers to be the main clinical application provider in three of the five regions of the English NHS under the National programme for IT. Tim Whiston, iSOFT’s chief executive said, “The continuing expansion of our dedicated application development centre in Chennai gives us a major competitive advantage in bringing leading edge technology solutions to market with unprecedented speed and will also act as an R&D hub for the where next-generation products." The investment in staff at the Chennai centre, will partly be used to resource the delivery of products into the British National NHS, where iSOFT was selected as one of the principal clinical application providers. Mr Ravan Boddu, chief executive, iSOFT R&D Pvt Ltd – the Indian operations of iSOFT Group Plc – said, “Unlike many global players who leverage India as a low-cost delivery base, our centre will undertake high-end product development. We intend to provide the rich Indian IT talent pool with some unique and exciting opportunities to work on the cutting-edge technology." Investment plans are already in place for Indian expansion which will deliver increased capacity, strengthening delivery infrastructure and deployment of technology. iSOFT R&D recently expanded its Indian operations into a purpose-built 30,000 square foot facility in Chennai. iSOFT now employs more than 2,200 people across its global operations including 300 professionals within its Indian operation, which began in 2001. According to iSOFT’s 2003 annual report “The continuing expansion of our dedicated manufacturing application centre in Chennai, India, gives us a major competitive advantage in bringing leading edge technology solutions to market with unprecedented speed."
