Hyderabad looks beyond GCC, aspires to be Global Confidence Centre: IT Minister

IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu on Friday said Telangana aims to position Hyderabad as a ‘Global Confidence Centre’ where global firms develop solutions to global challenges rather than merely as a destination for global capability centres (GCCs).

The State government was focused on building an ecosystem to attract global firms and help them respond to changing market requirements and technological advances, he said, speaking at opening of Backbase’s technology development centre here.

The 30,000 sq ft facility of the Netherlands based fintech firm is expected to create 300 skilled jobs and support development of digital banking solutions and software products for banks and financial institutions worldwide, the Minister’s office said in a release.

Mr. Sridhar Babu said Hyderabad has emerged as a major destination for technology, digital banking and fintech companies and Backbase’s expansion reflected the city’s growing role in the global technology ecosystem. The government was also focusing on equipping Telangana’s youth with skills relevant to emerging opportunities in software engineering, product development, Cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, cybersecurity and digital banking.

The State was strengthening its digital infrastructure to meet the needs of global companies. Technology could also help address societal challenges, and the government would support innovators developing solutions with wider applications, he said.

Deputy Consul General of The Netherlands Ann Cremers, Backbase CTO Greg Fahy, Chief of Staff Reinhard Schiel and India Site Head Surabhi Sharma participated in the inauguration.

Separately, the company said the expansion addresses rapid team growth. Backbase India has grown from fewer than 50 engineers in 2020 to more than 600, making India the company’s largest engineering hub outside the Amsterdam headquarters.

The new space will house specialised engineering roles - UX, Full Stack Engineers, Data Engineers, SDETs, Forward Deployed Engineers and Applied AI Engineers - across product and platform development. Backbase said it chose Hyderabad because of the region’s deep talent pool, cost efficiency, proximity to key customers and access to engineers who bring fresh thinking to complex problems.