Apple opens development office in Hyderabad

The world’s second most populous country, India forms an integral part of the Cupertino, California tech-giant’s global expansion plans.

Apple’s Chief Executive Tim Cook’s visit to India is probably as much in news as Narendra Modi completing two years in office as Prime Minister, if not more. With two strategic and integral developments announced by Apple in the last two days, one thing is clear. India forms as much a part of Apple’s global expansion drive as its neighbour-counterpart, China, where the company has hit home runs in a row.

Today, amid Twitter opinions and Facebook mentions – don’t forget the selfies, please – Apple announced the opening of a new office in Hyderabad that will develop mapping services for its phones. This development comes a day after the company said it will open a development centre in Bengaluru, India’s IT capital, to develop apps for its mobile software. This investment, said the company, will accelerate Maps development and create up to 4,000 jobs.

“Apple is focused on making the best products and services in the world and we are thrilled to open this new office in Hyderabad which will focus on Maps development,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The talent here in the local area is incredible and we are looking forward to expanding our relationships and introducing more universities and partners to our platforms as we scale our operations.”

The new facility, located on the Waverock campus, will provide a world-class, LEED-certified home for the expanding Maps team.

“We are honored Apple chose Hyderabad as a home for its Maps development office,” said Telangana Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao. “This will create thousands of jobs here and is a testament to our proactive approach, quality infrastructure and the excellent talent base we have in the region.”

“Apple is one of the most innovative companies in the world and we are very proud they chose us to partner with for this important project,” said Anup Jindal, RMSI’s CEO. “We are experts in geospatial data and we will be hiring thousands of people from the local area to support this effort.”

Across India, Apple supports over 640,000 iOS app developer jobs and other positions related to the iOS ecosystem.

Apple’s phones, priced above a series of under Rs. 20,000 android-based smart-phones with premium features, are yet to find an acceptance with price-sensitive consumers in India. With more than half the population coming under that category – let’s not talk about the spendthrift and peer-pat-hungry middleclass millennial – opening own stores and being able to sell second hand phones are factors that can change its position in India.

It will make for an interesting story Tim Cook meeting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, until then happy mapping Apple!