SAP expands in Bangalore

Software maker SAP plans to hire 500 programmers in India this year, expanding its development staff in that country to 1,500 people.

SAP spokesman Bill Wohl confirmed the German company's hiring plans on Friday, after a report about it appeared this week in a German newspaper.

The company, which employs close to 30,000 people worldwide, will hire 1,500 more people this year, with India absorbing a third of the new positions, Wohl said. SAP also plans to add 500 jobs in the US, where the company recently reported a 45 per cent jump in first quarter software sales. The new US positions will be concentrated in the area of sales and customer support.

SAP opened its research and development centre in Bangalore, India, in 1998 and said last year that it would spend $120m on expanding there. It is also adding staff at a new development lab in Shanghai, China.

The vast majority of SAP's software engineers still work out of the company's headquarters in Walldorf, Germany. SAP hasn't reduced its staff there as a result of the expansion into Asia - and doesn't plan to, Wohl said.

Wohl said the growth in India "makes good business sense" because the salaries of computer programmers are lower there, and India is an emerging market for the company, which makes application software to automate corporate accounting, human resources and manufacturing.

According to its website, SAP's Bangalore lab develops web portal software, web services technology and applications for customer service and sales.

silicon.com will be reporting from SAP's Sapphire user conference in New Orleans this week and reporting on the latest developments in India by Western software companies over coming weeks.

Alorie Gilbert writes for CNET News.com.