Dell Computers, the global computer systems giant, is setting up its Indian campus at Hyderabad.

The new facility, with built-up area of 300,000 square feet in the Hitec City at Madhapur on the outskirts of Hyderabad, will be ready by October 2005. Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy laid the foundation stone for Dell's campus on Tuesday.

Dell's operations at Hyderabad have grown at a rapid pace to a size of 2,200 employees since March 2003. The company has chosen Hyderabad for expansion of its operations, since Andhra Pradesh produces extremely competent and efficient human resources.

Dell, with $50 billion revenues and 40,000-odd employees, generates 50 per cent of its sales through Internet. John Hamlin, senior vice-president, Dell's US consumer and international services segments, expressed happiness over the proactive support of the government and lauded the chief minister's vision for the state and for the development of infrastructure.

The facility is expected to be completed by October 2005, when Dell will move its entire customer contact centre operations from its current leased premises, also in Hitec City.

The new Dell campus will include state-of-the-art offices, cafeteria, gymnasium and other modern facilities for the welfare of employees.

"Building our own campus is a clear indication of Dell's long-term commitment to India and Hyderabad," said Romi Malhotra, managing director, Dell India.

"The customer contact centers in India have transitioned into a premier operation for Dell," he added. The customer contact centre in Hyderabad opened in March 2003. The centre offers multiple services to various Dell business segments, including sales, customer care, technical support, e-mail support and shared services. More functions could be added in the future depending on business requirements.

"As Dell gains market share across the globe, there is a continuous need to increase our global service network to meet the growing needs of our customers," Malhotra said.

Dell's unique direct model is built on the principle that by selling computer systems directly to customers, Dell can best understand their needs and efficiently provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs

The direct model allows the company to build every system to order and offers customers powerful, richly-configured systems at competitive prices.

Hyderabad is the home of Dell's second customer contact centre in India. The first centre was opened in Bangalore in May 2001. In November, Dell announced a third centre scheduled to open in Chandigarh in March 2005.

Dell has also established a global product group in Bangalore that focuses on the company's enterprise products, including servers and storage solutions.

In addition, a global software development centre provides application planning, design, development and testing services with all Dell business segments, including sales and marketing, worldwide operations and corporate systems.

Dell opened a sales and marketing office in Bangalore in 1996, followed by a customer contact centre in Bangalore in May 2001.

The customer contact centre has transitioned into a premier operation for Dell. It houses a global product group focused on development and testing for Dell's enterprise product line; a global software development center staffed with Dell IT professionals to execute IT projects for Dell applications; and a sales and service operation supporting customers throughout the world.

Based on the company's Bangalore success and envisioning additional opportunities in this area, Dell opened a second customer centre in Hyderabad in March 2003.

Teams at both locations offer multiple services to various Dell business segments, including but not limited to: sales, customer care, technical support, e-mail support, and shared services.

In November Dell announced a third center scheduled to open in Chandigarh in March 2005.

The chief minister invited Dell to consider expansion into the tier-II city of Visakhapatnam and also consider establishing its hardware assembly plant in the state.

With inputs from Business Standard