India to be IT backend office for all VW Group brands globally

With an aim to build its internal IT capabilities and offering Volkswagen Group brands across markets a centralised IT delivery and support location, Volkswagen has set up Volkswagen IT Services India at Hinjewadi in Pune.

The latest move will help Volkswagen further strengthen its presence in the country as India will now also serve as the IT backend for all brands – Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche, Škoda and Volkswagen – from the German automotive giant, across geographies. 

Inaugurated by Dr Martin Hofmann, Volkswagen AG Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Dr Uwe Matulovic, Head of the Management Board of Volkswagen Group IT Services GmbH, the new entity will enable the aforementioned brands to take advantage of the talent pool of IT experts. The workforce will be operating from Pune to collaborate with different IT organisations of the Volkswagen Group in Germany and work on future related projects and drive innovations. 

Commenting on the inauguration of Volkswagen IT Services India, Dr. Martin Hofmann said, “India has always been a key destination for Volkswagen in the global scheme of the company from a talent building, manufacturing, consumption and export point of view. Volkswagen has strongly focused on offering the best in class technology on wheels till now. With the newest addition, we are also offering our brands the opportunity to unlock the potential of their IT investments with the support of the IT talent pool we’ve put together in India. As the team here will eventually extend its services to cover all the brands in the Volkswagen Group portfolio, India’s significance will only be further amplified.“ 

On the occasion, Dr. Uwe Matulovic said, “Currently we are focused on building the right team which is at par with German standards of quality and effectiveness that Volkswagen is synonymous with. Since Volkswagen IT Services will form the common entity supporting diverse brands across geographies, the idea is to ensure that while we follow a standardised set of global guidelines, we also make them relevant to the multiple dynamics we will be catering to.”

Sidharth Yadav, managing director of Volkswagen IT Services India and CIO Region APAC, said: “It’s a proud moment for us in India to be able to support our group companies across the globe from here; keeping in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The new organisation will also focus on building IT mobility solution for the group and would adapt the agile way of development with Test Driven Development, Pair Programming and Code Sharing techniques.” 

At present, Volkswagen IT Services India Private Limited employs 300 personnel with expertise in areas like JAVA, Microsoft Technologies, Business Intelligence, SAP, ServiceNow, Mobility & Testing. This team of tech experts will be focused on providing end-to-end IT software development and support the rollout of IT solutions across different brands. Additionally, the team will also work on helping brands take advantage of technologies like Cloud Foundry and Social Media Analytics. Over the next few months, the company aims to increase its employee headcount by another 150 tech professionals.