Infosys inaugurates Technology and Innovation Hub in Connecticut

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Infosys, the Bengaluru-headquartered global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, inaugurated on December 5 its new Technology and Innovation Hub in Hartford, CT, estimated at $21 million. The President of Infosys, Ravi Kumar, unveiled the hub, with the Connecticut Gov.-elect Ned Lamont, among others, in attendance.

The Hartford hub, located at 225 Asylum Street in the Goodwin Square Building, in downtown Hartford, will help Infosys work more closely with its clients in the region and will serve as the global Hub for Infosys’ InsurTech and HealthTech efforts, focused on, as their name suggests, in the areas of insurance and health industry.

Hartford is one of Infosys’ six regional hubs in the US, along with Indianapolis, Indiana; Raleigh, North Carolina; Providence, Rhode Island; Richardson, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona.

Infosys, which employs over 200,000 people globally, also announced at the Hartford unveiling that it has hired more than 7,000 American workers in the last 18 months as part of its ongoing commitment to accelerate the pace of digital innovation for American enterprises. It plans to employ 10,000 people in the US by summer of 2019.

In addition to the 1,000 new jobs Infosys will create in Hartford, there are about 700 Infosys employees already working in Connecticut, located in the offices of its clients, reported the Hartford Courant.

“We are thrilled to inaugurate our Hartford Hub, joined by our partners in government, academia, and business,” said Kumar, at the Hartford hub inauguration. “Companies throughout the region, including those in the insurance, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors, are experiencing rapid digitization. By collaborating closely with our clients and developing unique academic partnerships to foster talent, we are solving complex business challenges while transforming Hartford into a technology hub and a destination for the technology workers of the future.”

Lamont, who is credited for courting Kumar and roping in Infosys to Connecticut, was quoted by the Courant as saying, at the inauguration, “No more people leaving Connecticut because they can’t get the talent they need. We don’t have silicon, or we may not have oil, but we’ve always had the best trained, most productive workforce in the world. That is the Connecticut calling card.”

The Hartford hub will feature ‘Living Labs’, which help organizations learn through making. They bring together expertise in business and technologies such as blockchain, extended reality and cognitive capabilities with techniques like design thinking, agile and devops. The Living Labs enable rapid experimentation and exploration of innovation efforts, Infosys said, in a press release.

“The inauguration of our Hartford Technology and Innovation Hub is an important milestone in our ongoing efforts to help American enterprises revitalize their core businesses,” said Infosys COO U.B. Pravin Rao, in a statement. “This Hub, along with five other hubs around the country, will help us to seamlessly collaborate with our clients to develop agile, cross-functional digital solutions to today’s most pressing business needs.”

Connecticut Governor Malloy said in a statement: “In the months since the announcement that Infosys would put down roots in Connecticut and create over 1,000 jobs to Hartford, they have already become strong corporate partners. The truth of the matter is that Connecticut is a great place to live, work, and grow a business. We have a world-class workforce and education system. And employers have started to take notice. The capital region specifically has seen several high-profile employers establish a presence in the past year, at the same time incubators have popped up to support our burgeoning technology industry.”

Malloy added, “It’s indisputable that Connecticut has momentum, and Infosys’s new headquarters embodies the progress we have made over the past eight years.”

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, said, in a statement: “Infosys’ decision to make Hartford a major innovation center is great news for Connecticut and for the capital city, and it accelerates the work we’ve done to make Hartford a hub for innovation in our core industries. From InsurTech to advanced manufacturing to digital health, Hartford is building strong momentum, and Infosys will be a large and important part of our innovation ecosystem. Most important of all, Infosys is partnering with local educational institutions to train Connecticut students and create job opportunities for local talent.”

Infosys previously announced a partnership with Trinity College to create new educational programs that will prepare liberal arts students and its employees for the digital workplace of the future. Such partnerships form an important part of Infosys’ broader commitment to workforce development and solving the STEM skills gap in the United States.

Infosys executives and Connecticut officials signed their names to a white model steamboat on the 11th floor as visitors began exploring the hub’s labs and offices, after the inauguration, reported the Courant. There were balloons and T-shirts plastered with the theme of the grand opening, “Charting the new Hartford.” New hires wore pins with the signature Infosys mantra, “Navigating your next.”

Infosys’ commitment to education also extends to the company’s charitable foundation, Infosys Foundation USA. In Connecticut, the Foundation has provided multiple grants for classroom technology and computer science training to teachers and schools. To date, these grants have reached 3,728 students, 41 teachers, and 30 schools across the state.

Infosys Foundation USA recently partnered with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, providing a grant to create a comprehensive K-8 Spanish language computer science education pathway for Spanish English Language Learner (ELL) students in the US with pilot programs being launched in Hartford, Connecticut.

Infosys Foundation USA has also provided multiple grants for classroom technology and computer science training to teachers and schools. To date, more than 4.7 million students; 13,000 teachers and 21,000 schools across America, including over 7,300 students, 192 teachers and 159 schools in Arizona, have benefited from computer science training and classroom equipment funded by it.

To date, Infosys has opened two other technology and innovation hubs, one in Indianapolis, Indiana and another in Raleigh, North Carolina, before their venture in Hartford. Infosys has also announced a unique Design and Innovation Hub in Providence, Rhode Island.

Infosys also recently started construction on an Education Center in Indianapolis. It began work on the first 125,000 square feet of development that brings $35 million initial investment to Indiana. Sen. Todd Young took part in the groundbreaking ceremony.

The state-of-the-art training campus and residential center for its employees — and the employees of select clients — will prepare the American workforce for the technology jobs of the future, and also begin to revitalize a 70.5-acre site on the West Side of Indianapolis on the grounds of the old Indianapolis airport terminal.

Infosys also announced recently that it will open its next technology and innovation hub in Arizona and hire 1,000 American workers in the state by 2023. The Arizona Technology and Innovation Hub will have a special focus on autonomous technologies, Internet of Things (IOT), full-stack engineering, data science and cyber security.

Infosys’ new Arizona employees will include recent graduates from the state’s network of colleges, universities and community colleges, as well as local professionals who will benefit from upskilling through Infosys’ world-class training curriculum.

“The number of jobs Infosys is bringing to Arizona is fantastic news for our citizens, especially given the commitment the company makes to continual training and education in technology,” said Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.

The Arizona Technology and Innovation hub will help Infosys work even more closely with clients in the region to develop cross-functional solutions to pressing business challenges in such areas as machine learning, artificial intelligence, user experience and advanced digital technologies, including big data and cloud.