BT investment gives Cardiff role in worldwide IT development programme

Cardiff is set to be home to one of the biggest software centres in Wales as part of a £4.3 million BT programme to create a global network of leading edge IT development centres.

Cardiff joins Glasgow and Belfast in a network of satellite centres that supports BT’s strategy of co-locating software development engineers in state of the art global development centres. Co-locating software engineers allows greater collaboration and enables the company to deliver better quality software, faster and cheaper than before.

Housed at BT’s International Data Centre in Cardiff Bay the centre, due for completion by the end of March 2011, will be home to around 200 software development engineers.

Incorporating the very latest multi-media communications technology, the centre will have three futuristic ‘real-time’ collaboration stations known as ‘pods’ with networked electronic whiteboards and video touch screens linking technology teams and customers from around the world to develop and deliver new IT solutions.

Andrew Board, project director for BT Innovate & Design said: “The facility will make it one of the biggest software houses in Wales. Locating our technical teams under one roof and combining this with the latest Agile working practices will radically speed up the software development process as we bring new products and services to our customers, as well as reducing costs. There is really no limit to what can be achieved in this collaborative working environment.”

Cllr Neil McEvoy, deputy leader of Cardiff Council and Executive Member Economic Development, said: "I’m delighted that BT has chosen Cardiff to be a part of this network.

“Some 4,500 people in Cardiff are employed in ICT, and this investment shows the confidence that BT has in the sector in our city. It will also attract the type of jobs that will help develop Cardiff as a modern competitive, knowledge-based economy"

The software solutions being developed in Cardiff range include network management solutions and ICT solutions for external customers.

This investment underlines BT’s commitment to bring the latest technology practices to Wales.