SUSE – The pioneers of enterprise Linux setups Center of Excellence in India. Plans to leverage India’s strong talent pool

19 January 2023

Amidst all the layoffs that marred the IT sector, SUSE came in as a knight in shining armour by opening its new office in Bengaluru, India. This office will serve as a Center of Excellence in Bengaluru, incorporating all functions at SUSE.

Undoubtedly, the job market has been affected, with many companies cutting jobs due to the economic downturn. And predicting when the job market will see a resurgence is difficult. In the meantime, it’s essential for job seekers to stay informed and adaptable and to continue seeking out job opportunities and developing skills that are in demand.

But there is some light at the end of the tunnel, with Global giants like SUSE planning to aggressively expand their footprint in India and hire a larger local workforce.

For the benefit of people who are unaware, SUSE is a Linux-based operating system that provides a stable and reliable platform for running servers, desktop computers, and other devices. It offers various features and tools for managing and deploying servers, including virtualization, storage, and networking support. SUSE also provides multiple software packages and tools for system administration, such as package management, system monitoring, and security. Additionally, SUSE can run on different types of hardware, including x86, ARM and IBM Power Systems. SUSE is also well-known for its enterprise-level support and services.

For the last 30 years, SUSE has been divided into three units— business-critical Linux, enterprise container management and Edge. Linux was developed around 30 years ago, and SUSE were the first to bring an enterprise solution to the market – making them the pioneers of enterprise Linux.

In the last few weeks, I had the privilege of speaking to Mr Imran Khan, CCO of SUSE, from his office in London over a zoom call. And with Mr Manu Dhir, India Head, SUSE in Bengaluru. Our conversations discussed the past, present and future of SUSE.

Here is an excerpt of our conversation:

Why India and particularly Bengaluru for the Center of Excellence?

“Suse is looking to build a centre of excellence to future-proof the business and support growth. We conducted due diligence and found that India, specifically Bangalore, was the best location to find the talent needed to support your three distinct business units. It is important to note that this decision is about more than cutting costs elsewhere but finding the right talent to help grow the business.

We are actively working on increasing our presence in the country and would like to get at least 20 percent of our total global workforce housed in the Center of Excellence in India.”

Today, the customers in India that trust SUSE with their digital transformation include: Malayala Manorama, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. and Mankind Pharma, among others.

It is great to see SUSE supporting the Digital India mission by Honourable Prime Minster Narendra Modi by hiring and nurturing talent in India for the World.

What is SUSE doing for Environmental, Social and Governance?

As a company focused on harnessing the power of open source to help our customers innovate everywhere, SUSE’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy is central to our business and sustainable growth. Through it, we seek to create shared value for our customers, partners, employees, communities and investors.

There are also four employee networks – GoGreen, Women in Technology, Pride @ SUSE, and Open Source Community Citizens.

GoGreen: To promote initiatives that help SUSE (including employees, suppliers, partners, communities and customers) act responsibly when thinking about their collective environmental impact on the Earth.

Women in Technology: To empower, equipping every woman within the network with access to learning and development opportunities (e.g., professional development and networking opportunities) so they can advance their careers in technology.

Pride @ SUSE: To work together to help members thrive and succeed while encouraging everyone to bring their authentic selves to work daily. Together, we will continually demonstrate the value of diversity at SUSE and within our communities.

Open Source Community Citizens: To unite and empower employees who are passionate about promoting open source principles.

The overall goal is to create innovative sustainable services and solutions by adapting our operations to minimize our environmental impact.

What all industries are impacted by SUSE?

There are more than a dozen industries that rely on technologies and platforms powered by SUSE:

Automotive
Telecom
Banking and Financial Services
Healthcare
Manufacturing
Retail
Technology & Software
Federal
Pharma
Energy

A report The Economist published with SUSE found that 95% of organizations leverage open innovation practices, demonstrating that open innovation is becoming ubiquitous. As a global company with a workforce in over 30 countries, SUSE’s secure and open solutions are relied upon to power the mission-critical workloads of more than 60% of the companies in the Fortune 500 – from mammograms to self-driving cars and satellites.