Stixis CEO Rayudu Dhananjaya announced his custom software company’s expansion into Louisiana in October with much fanfare and acclaim from local and state officials.
“We’re proud that this global company selected Louisiana over many other states as the best place to grow its technology business,” Gov. Bobby Jindal said at the time. “The digital industry in Baton Rouge continues to gain strength and momentum, thanks to companies like Stixis Technologies,” added Mayor Kip Holden.
Dhananjaya called the new Baton Rouge office a “statement of intent.” But a statement to whom? And what is the intent?
As reported in a feature from the latest issue of Business Report, his company has been creating and supporting products from its home base in India since 2009. But he says American businesses increasingly are not willing to outsource their software development.
So with the new office in the Louisiana Technology Park, Stixis is planting its flag in the United States, hoping to capture a large slice of the market that doesn’t want to deal with software developers on the other side of the world. He says he’s confident that he can build a robust, competent workforce in Baton Rouge, while appealing to those U.S. firms that want to “insource.”
“Clients want the faces [of their vendor] in front of them,” Dhananjaya says. All of the interaction with the customer, from the initial product development meeting to post-production support, will be delivered by people based in Baton Rouge. If there’s an issue, the clients know exactly who to call, and they don’t have to deal with someone on the other side of the world who they will probably never meet.
“They know each individual with whom they’re interacting,” he says. “They know their skill sets.”
He says he hopes to employ 50 people locally by the middle of next year and 230 by 2019.
Louisiana FastStart is helping with his recruiting needs. He says he is working with Baton Rouge Community College to prepare workers that could be ready by next year. He hopes to meet soon with LSU faculty and plans to reach out to the University of New Orleans and Southern University as well.
