By Khalida Sarwari
Dell today announced plans to add nearly 200 jobs at its new Santa Clara campus, which opened today and will focus on research and development.
The company’s chairman and CEO Michael Dell said that by the end of 2012, roughly 700 people will work at the new facility doing network design, storage development, cloud computing, and software development.
Gov. Jerry Brown attended a 10:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting at the campus today.
“We continue to be a place of pioneers, of people who have left one place to come over and make something better,” Brown said. “And that’s the genius of California. So I say ‘Welcome Dell.’ You’re joining pioneers, and you’re going to help promote the pioneering spirit for the state of California.”
Following remarks by the governor and Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews, Dell cited Silicon Valley’s talent pool as one of the reasons for the company’s expansion there.
“We’re here because of … the talent, the highly skilled workforce that will enable Dell to continue to innovate, to take risks, to drive the new developments in our business,” Dell said.
The 240,000-square-foot, two-building campus includes customer solutions and briefing centers, a cafeteria, and a fitness center.
The Silicon Valley campus complements Dell’s other research and development center in Ra’anana, Israel, and development work at the company’s headquarters in Round Rock, Texas.
“Our ongoing expansion here in the United States is proof that with the right skills and talent, companies can grow and thrive even in a challenged economy,” Dell said.
The new facility will allow Dell to consolidate several local companies the company has acquired, including Zing, Ocarina, Scalent, and Everdream. Two other companies, KACE and Force10, will remain at their current Silicon Valley facilities.
