iGATE Corporation (NASDAQ: IGTE), an integrated Technology and Operations (iTOPS) firm, announced that their new USD 2 million Australian-based Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facility in Ballarat, Victoria officially began operations today.

The new facility will primarily focus on servicing Australian financial services and government clients, including the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA), a statutory authority of the Government of Victoria, administered within the Department of Justice. The new Ballarat facility plans to employ 40 staff in the coming years.

iGATE was awarded the RTBA contract after a rigorous competitive bidding process. The RTBA undertakes more than 400,000 bond transactions each year. Under the iGATE contract, all banking and mailing processes will remain in Australia.

iGATE’s Ballarat facility joins the company’s international network of locations in the United States, Canada, India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom to provide truly global, technology-based solutions to Fortune 1000 and government clients across a range of sectors.

iGATE offers a specialized service delivery model known as iTOPS, which combines process outsourcing with the underlying technology infrastructure to offer clients optimized solutions and cost savings.

“iGATE is seeking to bring a state of the art outsourcing model to the Australian market,” said Phaneesh Murthy, CEO, iGATE Corporation, about the iTOPS model. “We expect this will take operational efficiencies up quite dramatically while still having the safety net of a part of the operations done locally.”

“This announcement is a fantastic boost for jobs in Ballarat while continuing to deliver high quality services to landlords and tenants. The contract was awarded to iGATE based on the right to continue to use the processing system after the expiration of the contract, price, service delivery, and opportunities for future improvement throughout the life of contract - they simply provided us with the better offer,” said Minister for Consumer Affairs Tony Robinson.

“Ballarat has become an international investment hub for ICT companies, especially with the introduction of the Ballarat Technology Park, and this is creating jobs and strengthening the local economy. iGATE's entrance into regional Victoria is another Brumby Government success in the promotion and development of regional Victoria and our ability to attract global investment into the state to drive innovation and create jobs statewide. It reaffirms the value of this government's strong support to the local ICT industry to ensure a strong, sustainable and competitive future for the industry,” said Mr Theo Theophanous, Minister for Information and Communication Technology.

Sourced From: proPR