Digit: Focus on two new IT campuses in India
Digit is a new hub dedicated to Safran’s digital developments, with two centers in India. Aju Varghese, Head of IT & Digital in India and the entity’s Managing Director, gives us the details.
- Snapshots
- At a glance
How is Digit coming along six months after its inception?
Digit is a new entity of Safran’s IT & Digital department (DDSI), formed last summer as part of Safran India Private Limited to support the company’s digital developments around the globe. This entity is key to our digital transformation, as well as to modernizing our IT systems and strengthening our cybersecurity.
The principle behind Digit is that each Safran company has its own in-house team working closely with our centers in Europe and the United States. Synergies will be developed where deemed relevant. Two centers began operating last September, in Hyderabad and Mumbai. The former is dedicated to digital developments and support for business applications, whereas Mumbai targets cybersecurity, networks and cloud infrastructure services, either remote servers and data centers, or on-premises. We already have some 200 people working at these centers.
Our goal is to hire 1,000 more people over the next five years to ultimately reach a headcount of 1,300.
Safran’s very strong brand image in India remains our single greatest magnet for attracting talent.
What makes India a strategic base for this entity?
India has a strong pool of talent, as it has been developing IT offshore services for many years with leaders like TCS, Wipro, Infosys and Cognizant – not to mention top Western service providers such as Capgemini who have 180,000 employees already working in the country! India has more than five million digital professionals proficient in the very latest technologies and fluent in English, which is an asset for Safran’s international digitalization drive.
What’s more, India’s universities turn out some 6½ million graduates every year, and many of them are seizing opportunities in IT. That’s why we want to start forging close relationships between Digit and leading IT schools from 2024 onwards, notably through specialized courses to develop world-class IT and digital skills.
India – DIGIT teams
If India has such a rich IT talent pool, how is Digit going to compete?
Digit’s ability to attract new talent is vital to achieve our recruitment goals. An international high-tech group like Safran has a very strong brand image in India, which remains our single greatest magnet for attracting talent.
Safran’s reputation has been built up over nearly 65 years of operating in India. This summer, the official opening of three new facilities in Hyderabad and Bangalore, and the creation of the world’s largest LEAP engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) center for CFM put us in the spotlight, further boosting our appeal there.
We’re also working with local recruitment agencies advising us on the best way to attract these precious new talents.
The Digit IT teams are a natural extension of those at the center of excellence in France.
How are the Indian and French teams working together?
The most important thing for us is to nurture team spirit and collaboration between India and France. The Digit IT teams are a natural extension of those at the center of excellence in France. Daily meetings ensure good coordination between the French and Indian teams.
To work more effectively and ensure that everyone appreciates cultural differences, we’re also providing intercultural training.
Digit teams come to France
To continue fostering this team spirit, Safran teams at the Cyber Campus cybersecurity excellence hub in Paris welcomed their Indian counterparts to France on November 9. Alongside Frédéric Verger, Safran Head of IT & Digital, they spent a week together discussing their missions and sharing experiences.
France – DIGIT teams visit the Cyber Campus
Safran intensifies its presence in India with DIGIT and three new production sites
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