HCL hires 100 in Cary since September; 'on track,' says exec

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John West

Pictured left to right are Rajiv Sodhi, senior corporate vice president, chief workforce and competitiveness officer of HCL Technologies, and N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory.

Lauren K. Ohnesorge

Staff Writer- Triangle Business Journal

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HCL in Cary has hired 100 people since Rajiv Sodhi, senior corporate vice president and chief productivity and competitiveness officer at the firm, announced in September the IT services company would be expanding.

The company announced then that it would be bringing 1,237 new employees to Cary, expanding across the lake into a second building.

On Monday, 25 HCL employees will go to work in the first floor of HCL's new building at 200 Lucent Lane.

"We are making this facility operational," he said at a ribbon cutting Thursday.

The biggest challenge? Making the structure communication-ready, he says. It's a three-month process, requiring digging and cable installations, as well as new equipment orders. And it's not yet complete. The system, as it will be working on systems integral to its clients' operations, has to have a backup – meaning dual fiber lines.

Read: How HCL plans to use Cary to gain a U.S. foothold

"In case one fails, the others will take over," he says, adding that the backup is not yet in place.

That's why, for the first few months of its occupancy, the new building will be used for training. The goal is to have systems in place to move forward with mission critical operations in January, he says.

"And we're right on track," he adds. "The training is going well. We have also relocated some of our experts, our senior people here."

One training group joined Tuesday. Another joins in December.

"This is a long-term investment," he says. "We take it very seriously."

Sodhi personally campaigned to his bosses in India for the expansion. One big part of the argument? Branding.

Lauren Ohnesorge covers information technology and entrepreneurship.