U.S. firm Blackbaud plans second Hyderabad office, eyes 1,000 headcount

U.S. software solutions provider Blackbaud intends to expand its presence in Hyderabad with a second office in the Financial District. Currently, the company employs around 700 people in HITEC City, and it anticipates that once the new office opens, the total headcount will reach 1,000 or more within the next 12-18 months. Rajiv Gajria, vice president and managing director of Blackbaud India, confirmed the expansion plans during an interview.

Blackbaud chose Hyderabad for its India center because the country offers more than just an offshore services setup. The facility will handle product development, management, planning, customer operations, professional services, and customer support. In addition to these customer-facing operations, the Hyderabad office will provide support in enterprise IT, marketing, and finance.

The company, headquartered in South Carolina and listed on NASDAQ, has raised $100 billion for the nonprofit sector since its inception 45 years ago. While the majority of its customers are in North America, Blackbaud has a strong presence in Western Europe and is expanding its operations in Australia. The firm believes that many of its U.S. customers operate in India, which makes it a prime market for its AI-driven products.

Blackbaud has embraced artificial intelligence and has become an "AI first" company, anticipating growing demand for AI products and solutions from the nonprofit sector. The company plans to expand AI capabilities across its product stack during the expansion phase. For hiring, Blackbaud is initially focusing on lateral hires but has already recruited its first batch of fresh graduates.