US based firm CA Technologies is mulling a major investment in emerging economies, with Brazil amongst those to be considered. The firm is planning a whopping $600 million investment venture in India, Brazil, Russia and China. The information technology management software and solutions firm owns an advanced India Technology Center that it set up for an investment pegged at $30 million.

The funding is to be used for the establishment of research and development centers across the BRIC economies. Its Indian advanced research and development facility is the biggest single such facility in the country and boasts a 1,600 strong workforce. This facility is expected to develop about 30 percent of the company's global products.

The $600 will wholly go into research and development in the current fiscal year, with the target being to turn the firm into one of the foremost firm’s in global cloud computing and virtualization segments. CA Technologies has instituted strategies that are geared at turning it into a leader in virtualization management and cloud computing sectors.

The investment of this mega sum in research and development in new markets such as Brazil comes as a critical step towards this venture. The sum marks a substantial investment from the US firm, but details were not readily available on how the amount will be split amongst the BRIC nations. The growth and expansion of the cloud computing sector has been a great motivator behind CA’s decision to invest such an amount in R&D, said analysts.

CA is keen on taking its rightful place in the fast burgeoning cloud computing markets in Brazil and other nations. Currently, 55 percent of CA’s revenue comes from North America and 45 per cent from the rest of the world. The firm is seeking to have more of foreign revenues, as opposed to the existing situation. For that move, CA plans to develop technologies internally that creates a platform through which other technologies from the outside can be integrated.

The firm has reportedly created a war chest of about $500 million and is on the lookout for mergers and acquisitions of technology companies that can bring in new technologies. There are about 250-300 companies, including public and private firms, across the globe on its radar.

CA Technologies is an IT management software and solutions company with expertise across all IT environments—from mainframe and physical to virtual and cloud. CA Technologies manages and secures IT environments, enabling our customers to deliver more flexible IT services.

5 Oct 2010.