Victorian Minister opens VMware headquarters

John Lenders, Minister for Information and Communication Technology for Victoria has officially opened VMware's new Melbourne headquarters.

VMware will hire 75 people in the Victoria over the next three-and-a-half years, Lenders said.

The office will support a two-year contract with the Victorian Government among other deals.

That contract enables 14 state departments access to unlimited VMware infrastructure.

Minister Lenders (left in picture) congratulated VMware on its commitment to the ICT industry in Victoria and said the new facility in Melbourne's Southbank would bring economic benefits to Victoria.

"The Victorian Government is taking action to ensure Victoria is well positioned to attract business investment into our growing economy," Lenders said.

"VMware's decision to invest here is another vote of confidence in Victoria as a global ICT centre."

Lenders believed VMware's presence "may also attract further investment from other virtualisation, software-as-a-service and data centre providers."

VMware has a presence in Canberra, Brisbane, WA, Adelaide and headquarters in Sydney and now Melbourne. VMware moved from its former presence on Collins St, Melbourne to an office in Freshwater Place, Southbank.

VMware said the new Victorian headquarters will provide increased capacity for new employees and allow VMware to expand its footprint in the state.

Paul Harapin (right in picture), VMware's managing director and vice president for Australia and New Zealand said Victoria is an "extremely important part of our business in Australia.

"Investing in this office signals our commitment to growing the business in this region. We look forward to servicing existing contracts including the State of Victoria and winning many, many more."

VMware has over 220 employees in Australia.