Atlassian crosses 1,700 employee count in India

Global software company Atlassian is making in India for the world through its 1,700+-strong technology team in the country. The company, which has operated in India for the past five years, plans to hire more talent locally and increase capabilities.

The company, known for its project management tool Jira, has been enhancing its production abilities ever since its entry into the region in 2018. Scott Farquhar, co-founder and co-CEO, of Atlassian, believes that the country has immense untapped potential.

“India should be a technology powerhouse. Because the country is building things for the domestic market and also increasingly building things for the rest of the world in technology. The people here are really aspirational and want to make a difference,” says Scott in an interview with Shradha Sharma.

Atlassian, founded in Australia, entered India in April 2018 through an R&D centre in Bengaluru. Today, the company’s Bengaluru office is not just involved in research and development, but also performs support functions and builds products for the global market.

Banking on the India opportunity

When Atlassian decided to enter India, it settled on Bengaluru, the country’s technology hub. With its exceptional technical talent, leadership, and business infrastructure, Scott found the city in perfect alignment with the company’s long-term goals.

As Atlassian India’s employee strength grew, from 60 in 2018 to over 1,700 employees in 2023, so did its attractiveness as an employer of choice.

“We won a spot among the top 10 best places to work in India. It just brings me so much joy that we have created a place where people do amazing work. And it is great that we can bring these jobs to India as well,” adds Scott.

What is complementary to these efforts is the highly skilled technology talent passing out of engineering institutes every year.

Just for context, while Australia has 130,000 software developers, India has 4 million — about 30 times as many.

“Our vision is more and more products to be built here out of India for the world. In fact, for our IT customers, one of the largest development centres is in India. Our product, Statuspage, is built 100% in India,” he says.

What helps is the fact that Indians are raring to go, to make a meaningful impact to businesses and to communities as a whole. Scott explains that Indians are willing to take courageous bets and eager to try something new.

Flexibility work policies benefit Indians

When the pandemic struck in 2020, Atlassian switched to flexible working. Now, even as competitors mandate a return to office, the company has a Team Anywhere policy that allows employees the flexibility to work from home. Scott explains that its Team Anywhere policy has been especially beneficial for Atlassian employees in India.

“Half of our staff don’t live in Bengaluru anymore. They may be somewhere else in India, in rural areas, or even on the outskirts of the city. Wherever they are, they get their work done,” he says.

Offering the option to work from anywhere also means that Atlassian doesn’t have to restrict hiring skilled employees from the big cities. It is also able to offer employment to engineers living in small villages in India. “Our ability to hire people in rural areas around the country is just enormous.”

The policy has also been appreciated by women employees, who are often more greatly impacted by return-to-office mandates. Citing an example, Scott talks about a female employee who spent four hours a day commuting to work. With the Team Anywhere policy, she saves time that can then be spent with her family.

“We have doubled female participation in our workforce, since we allowed people to work from anywhere,” explains Scott.

A big believer in the India story, Scott and his team at Atlassian are ready to match pace with the country’s technological advancements.

Atlassian has over 260,000 customers globally. The larger vision, says Scott, is to have 100 million people use Atlassian products every single day. India, he adds, will play a significant role in this endeavour.