CA Technologies opens new Silicon Valley site

CA Technologies, the Islandia-based software giant, opened a new research and development facility in Silicon Valley Monday as part of its plan to jump-start innovation.

The facility, 40 miles southeast of San Francisco, consolidates the development operations of multiple Bay Area companies that CA has spent more than $1 billion acquiring since 2006. Gathering all that engineering talent under one roof is part of chief executive Michael Gregoire's strategy to focus on breakthrough technology.

"CA Technologies has a strong presence in Silicon Valley, but nobody really knows," said Gregoire, who joined the company this year from Dublin, Calif.-based Taleo Corp. "We're going to change that."

CA, Long Island's largest company by stock-market value, has for decades been dominant in the software market for mainframe computers, the powerhouses that process data for airlines, banks and other corporations. But as the mainframe business has ebbed, CA has struggled to grow.

Gregoire plans to reignite profits by expanding beyond mainframe software, going deeper into cloud-based systems and other cutting-edge programs.

CA's Silicon Valley facility, in Santa Clara, will be among the company's key R&D sites, along with centers in Islandia; Austin, Texas; Bangalore, India; Prague, Czech Republic; Beijing, and elsewhere. (Gregoire has said he has no plans to reduce operations on Long Island.)

CA plans to hire up to 125 engineers and other employees at the new facility, expanding its Bay Area workforce by 50 percent. To attract talent the company is renting billboards along U.S. Route 101, which runs through the high-tech region's heart.

"If you are on the hunt for great talent in the Valley, the 101 is hard to top," said CA chief marketing officer Lauren Flaherty, who joined the company in July from Juniper Networks in Sunnyvale, Calif. "The 101 billboards are a welcome mat . . . saying join us."