FCG Software Services (India) Pvt Ltd would set up a development centre over 20,000 sq ft area in Bangalore for the Nasdaq-listed Witness Systems.

The partnership deal is worth about $20 million, the officials of the two companies said in Bangalore, adding the centre would house 150 to 160 FCGI software professionals.

This centre would focus on leading edge technologies, with a market concentration on the telecom domain and special emphasis on VOIP, managing director of FCGI Avinash Agrawal and Witness Systems' senior vice-president of engineering Ed Murray said at a press conference in Bangalore.

Bangalore-based FCG Software Services is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nasdaq-listed First Consulting Group and provides global outsourcing services to FCG and its clients, while Witness Systems is a global provider of performance optimisation software and services.

Officials said the development centre is to be built through the partnership with FCGI, which currently has 450-plus employees; it would increase capacity and accelerate product development for Witness Systems.

FCGI would set up a dedicated team to develop and support Witness products and be involved in development of new products, quality assurance for new and existing products, automation of quality assurance across the product suite and Tier 3 support, among others, they said.