The Cupertino Courier

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Borland Software moving from Cupertino to Austin

By Cody Kraatz

Borland Software Corp. is moving its headquarters from Cupertino to Austin, Texas, to cut costs and shore up lagging profits.

"We already have a presence in Austin. It has some nice economic efficiencies, some tax incentives we can take advantage of," said Deanne Phillips, director of corporate communications for Borland.

"We believe we are a brand that can easily attract great talent in the Austin area."

The company has about 150 employees in Cupertino, including human resources, finance, marketing, sales and information technology workers. About 75 of those jobs will stay here, including the global marketing, West Coast sales and legal departments. The Austin office now has 35 employees, but within a year will grow to as many as 200, Phillips said.

Borland currently leases the fifth through eighth floors of the Towers of Cupertino building at 20450 Stevens Creek Blvd., but after the move will retain only its eighth-floor office. San Mateo-based Prometheus Real Estate Group is the leasing manager.

Borland expects to complete the move by the end of 2007. CEO Tod Nielsen, CFO Erik Prusch and Jonathan Schoonmaker, vice president for human resources, will move to Austin.

The Cupertino Chamber of Commerce lists Borland among several companies with headquarters in Cupertino, alongside Apple Inc. and Ducati North America Inc. Borland is not in the city's top 100 sales tax generators, and the move will not significantly impact the city's revenue.

The 24-year-old company focuses on managing and evolving software applications to help businesses operate more productively and efficiently.

Dave Porter, senior vice president for economic development at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, told Cox News Service this month that since 2000, 100 companies have relocated to Austin. More than one quarter of those came from California, he said.

The GACC actively markets to Silicon Valley companies, often citing the city's owner-friendly property taxes. Borland does not own the office space it uses there. Texas has no corporate or personal income tax.

The median home value in Austin is $198,000, while in Cupertino it is about $880,000, according to Money Magazine, which in 2006 named Austin the second best big city to live in. In Cupertino, 65 percent of residents have a bachelor's degree or higher. In Austin, which boasts two major universities, that number is 44 percent.

The population of Travis County, which includes Austin, is about 950,000, according to Austin demographic research. The population of Santa Clara County, which is slightly larger than Travis County, is about 1.7 million. The population of Austin is 678,500, while Cupertino has about 60,000 residents.