Borland Leaves Silicon Valley For Austin

"We are making this move to take advantage of an area that combines a strong talent pool with a cost-effective environment for Borland," Borland CEO Tod Nielsen said in a written statement.

Borland won't be fully vacating the Valley: CodeGear, the subsidiary formed last year to house the developer-tools group Borland initially tried to spin off, will remain in Scotts Valley, a spokesman said. The group of around 200 employees has taken over management of the products that were once Borland's flagship, including its Turbo, Delphi and JBuilder tools portfolios.

After acquiring testing tools maker Segue Software in early 2006, Borland announced plans to shed its developer-tools group and concentrate on the application life-cycle management market. Borland's current CEO, Nielsen, took control of the company in late 2005 and has struggled to return it to profitability. The company is also caught under the dark cloud of accounting problems, and is working to correct "material weaknesses" in its financial controls and stay in compliance with regulatory requirements.

Borland plans to expand its existing Austin research and development center by bring in its finance, human resources, facilities, IT and sales operations departments. Top company executives, including Nielsen and Borland's CFO and HR head, will also relocate. Borland's West Coast sales team will remain in Cupertino, along with its legal and global marketing organizations. The company expects the move to be completed by the end of the year.

The battering Borland has been through in the past few years may have contributed to its desire for a fresh start.

"In Silicon Valley, we are a small fish in a big pond," CEO Tod Nielsen told the Austin American-Statesman. "In Austin, we can be a leading software brand that can attract great talent."