IBM India

Infobox_Company
company_name = IBM India Private Limited
company_type = Subsidiary
company_
company_slogan = "On Demand Business","What makes you special?"
foundation = 1992, (re-entry, after an exit in the 1970s)
location = Bangalore, Karnataka, India
employees = 74,000 industry = Computer hardware Consulting IT Services
products = See complete products listing
key_people = Shanker Annaswamy, Country Manager & South Asia Head
Rajesh Nambiar, Vice President & GM, Global Delivery, IBM India
Dave Seybold, Vice President and Partner Global Delivery, Consulting & Application Services, IBM Global Business Services India
Arnab Saha, General Manager, Business Development, Global Delivery India
homepage = [http://www.ibm.com/in www.ibm.com/in]
footnotes =

IBM India is the Indian subsidiary of IBM. It has facilities in Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Gurgaon, Noida and Hyderabad.

Between 2003 and 2007, IBM's head count in India has grown by over 800%, from 9,000 in 2003 [http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=205230 About 1 in 5 IBM Employees Now in India] , an Associated Press article via accessnorthga.com] to 74,000 at the end of 2007.IBM's 2007 Annual Report, p.50.] Since 2006, IBM has been the multinational with the largest number of employees in India. [http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2006/gb20060606_283521.htm IBM's India Pep Rally] , a June 2006 article from "BusinessWeek"]

Growth and future initiatives

IBM, in an analyst meeting held at Bangalore on June 6, 2006 stated that IBM's India plans are for the long term & committed to invest $6 billion in the next three years in India, triple the amount invested in the three years preceding the meeting.

IBM world-wide expects its revenues to be around $120 billion by 2010, of which nearly $86 billion (68%) would come from IBM Global Services alone, with an estimate of about 200,000 employees. IBM India would account for 90,000 of these. Roughly translated, IBM's Indian employees would generate $35 billion of IBM's revenues in 2010.cite web| url=http://www.businessworldindia.com/MAY2906/index.asp| title=Big Blue's big India plans| date=2006-06-24| ]

IBM Global Services (now split to Business Services & Technical Services) was called the "jewel in the IBM crown" by the Aberdeen group in 2003. For world-wide IBM, this is the group that contributes to more than half its global revenues ($54 billion in 2005) presently and growing at a healthy rate (8% in 2005). With half of global service employees to be located in India, IBM India's importance for the global corporation can be easily fathomed.

IBM's re-organization

In 2005, Ginni Romettycite web |url=http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/outsourcing/itservices/story/0,10801,103331,00.html| title=Re-organization| date=2006-07-01|] took over the leadership at the Enterprise Business Services unit of IBM worldwide and heralded changes that would have long running implications and would lead to the explosive growth of IBM in India.

In an investor meet in 2006, she identified five areas that would transform IBM and bring 'profitable growth'. In order of importance, they are Business Transformation Outsourcing, Application Management Services, Business Solutions, Small & Medium Business & Innovation. In each one of these areas, IBM India figures prominently and employee numbers have grown multi-fold in the last two years.

IBM in India is not just a global delivery organization intending to tap into the vastly skilled & low cost manpower availability, it is also a big player in the domestic IT market. IBM India's domestic revenues grew at 60% in 2005-06 making it one of the highest growth areas in the entire IBM portfolio of geographies & businesses. IBM India is also the biggest domestic IT player in the country, replacing HCL Technologies. It's worthwhile to mention that Bharti Airtel, India's largest private telecom company has chosen IBM as its partner for outsourcing its entire network & IT backbone - a deal worth about $750 million.

History

Pre-liberalization Story

IBM was established in the late 1930s, as a wholly owned subsidiary of IBM World Trade Corporation. The business operated successfully until the mid-1970s, when India’s Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) required foreign owned companies to reduce their equity ownership to (in IBM’s case) 26%. IBM was unwilling to take that course of action and in 1978, the company ceased its operations but still continued to conduct business in India as an off-shore entity only, through a small Liaison Office.

In making the change to its new mode of operation, a number of restructuring steps were taken:- All installed equipment (equipment in India was all leased by the month - a GOI requirement) was 'sold' to the existing users for a nominal amount of less than $10- The (profitable) Service Bureaus were given to the employees who were employed in them at that time. A management structure was established, based upon several of the most senior Indian managers, who collectively became the majority shareholders in the new company, which they named IDM (International Data Management)- The equipment service business was transferred as a single total entity to the GOI, on the understanding that they would continue to offer maintenance service to all existing users. IBM undertook to provide spare parts for installed equipment for at least a further 5 years- Employees who were working in other countries at that time were offered positions in those countries, if the immigration laws allowed. Most accepted and a number went on to achieve promotions to senior positions in those countries and around the world- The employment of all other employees was terminated, with what were generally considered to be generous redundancy terms

Post-liberalization story

India was liberalized in 1991, relaxing FDI norms. IBM re-entered the Indian shores in 1992 with a Tata joint-venture, named Tata Information Systems Ltd. Its business interest in India was still focused on product sales.

In 1997, IBM Global Services was set-up. India Research Lab was set-up in the IIT Delhi campus in 1998. In 1999, IBM bought out Tata's stake in the company and IBM India became a fully owned subsidiary of IBM Corporation.

Current activities

IBM India has now grown to an extent where it poses a stiff challenge to homegrown Software companies of India in IT global delivery and manpower attraction/retention. It now operates the following business lines from India which contributes to world-wide IBM in a global delivery framework: IBM Software Labs (ISL), India Research Lab (IRL), Linux Technology Center, Global Business Solutions (GBS), Global Technology Services (GTS), Global Service Delivery Center (GSDC), Global Business Solutions Center (GBSC), Strategic Outsourcing (SO) and Business Transformation Outsourcing (BTO).

IBM India also sells its products and services for the Indian market and is the number one in Server sales and Storage Solutions ("Citation required"). IBM India also has aggressive plans to target the Small & Medium Businesses (SMBs) market.

IBM's India operation is key part of the Chairman Sam Palmisano's vision of a Globally Integrated company. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/05/technology/05ibm.html India Becoming a Crucial Cog in the Machine at I.B.M. - New York Times ] ]

Business lines

Global Business Services

This division, along with Global Technology Services (which was together called IBM Global Services earlier) has the largest employee head-count and operates in a global delivery framework. Although it's impossible to quantify the value-contribution from this unit, since IBM GBS India operates in the cost recovery mode, it is considered to contribute well in excess of $1 billion per annum.

IBM India's package implementation & maintenance practice - with its SAP, Oracle, Siebel, Peoplesoft, J D Edwards & Clarify practitioners is the biggest amongst all Indian IT companies.

This entity is organized as a consulting company, with divisions mirroring the functional expertise within, for instance Finance Management Solutions (FMS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supply Chain Management (SCM) ,Energy & Utilities and so forth.

Application consultants from the fledgling SAP practice of IBM India are one of the most mobile of its workforce - frequently globe-trotting to other IBM Geographies and benefitting from the nearly 3 decade old IBM & SAP alliance.

Linux Technology Center

IBM invests a billion dollars each year in its Linux efforts world-wide. This center in India contributes in R&D and development of Linux related IBM products.

Business Transformation Outsourcing

With the acquisition of Daksh in 2004, IBM now also boasts of a formidable BPO service portfolio. Associates and analysts work out of the Embassy Golf Links, Bangalore office in out-sourced business processes of IBM clients.The company has send out more than 800 newly recruited employees in the year 2008 and the process is still going on

Country Managers

The head of IBM India is called a country manager. These people have headed IBM India during its history in the country.
* 1966 - 1976 - Alec Taylor
* 1976 - 1978 - T Brian Finn
* 1992 - 1994 - Michael Klein
* 1994 - 1996 - John R. Whiting
* 1996 - 1998 - Ravi Marwaha, currently VP, World-wide Sales, Personal Computing
* 1998 - 2000 - Ranjit Limaye
* 2001 - 2003 - Abraham Thomas, currently in IBM Singapore
* 2003 - Present - Shanker Annaswamy, current country-head.

References

External links

* IBM India site - http://www.ibm.com/in/