Source: www.business-standard.com

Vodafone Essar has signed an IT outsourcing agreement with IBM India.

Under the five-year agreement, IBM India will assume responsibility for the management of all Vodafone Essar’s IT operations with the exception of network service platforms.

IBM India will also manage internal IT services for Vodafone Essar like data centre operations and the help desk while supporting key areas like security and change programmes.

Vodafone Essar will continue to retain full strategic control of its IT requirements. To ensure greater flexibility for Vodafone Essar, the deal has been constructed on a risk-sharing basis, under the control of service level agreements.

“This agreement further demonstrates our continued focus on scalability and cost control - key criteria for success in the Indian mobile market. In IBM we have chosen a global partner committed to the industry and with a proven track record in the region,” said Asim Ghosh, managing director, Vodafone Essar.

Vivek Gupta, director and country manager, communication sector, IBM India, said: “India is home to the fastest growing telecom market in Asia, and with that comes significant challenges including effectively managing growth and improving profitability. IBM is delighted to share its extensive telecommunications industry insight and global IT outsourcing experience to help Vodafone Essar continue to deliver quality services to its rapidly growing customer base.”

Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com

Fuelled by major client wins in the Indian market, IT giant IBM on Friday said it expected revenue from its India business to approach $1 billion by the end of 2007 compared with $700 million last year.

“IBM India’s revenue stood at $0.7 billion during 2006. The growth rate year-to-date (up to September 2007) has been 39 per cent and given the current run rate, we will approach a revenue of $1 billion by the year-end,” Mr Jesse J. Greene, Vice-President, Financial Management, IBM, told reporters here.

During 2006, the company had registered a growth rate of 37 per cent in India, he added.

IBM’s revenue grew at a compounded annual growth rate of over 49 per cent between 2002 and 2006.

“We have seen a broad-based growth overall, with SMB growth rate at 35 per cent, financial services at 34 per cent, and telecom at 58 per cent, during these years. The factors driving our growth include competitive offering, effective sales force, strong brand name and technology base, and ability to offer a broad combination of hardware, software and service offerings,” he said.

Mr Greene said that the value of outsourcing work done by IBM employees in India for global clients was larger than the revenue in India, and the growth rate too was higher. He, however, declined to comment on the absolute numbers.

The company — which employed 53,000 professionals in India in 2006 — has been clinching major client wins in the domestic market.

In May 2007, IBM signed a $45-million, five-year services agreement to modernise Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) IT infrastructure. In April 2007, Delhi International Airport Ltd selected IBM to modernise key business processes to meet burgeoning air traffic in the country.

The US-based IT major also bagged a 10-year contract to transform and manage the IT infrastructure of real estate giant DLF Ltd. The contract, which is currently pegged at $29 million, could multiply on the back of DLF’s growth plans.

In March 2007, GSM mobile services provider Idea Cellular announced a 10-year business transformation pact with IBM to integrate, innovate and transform Idea’s business processes and IT infrastructure.