IBM sees revenues rising to $1 billion this year

Mumbai: IT major IBM expects revenue from its Indian operations to touch $1 billion by the end of December.

"We expect our revenues to reach $1 billion by the end of this calendar year, up from $700 million in 2006. In the first three quarters of the current financial, the company''s revenue has grown by over 39 per cent," IBM vice president (financial management) Jesse Green said.

He attributed the surge in revenues to competitive offerings, effective sales force, strong brand name, strong technology base and the ability to offer the right combination of hardware and software.

The $1 billion would include revenues from domestic sales and sales to other global corporates operating in India as also revenues of business process-outsourcing arm IBM Daksh.

IMB saw its revenues in India grew 37 per cent last year from 2005 while the CAGR was 49 per cent between 2002 and 2006.

"The company, which caters to around 17 industry sectors, reported broad-base growth during 2002-2006 period in telecom, financial services and small and medium businesses growing at 58 per cent, 34 per cent and 35 per cent respectively," Green said.

With nearly 60 per cent of IBM India''s revenue coming from the small and medium business segment, the company is shifting its focus to the SMB market for business growth.

To complement its strategy in this regard, IBM India is expanding its presence to non-metros and smaller cities. Over time, the company plans to extend its presence to 14 non-metro cities, including Bhopal, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Kochi, Goa, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Nashik, Surat, Vizag and Bhubaneswar.