IBM Argentina opens three new global delivery centres and extends South American virtual IT campus

IBM today announced that it has opened three new global delivery centres in Argentina, entailing a $60 million investment over 10 years. IBM also announced the extension and opening of its virtual IT campus, the largest IT services hub in South America.

These investments are in addition to the more than $200 million that the company has announced in delivery centres over the past seven years in Spanish-speaking South America (SSA) - Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela - as a result of exponential growth reported in the services division and in the development of global delivery services.

Argentina has been selected by IBM as one of the four countries in the world to deploy its global delivery centres, as part of the company's strategy to become a globally integrated enterprise. IBM shapes its strategy, management and operations in a truly global manner, locating its operations and functions where it makes more sense, based on the right cost, the right skills, the right talent, and favorable business environment.

IBM has tripled its workforce in SSA in recent years to almost 15,000 professionals, 50 per cent of whom work in the global delivery and services organisation.
The three new global delivery centers located in Argentina serve more than 20 countries around the world. Services include server, database, network and storage monitoring and support based on global practices, processes and methodologies.

The extension of the virtual campus has contributed to the growth of IBM's Command Centre, which monitors servers across the region. Over 5,000 servers of top companies in all sectors and industries of the region are monitored from Argentina. The mainframe processing capacity of the IT Campus is equivalent to adding the capacity of all of Argentina's leading banks. Regionally integrated resources, processes and methodologies, building on IBM expertise and best practices, have placed this IT mega-center in an unparalleled position to offer uninterrupted service 24x7 all round the year, at a par with the largest centres in the US and the world.

"These projects are part of the 10-year investment plan we have for SSA," said Gustavo Méndez, IT services director for SSA. "We are a globally integrated enterprise that leverages the knowhow of its human capital and its competitive edge to optimise resources and offer value-added solutions to its customers all round the world."

Due to the steady pace of growth experienced over the past five years by the LA region and LA countries - including Spanish-speaking South American countries, IBM has included the region in a new organisation called "Growth Markets." This territory comprises 51 countries with a consistent 20 per cent growth rate, now representing 22 per cent of the company's global revenues. The company is planning to invest in these countries approximately $1.6 billion by 2010.