The Smart Techie was renamed Siliconindia India Edition starting Feb 2012 to continue the nearly two decade track record of excellence of our US edition.
December - 2005 - issue > In Focus
Big Bulls come Calling
ST Team
Palmisano’s visit comes at a time when IBM is transforming into a globally integrated company, pooling assets and skills across national boundaries. India has the largest number of IBM employees based outside the U.S. It’s also a fast-growing market for the company: In 2004, IBM revenue in India rose 45 percent over the previous year.
Two weeks before Palmisano’s visit Cisco president and CEO John Chambers came calling. Having committed to invest $1.1billion in India, he is looking to buy tech start-ups in the country. The billion-dollar investment is the largest Cisco has ever committed outside the U.S. The company has always prided itself in identifying market transitions ahead of others, borne by Cisco’s vision for China that started almost a decade ago.
The company has done the same with India. “We saw the transition four years ago, which was our first investment of $200 million, and that was a significant investment at that time,” adds Chambers. He insists that Cisco is much more than a routers and switches company even though these comprise 65 percent of the company’s business.
As part of the new strategy, he is now eyeing telecom equipment and services, corporate voice and video-conferencing networks, and a slice of the consumer market as well.
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