IBM upbeat on Indian SMBs
7^thJuly 2008, The Financial Express

Sensing a huge business potential in the country's fast growing small and medium business segment, IT major IBM said it would launch an array of cost-effective solutions for its Indian SMB customers.

"We expect the SMB segment to grow at over 20% year-on-year. SMBs are no longer just investing in basic IT infrastructure but is looking at partners to manage their ever-complex IT needs while they grow," IBM's Global Technology Services' vice president and general manager, Nipun Mehrotra said.

The total IT spend of Indian SMBs is expected to touch $10 billion this year, of which $1.1 billion is expected to be spent on IT services alone, Mehrotra said. IBM, which is currently on a massive expansion drive to rapidly strengthen its footprint in Indian SMB market, has an SMB customer-base of above 1,700 customers here, Mehrotra said, adding, "IBM has targeted to sustain the growth rate in the present fiscal as well". The IT major had announced 'Packaged services' for Indian SMBs in July, 2006.