'Education has always been high on our agenda

Could you throw some light on your partnership with MBD Books?



We have been working on the relationship for quite sometime. Under the

agreement, IBM India would be providing the technology platform (including

software, hardware, and service) to enable MBD Books launch the portal; in

return, MBD Books will become our partner. This means that whenever MBD Books

provides solutions to its customers, it will use IBM tools.

MBD essentially wants to leverage its assets for offering courses to

students, teachers, and corporate customers and we, in turn, will provide them

the methods to leverage those assets.

Are you also venturing into the e-learning space in India?



We provide only technological infrastructure to customers for building the

e-learning platform, and various companies can use these tools. Any organization

needs to capture knowledge and disseminate it; and for dissemination, IBM India

will help the organization set up its own portal, and customers can use it as

per their requirements. We will also provide robust technology (WebSphere

portal, DB2 content Manager, Tivoli for security and SystemX Blade Servers)

tailored to customer needs.

We also have a comprehensive plan in place to service our mid-market clients;

and along with IFC, we have built an SME Tool kit. In India, this kit is being

offered by ICICI Bank and is circulated free of cost.

For catering to our own e-learning requirements, we have our own e-learning

portal, and any IBM employee can opt for these courses from the IBM portal,

leveraging IBMs own intranet.

How vital is the education segment for IBM India?



Education has always been high on our agenda. We work as ISVs for

universitiestaking care of fee collection, putting up marks on the Internet,

etc. We have also worked with various universities in the past to improve their

curriculum and update them. Hyderabad University, Anna University, and Cochin

XIM are some universities with which we are working at present.

Which are the verticals IBM India is focusing on at present?



We are focused on financial services, industrial (including process

manufacturing, discreet manufacturing, and automotive sector), healthcare, and

retail sectors. Some sectors are clearly focused on leaps and bounds like the

telecom and government sectors; for instance, in the Bharti project, we are

taking care of their infrastructure (storage and servers) requirements.

Stuti Das



stutid@cybermedia.co.in