IBM Global Services, the arm supporting the network integration services activity, has emerged as one of the top five players in the field with revenues in excess of Rs 63.2 crore. It chalked a two-pronged vertical thrust strategy. It was the first integrator to start the ISP partner programme and the e-business enabling partner programme. Under its ISP partner programme it announced an ISP-in-the-box infrastructure solution and was awarded 36 ISP deals. Its three big deals were Comsat Max, Zee Tele, and Dialnet. In the e-business enabler role, it helped the big corporates with building the required backbone networks.

On another front, IBM transitioned itself as the key NI partner of Cisco after the latter bought over the networking hardware division. Though the partnership between the two is gaining ground and the duo are winning good orders, it continued with its vendor-independent approach partnering with others like Cabletron, Comsat Max, and Telstra V-Comm. IBM is strengths lie in its globally available pool of resources and its wide offerings in the market. It offers WAN solutions to campus and building network solution, IBM Advanced Cabling system, network consulting, business recovery services, ISP infrastructure solutions, and network security solutions. During the fiscal, manufacturing sector accounted for 23.38 percent, telecom & ISP sector for 30.48 percent, transport/utility for 12.59 and the rest came from Government, IT, education and research. For future growth, it plans to go on with its two-pronged approach of enabling ISPs and e-businesses.