Summer Training Project Report

On

“Marketing Strategies of IBM Global Service”

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of commerce (Hons) programme

Submitted By:

Sarthak Tikoo

B COM (H) 5th Sem

Roll No.: 03396788813

Batch (2013-2016)

External Guide: Internal Guide:

Mr. Ms. Anshika Singh

Kamal Institute of Higher Education and Advance Technology

K-1 Extension, Mohan Garden, New Delhi – 110059

(Affiliated to GGSIPU, Delhi)

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STUDENT DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project entitled “Marketing Strategies of IBM Global Service ” under

the guidance of “Ms Anshika Singh ” submitted in the partial fulfillment of degree of Bachelor

of Commerce (hons) 5th semester from “KAMAL INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

AND ADVANCE TECHNOLOGY NAWADA , NEW DELHI”. This is my original work and

this project work has not formed the basis for the reward of any Degree to the best of my

knowledge.

SARTHAK TIKOO

03396788813

Place: New Delhi

Date:

2

CERTIFICATE BY THE GUIDE

This is to certify that project title “MARKETING STRATEGIES OF IBM GLOBAL

SERVICES” is the original work of SARTHAK TIKOO

(03396788813) student of BCOM (H) 5th semester and has been duly completed his project

under my guidance and supervision up to my satisfactory level.

This work has been done in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Commerce from Kamal Institute Of Higher Education And Advance

Technology, GGSIPU and has not been submitted anywhere in any other university for the

award of any degree.

Ms. Anshika Singh

Asst. Professor

KIHEAT

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is pleasure to acknowledge many people who knowingly and unwittingly helped me, toIt is pleasure to acknowledge many people who knowingly and unwittingly helped me, to

complete my project. First of all let me praise god for all the blessing, who carried me through allcomplete my project. First of all let me praise god for all the blessing, who carried me through all

those years. I am particularly indebted to Director those years. I am particularly indebted to Director Dr. J S GUJRAL, KAMAL INSTITUTEDr. J S GUJRAL, KAMAL INSTITUTE

OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND ADVANCE TECHNOLOGY, OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND ADVANCE TECHNOLOGY, which inculcated in mewhich inculcated in me

utmost request for human values and groomed me up in the field of software technology to takeutmost request for human values and groomed me up in the field of software technology to take

on the challenges of the competitive world. First and foremost, I would like to express myon the challenges of the competitive world. First and foremost, I would like to express my

regards to regards to MS. ANSHIKA MS. ANSHIKA for her constant encouragement and support. I would also like tofor her constant encouragement and support. I would also like to

express my immense gratitude towards all the lectures of our college for providing the invaluableexpress my immense gratitude towards all the lectures of our college for providing the invaluable

knowledge, guidance, encouragement extended during the completion of this project.knowledge, guidance, encouragement extended during the completion of this project.

I extend my sincere gratitude to all my teachers and guide who made unforgettable contribution.I extend my sincere gratitude to all my teachers and guide who made unforgettable contribution.

Due to their sincere efforts I was able to excel in the work entrusted upon me.Due to their sincere efforts I was able to excel in the work entrusted upon me.

SARTHAK TIKOO

03396788813

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Executive Summary

IBM India's revenue is up 45% from a year ago, largely contributable to a strategic approach and highly penetrative marketing strategy, and it keeps winning its share of large deals, such as a 10-year, $750 million contract it signed in 2004 with Bharti Tele-Ventures, India's No. 1 telecom company, to manage its data centers and develop new billing, sales, and data-warehousing systems. But it's not just about trading high-priced jobs for low-priced ones; Indian operations also help win U.S. business. The IBM Global service India's India presence was a factor in its ability to win a $500 million piece of $7.5 billion in IT contracts that General Motors let. It's seductive to compare the growth in Indian Global Services head count and the U.S. reduction for the economists. But think all economic experts believe India as an emerging market.

The present study has been carried out with the objectives of studying the marketing strategies currently adopted by IBM global services India private limited and to critically analyze the marketing strategy in this highly competitive Indian scenario and also its competitive product portfolio. The study has been carried out using both the primary as well as the secondary sources of information.

I don’t hesitate to conclude that maintaining high quality standards, innovative approach, highly skilled labor forces, etc. are the key factors which make this organization a huge success rate, among other competitors in the Indian market.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.No. Topics Page No.

1 Chapter – 1 INTRODUCTION 1 – 28

2 Industry Profile 1 – 6

3 Company Profile 7 – 28

4 Chapter – 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 29 – 31

5 Research Methodology 29

6 Objectives of the Study 30

7 Scope of the Study 31

8 Chapter – 3 DATA ANALYSIS & FINDINGS 32 – 41

9 Data Analysis and Interpretation 32 – 38

10 Findings of the Study 39

11 SWOT Analysis 40 – 41

12 Chapter – 4 CONCLUSION 42 – 48

13 Conclusion 42

14 Limitations of the Study 43

15 Recommendations 44 – 48

16 BIBLIOGRAPHY

17 ANNEXURE

18 Questionnaire

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Chapter: 1

Introduction

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INDUSTRY PROFILE

MARKETING STRATEGY OF SOFTWARE COMPANIES IN INDIA

SOFTWARE INDUSTRY IN INDIA-

Software is usually classified by type of use and by customization.

Types of software by usage:

System-level software: programs that manage the internal operations of the computer, such as operating system software, driver software, virus scan software and utilities.

Tools software: programs that help applications to work better, such as database management software.

Applications: programs that deliver solutions to the end-user, such as word processing software and financial accounting software.

The implantation of a technically sophisticated industry like software into a less developed host country has typically been explained by the access of transnational corporations to local resources facilitated by policy reform (often after efforts to create industry through protectionist policies have failed). For example, Dunning(1992) argues that reform effectively enables cheap labor pools and other host country resources to be matched with the financial, managerial, technical, domain and marketing skills of TNCs.

In recent years, India has made good progress in the export of information technology (IT) software and services. Many other countries now look to it as a model. At the same time, India’s concentration of low value-added services, the near-absence of technology development, and the total absence of hardware development suggest that IT exports are not fulfilling their potential, either in terms of innovative content or of possible sustainability. The Indian government has set aggressive targets for the high technology industry, including an annual export growth rate of 33 percent for the next decade, compared with 50 percent over the past five years. These goals will translate to substantial dollar increases in software and IT services exports—from $3 billion in 1998 to $50 billion in 2008.

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The growth of the industry, which happened in the mid-1980s, was preceded by a paradigmatic shift in government policy from hostility to the private sector to support for it; and maturation was also critically enabled by the modularization of the programming function through the establishment of Unix and the workstation in the 1980s. We showed how this led to a focus on custom programming services located in Bangalore. In the process, the industry acquired skills in managing projects remotely. Other weaknesses, particularly the shortage of domain skills and difficulties with coordinating cross-border projects, persisted. While policy reform has put in place several of the conditions for future growth, the shortage of domain skills arising from small domestic markets, limited university research and interactions with the commercial sector remains. Some of these skills are being acquired through cross-border interactions and alliances. This, in consequence, means that established domestic firms now compete with TNCs and startups with overseas links that have superior domain skills. As a result, while the large domestic firms’ leadership of the software industry is increasingly being shared with TNCs and startups, the acquisition of domain skills is likely to result in benefits for the industry as a whole, implying higher value-addition.

Adoption of new liberal policies in India has given birth immense opportunities to its industries. Success story of India's Software Industry is a step in the same direction. The Software Industry, which is a main component of the Information technology, has brought tremendous success for the emerging economy. India's young aged manpower is the key behind this success story. Presently there are more than 500 software firms in the country. According to statistics, country's software exports reached total revenues of Rs 46100 crores. The share of total Indian exports form 4.9 per cent in 1997 to 20.4 percent in 2002-03. It is expected that the industry will generate a total employment of around four millions peoples, which accounts for 7 per cent of India's total GDP as in the year 2008. The year 1995-96 was a boom for the industry. The performance of the industry over the years is as follows:

(IN TERMS OF US $ MILLIONS)

1995-96

1996-97

1997-98

1998-99

1999-2000

2000-01*

Domestic software Market

490 670 920 1250 1700 2450

Software Exports 734 1085 1750 2650 4000 6300

Indian Software Industry

1224 1755 2670 3900 5700 8750

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(* Source: NASSCOM)

The value proposition of the Indian software industry can be summed up as "faster, better, and cheaper." The Indian companies have taken responsibility on an end-to-end basis for new software development and for re-engineering. Indian software companies have also been very proactive in accepting, embracing, and practising state of the art methodologies and processes; in investing heavily in tools, technology, and infrastructure; in reducing time to market as well as cost; and in improving quality, productivity, and response time. In the new paradigm, the Indian software industries have brought tremendous value in the area of e-commerce. Nobody can be a significant player unless they understand and embrace the depth of distance and the "anytime, anywhere" paradigm that's brought to the table by e-commerce. Indian companies have of course embraced it in a big way and have helped corporations all over the world derive benefits from this paradigm. My own company derived about 18.8 per cent of its revenues last quarter from e-commerce.

ECONOMIC RATIONALE

 As more multinationals open development centers in India, it will become harder for the Indian companies to retain people.  Multinationals can always afford to pay better, not because of their financial muscle, but because of the nature of the relationship between the parent company and its center here.  For illustration purposes, let us consider a company in USA which does software development for itself.  Say, it costs the company $7000/- per person month in USA.  If it opens a development center in India, and spends $4000 per person month, it still saves $3000 per person month.  On the other hand, an Indian software company developing software for clients, even if it charges $4000/- per person month, it cannot spend the entire amount as it must also make a profit in this $4000 rate.  That is, given a rate in India, the multinational makes a profit even if it spends the entire rate amount on the Indian center.  On the other hand, the Indian company can spend only about 60-70% of this on the center (assuming a profit margin of 30-40%).  Clearly, if salary wars really start, Indian companies will find it hard to win against multinationals. However, this economic logic can be inverted and used by Indian companies to increase their profitability and strength by going multinational.  The idea is as follows. An Indian company starts a full fledged software development center in the USA, manned by people from USA (and India).  As a US company, this company charges US rates.  However, it ?sub-contracts? parts of its work to its parent company in India, making double profits on these parts (the US company makes a profit as well as the Indian company makes a profit). The relationship between the Indian company & its subsidiary is just reverse of the relationship a typical multinational has with its subsidiary in India.  With multinationals, they provide work to their center, while in the case of Indian companies, it is their overseas center that will provide work to

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them.  Note also this concept is different from setting up centers in other Asean countries to meet the manpower needs.  The driving force here is not shortage of manpower, but the desire for higher rates and profits.

There is another economic reason to support such a move. Currently, Indian companies charge

between $15 to $25 per person-hour of effort from their overseas clients. The rates for

comparable expertise in the US are around $50 to $70; the rates in other developed or semi-

developed countries might be lower. This means, that Indian software companies are already

operating at around one third to half the hourly cost in the west. As most Indian software

companies deploy lesser tools, and the level of technical education of many software

professionals is not always very high, the chances are that the productivity and quality of Indian

software may not be as high as in the West. All this means that it is unlikely that the rates that

Indian companies can charge will increase as much in future as they have in the past---after all if

the rate is close to the rate of an US or an European company, why would a US or European

customer come all the way to India to get its software developed, given the perceived risks and

psychological barriers that exist? On the other hand, the salaries are likely to continue rising.

This will create pressure on the profit margins, and alternative means will have to be devised to

increase profit margins. Going multinational might be just the right alternative for this.

FOCUSING FURTHER

Even if an Indian company wants to starts a company in USA, how should it face the competition there and create a market for itself?  Unless there is a reasonable chance of succeeding, no company will make this move as investments are likely to be high.  An average SW professional in USA costs about $80,000.  Hence, the cost of running a 50 person company in US is about $400,000 per year.   In addition, there is also the cost of setting up the company.

First prerequisite for this model to succeed is that the subsidiary should have a strong US or European face. In other words, it should be a bona-fide local company, with local people, and, perhaps even local shareholders. It should not be perceived as marketing or work sourcing arm of an Indian company---in this situation, it is unlikely that any client will pay the prevailing local rates. In addition, it will be most useful if the Indian connection of this US Company can be exploited to create a niche in the US software services market.  One possibility is to exploit the

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time zone difference and the internet and multimedia technology to offer Rapid Application Development (RAD) services in well-defined business areas.  In the current times, there are many business sectors, in which time to market is one of the most important parameters.  For these business segments, a rapid development service offering for their support software can create a niche for itself.  An example of this is financial services where frequently the window of opportunity is small and so the software to support the services for this window has to be developed rapidly. However, just having development teams in two time zones is not going to be sufficient to provide a true RAD.  Suitable development process models will have to be developed, and technology will have to be fully exploited for this.  For example, incremental development models, or the evolutionary object-oriented models might have to be used to reduce dependencies between work elements, libraries of reusable components for the market segment will have to be built before hand to reduce the cycle time, proper distributed work-flow management tools will have to  be built on the internet, and multimedia workstations might have to be  used to pass work products and instructions from one developer to another.  In other words, a lot of work will have to be done to precisely define and make possible the service offering.  However, it is technically feasible (which was not the case a few years ago).  Year 2000 is another such service where a niche can be created. There are various estimates of the total volume of business that will come due to the year 2000 problem varying from $50 billion to over $200 billion. One thing is clear that the year 2000 problem offers an enormous business opportunity, which companies world over are trying to encash. A company in the west that just offers a solution to the year 2000 problem might be able to create the niche needed to focus and succeed in the market.

 

RISKS

Most of the risks in this strategy revolve around opening a center in the West, where costs are very high, and market fiercely competitive. One risk is whether there is a demand for the proposed service.  A market survey can be used to get actual estimates of the market size and estimate the value of the proposed service.  Another risk will be in marketing this service and showing that it is different and more effective than those offered by the competitors in the west. This is where the companies will have to apply their business and marketing expertise to make such a venture successful.

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COMPANY PROFILE

IBM’S MARKETING STRATEGY IN INDIA

IBM India Limited, a subsidiary of International Business Machines Corporation Inc. (IBM), was set up in September 1999. IBM entered the Indian market with a joint venture with the Tata Group in 1992. IBM is the only company in the world that offers end-to-end solutions to customers from hardware to software, services and consulting. Since its inception in India, IBM has expanded its operations considerably and currently operates through a network of 14 offices, with regional headquarters at Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The Company has interests in sales and marketing of servers, PCs and software products and services. IBM’s businesses in India include the IBM Software Group, IBM Global Services, IBM Consulting Services, IBM Global Financing, IBM Solution Partnership Centre (one among 10 worldwide), Linux Solution Centre (one among 7 worldwide), Software Development Centres, Global E-Business Centre and a manufacturing facility at Pondicherry. IBM recorded total revenue of US$ 606 million in FY 04 and is profitable in India. It has a workforce of 23,300 including those at its BPO centre, and 34 per cent of the total revenues come from exports. According to internal sources, IBM has invested approximately US$ 10 million in India so far, mostly in year 2000 for labs, and this does not include the Daksh investment.

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MARKET SHARE

IBM India recorded 31.3 per cent market share in the notebooks segment (revenues) to gain the leadership position in FY 04. IBM is a market leader in the servers segment with a 32 per cent market share. In the lower-end server segment, IBM emerged the leader with a market share of 38.2 per cent.

ACHIEVEMENTS IN INDIA

IBM India was chosen as one of the Top 3 Employers in Indian IT’s Best Employers Survey conducted by Dataquest - IDC India. The same survey ranked IBM subsidiary, DaksheServices as the Best Employer in the BPO Sector. IBM was also ranked second in a list of Dream Companies, that respondents aspired to work in. IBM also appeared in the top 3 preferred IT employers in the country in 2003-04, in an IT employer brand perception study by Brand-com. IBM Global Services India was awarded the prestigious Gold certification by Cisco Systems, for the relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction, training, support and specialization requirements set by Cisco. In April 2004, IBM was awarded the Golden Rhino Award in the Server and laptop category. The Golden Rhino Award is the channel’s seal of approval for the Most Reliable Product in the market. IBM stands No.1 in the Portables (Notebook) category in the Customer Satisfaction Audit 2004. The survey was conducted by Dataquest and IDC India among 4000 Enterprise CIOs. IBM ThinkPad has been chosen Laptop of the Year 4 times over the last 5 years. PC Quest Users Choice Award was picked up by IBM for its High End Servers. IBM has also been adjudged Implementation Partner of the Year.

FACTORS FOR SUCCESS WIDE RANGE OF OFFERINGS

IBM has set the agenda for the industry with ‘on demand business’ – a kind of transformation where an organisation changes the way it operates and reduces costs; serving customers better, reducing risks and improving speed and agility in the marketplace. IBM is already working with customers to transform them into ‘on demand’ businesses. IBM is the only company in the world

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that offers end-to-end solutions to the customers from hardware to software, services and consulting. Linux support further enhances IBM’s e-business infrastructure enabler capability.

IBM Global Services is the world’s largest information technology services and consulting provider, generating record revenues and signings in 2003 of US$ 42.6 billion and US$ 55.5 billion, respectively. Some 180,000 professionals in more than 160 countries, including India, help clients integrate information technology with business value - from the business transformation and industry expertise of IBM Business Consulting Services to hosting, infrastructure, technology design and training services. Leveraging IBM’s unequalled scope and scale, IBM Global Services delivers integrated, flexible and resilient processes - across companies and through business partners – that enable clients to benefit from the ‘on demand’ business model by saving money and making their businesses more competitive. IBM’s offerings of hardware and expertise in planning, deploying and maintaining infrastructure of any scale, enable the company to gain a lead in the domestic outsourcing market. With a manufacturing facility at Pondicherry for commercial desktops, low and midrange

servers, IBM is in a position to offer customized products to local customers.

THREE STAGE STRATEGY:-

IBM has adopted a three-step methodology that can be summarized as follows and performed in the order suggested here:

CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION: We introduce advanced value and loyalty metrics and enhance existing customer profiling in order to capture the value, loyalty, and response behavior of customers instead of focusing exclusively on transactions and, for example, mileage-based segmentations in the airline study.

CUSTOMER DYNAMICS: We identify customers' different lifecycle phases and dynamics using dynamic programming techniques (MDPs). We estimate customer lifetime value and risk (volatility) over variable time horizons by combining MDP models and Monte Carlo simulations in order to estimate the value–risk profile of customers.

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PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION: We optimize the planning of campaign sequences for each customer profile in order to avoid saturation and cannibalization, in an effort to maximize the value of customers over a given planning horizon. We optimize marketing budget allocation in order to balance the value–risk tradeoff of the overall portfolio of customers using portfolio diversification techniques. The term saturation refers to situations in which marketing campaign effectiveness has decreased significantly because a customer has been subjected to an overwhelming number of campaign appeals. The term cannibalization refers to situations in which marketing campaigns directed toward a customer compete for the customer's interest, resulting in a waste of marketing resources.

MARKETING STRATEGY

Efficient implementation of channel strategy is one of the key factors driving IBM’s success. IBM’s sales grew considerably as a result of the channel infrastructure, programmes and opportunities provided by the Company to its partner organisations.

REDUCED PRICE FOR THE INDIAN MARKET

Realising that India was a highly untapped and fast growing market, IBM set up operations in all the sectors of its business in the country. IBM reduced its

Notebook prices, bringing them closer to the desktop models to increase its market share since the laptop to desktop ratio in India is 1:3 against 1:2 in developed countries.

STRONG PARENTAL SUPPORT

IBM Corporation provides continuous support to IBM India in terms of global human resources and technology. IBM regularly exchanges its talent pool across countries, and recently shuffled the top management across countries.

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INCREASING THE MARKET POTENTIAL

IBM has initiated plans to increase the market potential by increasing the awareness on IT among the masses. IBM has entered the academic sector by providing IT education, thereby expanding the user market. The company has pioneered partner relationships with a number of educational institutions including the IITs at Delhi, Kanpur and Chennai and a number of renowned IT schools in the country.

Leveraging the India Advantage India as a global sourcing base for BPO operations

IBM expanded the scale of its BPO operations in India with the acquisition of Daksh, the third largest BPO outfit in India with over 6,000 employees. This enabled IBM to have an international presence in BPO operations with big-ticket customers and scale up its telecom, insurance and Internet customers.

INDIA AS AN R&D HUB

India Research Laboratory, Delhi: (one among 8 facilities worldwide): IBM’s India Research Laboratory (IRL) focuses on areas critical to expanding the country’s technology infrastructure. It also has significant initiatives in Services and Sciences, Information Management, User Interaction Technologies, e- Commerce, Life Sciences, Distributed Computing and Software Engineering. Currently, IRL researchers are working on several projects covering bioinformatics, text mining, speech recognition for Indian languages, natural language processing, grid computing, and autonomic computing, among others.

India Software Labs at Bangalore and Pune: The Software Labs in India develop, enhance and support key IBM software products & technologies in collaboration with other IBM labs worldwide.

Center for Advanced Studies (CAS) at Bangalore was established at the India Software Labs to allow universities, access to IBM’s leading-edge productdevelopment and the supporting infrastructure; while giving IBM the opportunity to work with academic leaders and researchers on research projects.

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IBM Innovation Center for Business Partners: (one among 10 facilities worldwide) Independent Software Vendors are encouraged to port their solutions on IBM platforms at this Center and develop Web based applications for Indian customers.

Linux Solution Center, Bangalore: (one among 7 facilities worldwide) The Center supports Business Partners and Independent Service vendors across the

ASIAN/South Asia region.

IBM Linux Competency Center, Bangalore: (one among only 4 facilities in Asia) This Center develops standards and embedded software for open source,

undertaking high-end research in the area for IBM Worldwide.

Global e-business Software Center, Gurgaon: This state-of-the-art center combines IBM’s global experience and technology expertise to deliver e-business solutions for Indian organisations and the government through the e-Governance Centre.

Engineering & Technology Services Center, Bangalore: This Center provides technology design services for advanced chips, cards and systems to companies in India and across Asia. India as a software development hub IBM also has Global delivery centres in Bangalore, Pune, Gurgaon and Kolkata. They deliver “best-of breed’ technology solutions to IBM customers worldwide covering middleware, e-business technologies, enterprise and Web technologies, data warehousing across functional areas like Supply Chain Operation Services, Financial Management Services, Human Resource Services, Customer Relationship Management, e-Business Integration and Application Management Services.

Just a few years ago, IBM (IBM) looked stodgy compared with agile Indian tech players such as Infosys, Wipro, and Tata Consultancy Services. But today, Big Blue has become the leader in the Indian tech services industry, with 10% of the domestic market. Its Indian workforce has more than doubled in two years, to 53,000—about 15% of its worldwide total—and Bangalore and New Delhi are now home to IBM's largest research and development labs outside of the U.S. Since inking a $750 million, 10-year agreement with leading cellular carrier Bharti Airtel Ltd. in 2004, IBM has been racking up deals in India faster than any of its local competitors. In the first half of 2007 alone, it signed some $1.4 billion in long-term contracts. Says Bharti's innovation

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director, Jay Menon, a former IBMer who now sits on Big Blue's advisory board: "India is the jewel in IBM's global crown." Indeed, the company is so well entrenched in the subcontinent that in 2006, Chief Executive Samuel J. Palmisano was voted "IT leader of the year" by Nasscom, India's software industry association. And local heavyweights view IBM as a formidable competitor, as it has signed up a roster of blue-chip clients such as real estate developer DLF, state-run Canara Bank, and the Indian tax department. "IBM has really understood what India is all about," says Nasscom President KiranKarnik.

At the same time, the company has worked hard to integrate India into its worldwide operations. That has allowed IBM to eliminate 20,000 jobs in high-cost markets such as the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The success of this strategy was confirmed this summer when IBM reported second-quarter revenues were up 9%, to $23.8 billion—powered in part by a 10% increase at its IT services group, which suffered mightily at the hands of its Indian rivals in the early part of this decade. IBM hasn't been shy about plowing big bucks into India. Instead of creating a tech services operation from scratch there, which could have taken years, itsnapped up call-center operator Daksh for $150 million in 2004; the outfit now handles back-office operations for the likes of Sprint and Dun & Bradstreet. Since then, IBM has spent another $2 billion in India building new facilities and hiring thousands.

Research is also a big part of the equation. IBM has set up R&D centers staffed by 3,000 engineers in India, which have become a source of innovation on everything from software to semiconductors to supercomputers. One team, for instance, developed a Web-based program that analyzes a person's accent, grammar, and vocabulary, which is used to evaluate applicants for jobs at IBM's call center operations, and the company says it could be deployed more widely to test language fluency. IBM's rapid expansion in India has turned up the heat in the competition for skilled workers. Big Blue added some 10,000 employees to its India payroll last year—compared with 25,000 for all of the Indian players combined. In Pune, a rapidly developing IT center near Mumbai, the company has been dispatching vans with signs saying "IBM is hiring" to the gates of rivals at lunch time. "Their hit rate is pretty good," laments a manager at a tech firm that has lost employees to IBM. The company's success is spurring Indian rivals to look for more opportunities in their own backyard after years of focusing on customers overseas. Infosys, for instance, says it will now start bidding for Indian deals, something it hasn't done in the past. "IBM has created a market. Now they will find they will have to share," says Gaurav Gupta, who heads the India business at Everest Group, a tech advisory firm in Bangalore. The folks at IBM are unfazed. "Competition is welcome," says Shanker Annaswamy, IBM's India chief.

IBM India has recently announced the launch of the SME operations in Jamshedpur, as part of its expansion plans to enter 14 new cities in the country. This would enable IBM to cater to specific requirements to enable customized services to SMB clients spread across Jamshedpur and neighboring markets. IBM envisions setting new standards of excellence through these newly opened centres. As a part of it strategy to aggressively tap the SMB market in India, IBM is slated to expand operations in six additional cities including Nasik, Surat, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur,

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Madurai and Ludhiana in India. IBM had earlier announced the launch of similar centers in Vizag, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Coimbatore, Goa, Bhopal and Lucknow. “Jamshedpur, already a strong hub for iron and steel, manufacturing, cement and other small and medium scale industries is emerging as an important centre for IT services. Our centre here will, in addition to demonstrating our commitment to our SMB clients and more importantly help them compete more innovatively and effectively in a competitive marketplace to enhance return-on-investment and fuel growth” said VivekMalhotra, VP – GSMB, IBM India/ South Asia. With over 3000 SMB customers in India, IBM’s operations in Jamshedpur will target various clients in Iron & Steel, Mining, Metals, Government, Education, Auto Ancillary, Power generation. Currently, IBM has been delivering solutions to Tata Steel, Government of Jharkhand etc.

IBM has invested in the development of products and services specifically priced and designed for the SMB marketplace under the brand name ‘IBM Express Portfolio’. IBM's Express portfolio is comprised of hardware, software, services, solutions and financing and is designed to meet specific criteria for SMBs. As the fastest growing sector for IBM India, the Global Small & Medium Business (GSMB) unit is ready to address this growth and offer SMBs the solutions and technologies that are critical to their growth in a challenging market. Mid-market companies have distinct needs that are often ignored by most service providers. IBM’s Technologies and Solutions for Indian Small and Mid-market businesses provide a competitive edge in this era of globalisation. These offerings are delivered through sales and marketing team of 6,000 people and a network of 90,000 Business Partners, organized in 243 local sales territories around the world.

FUTURE PLANS

With good success in the country, IBM plans to make the Indian subsidiary a hub for global operations and for its Linux initiatives in the South East Asian region.

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Chapter-2

Research Methodology

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METHODOLOGY OF STUDY:

The project is a systematic presentation consisting of the enunciated problem, formulated

hypothesis, collected facts of data, analyzed facts and proposed conclusions in form of

recommendations.

The data has been collected from both the sources primary and secondary sources.

DATA COLLECTION:

Primary Data:

Primary data was collected through survey method by distributing questionnaires to employees.

The questionnaires were carefully designed by taking into account the parameters of my study.

Secondary Data:

Data was collected from web sites, going through the records of the organisation, etc. It is the

data which has been collected by individual or someone else for the purpose of other than those

of our particular research study. Or in other words we can say that secondary data is the data

used previously for the analysis and the results are undertaken for the next process.

KIND OF RESEARCH

The research done by

Sample Design:

A complete interaction and enumeration of all the employees was not possible so a sample was

chosen that consisted of 25 employees. The research was taken by necessary steps to avoid any

biased while collecting the data.

Tools of Analysis:

The data collected from both the sources is analyzed and interpreted in the systematic manner

with the help of statistical tool like percentages.

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RESEARCH DESIGN:

A research design is the arrangement of the condition for collection and analysis of data

in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.

A research design is the specification of methods and procedure for acquiring the information

needed to structure or to solve problems. It is the overall operation pattern or framework of the

project that stipulates what information is to be collected from which source and be what

procedures.

1 What is study about?

2 What is study being made?

3 Where will the study be carried out?

4 What type of data is required?

5 Where can the required data be found?

6 What will be the sample design?

7 Technique of data collection.

8 How will data be analyzed?

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Objective of the Study:

The objectives of the research are:

Primary Objective: To study the marketing strategies currently adopted by IBM global services India private limited.

Secondary Objective: To critically analyze the marketing strategy in this highly competitive Indian scenario and also its competitive product portfolio.

Scope of the study

Scope of the study is very wide. We are witnessing globalization and collaboration on an unprecedented scale. The world

has truly become flat. Geography is now history.But globalization presents as many threats as opportunities. In order to thrive and grow in this era, you must have the edge of differentiation in your

product or service or even your business model. Maintaining high quality standards, innovative approach, highly skilled labor forces, etc.

are the key factors which make this organization a huge success rate, among other competitors in the Indian market.

24

CHAPTER-3

Data Analysis

And Interpretation

25

PRIMARY DATA: Primary data was selected from the sample by a self administrated questionnaire in presence of the interviewer.

SAMPLE SIZE:

The survey is conducted among 50 respondents

Sample Area: NCR Delhi

Sample unit: Employees of IBM Global services in addition to the officials of other companies like HP, HCL, Satyam etc. in regard to the current research study

SECONDARY DATA: Secondary data has been used which is collected through

Articles, Reports, Journals, Magazines, Newspapers and Internet

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

Random sampling technique has been employed to extract the fruitful results. This includes the overall design, the sampling procedure, the data collection methods, the field methods and the analysis procedures.

26

1. SINCE HOW LONG YOU ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IT INDUSTRY IN INDIA?

0-5 Years 6-10 Years More than 10 Years

27

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

0-5 years

6-10 years

more than 10 years

0-5 years 30%

6-10 years 45%

more than 10 years 20%

2. ACCORDING TO YOU WHICH IS THE MOST CONSUMER ORIENTED BRAND?

HCL COMPAQ IBM WIPRO OTHERS

28

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

HCL

COMPAQ

IBMWIPRO

OTHERS

HCL 20%

COMPAQ 25%

IBM 30%

WIPRO 20%

OTHERS 5%

3. WHAT IS THE MARKET POTENTIAL OF IBM GLOBAL INDIA?

Excellent High Medium Low Can’t Say

29

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

excellent

high

medium

low

cant say

excellent 20%

high 25%

medium 30%

low 10%

cant say 15%

4. HOW WOULD YOU RATE CONSUMER’S PREFERENCE FOR IBM GLOBAL INDIA?

Excellent High Medium Low Can’t Say

30

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

excellent

high

medium

low

cant say

excellent 20%

high 30%

medium 20%

low 10%

cant say 20%

5. WHAT IS EFFECT OF PRODUCT AND POSTER DISPLAY?

Excellent Very Good Good Average Poor None

31

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

excellent

high

medium

low

cant say

excellent 25%

high 30%

medium 25%

low 15%

cant say 5%

6. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE EFFECT OF CATALOGUE?

Very Good Good Average Poor None

32

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

excellent

high

medium

low

cant say

excellent 20%

high 25%

medium 30%

low 10%

cant say 15%

7. PLEASE RANK PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES ON THE SCALE OF EFFECTIVENESS (RANK 1-6)

Canopy Ads in Newspapers Direct Marketing Insertions EPP Can’t Say

33

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

canopy

Ads in newspaper

direct marketing

insertions

ERP

cant say

canopy 25%

Ads in new spaper 20%

direct marketing 15%

insertions 10%

ERP 20%

cant say 10%

8. HOW WOULD YOU RANK THE IN-SHOP PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES OF CHANNEL PARTNER?

Excellent Very Good Good Average Poor None

34

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

excellent

high

medium

low

cant say

excellent 30%

high 25%

medium 30%

low 10%

cant say 5%

9. GIVEN THE PRESENT SOFTWARE INDUSTRY IN INDIA, CAN WE BEGIN WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT IBM INDIA IS A MAJOR SOFTWARE COMPANY OPERATING IN THE MARKET?

68 percent ------------------------- Yes 27 percent -----------------------------No 05 percent ---------------------------- Do not know/ Can not say

IBM Global can begin with a happy note that 68 per cent of the respondents feel that IBM India is a major software company in India, despite the mushrooming of the software industry and the continuous acquisition and merger. A mere 27 per cent feel that IBM India is not a major software industry in India and 05 per cent have no opinion on this question.

35

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

yesnocant say

yes 68%

no 27%

cant say 5%

10. HOW DO YOU SEE THE PROSPECT OF GLOBAL/FOREIGN SOFTWARE COMPANIES IN INDIA?

24 percent ----------------------------- Have a very good prospect 55 percent ------------------------------ Have to face a competitive market 12 percent -------------------------------- Have a dim prospect 09 percent ------------------------------------Do not know /Can not sayThe above question is significant in the context that IBM India is an expansion of IBM Global. They have a very good reason to smile in view of the fact that 55 per cent of the respondents are of the opinion that the presence of foreign software companies only increases the competitiveness of the Indian industry but they themselves also have to face the competitive environment. 24 per cent are of the opinion that they have a very good prospect in India against 12 per cent respondents who do not feel so. Only 09 per cent respondents have no opinion on this issue.

36

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

good prospect

competitive market

dim prospect

cant say

good prospect 24%

competitivemarket

55%

dim prospect 12%

cant say 9%

11. HOW DOES THE FOREIGN SOFTWARE COMPANIES AFFECT THE PROSPECTS OF THE DOMESTIC PLAYERS IN THE INDIAN MARKET?

32 percent ----------------------- have reduced the profit margin of the domestic players 53 percent ------------------------ have made the software industry more competitive. 07 percent ----------------------- do not have significant effects on the domestic players

operating in the software industry 08 percent ------------------------ do not know / can not say

37

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

reduced the profitmargin of domesticplayers

industry has beomemore competitive

no signifiant effect

don’t knowreduced theprofit margin ofdomestic players

32%

industry hasbeome morecompetitive

53%

no signifianteffect

7%

don’t know 8%

12. WHAT IS THE MARKET SIZE OF THE IBM INDIA IN THE SOFTWARE MARKET IN INDIA?

74 percent -------------------------------Has a larger market size. 16 percent ------------------------------ Has a moderate market size. 07 percent --------------------------------Has a marginal market size 03 percent -------------------------------- Do not know /Can not say

38

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

larger market sizemoderate market sizemarginal market sizedon’t know

larger marketsize

74%

moderatemarket size

16%

marginalmarket size

7%

don’t know 3%

13. WHO ARE THE MAJOR CONSUMERS OF IBM INDIA’S PRODUCTS AND SERVICES?

23 percent -------------------- domestic market 27 percent ---------------------foreign market 44 per cent -------------------- both domestic and foreign market 06 percent --------------------- Do not know /Can not sayFro the above response it is very clear that being a local operational body of a foreign company, the customer base of the IBM India is not concentrated only in the domestic market but in the foreign market as well.

39

0%5%

10%

15%20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

domestic market

foreign market

both domesti andforeign market

cant say

domestic market 23%

foreign market 27%

both domesti andforeign market

44%

cant say 6%

14. IBM GLOBAL HAS RECENTLY ACQUIRED DAKSH BPO. IN THIS CONTEXT, DO YOU THINK THAT ACQUISITION AND MERGER IS A SUCCESSFUL MARKETING STRATEGY FOR IBM INDIA?

Yes ----------------------------------------------- 48 per cent No ------------------------------------------------ 26 per cent Do not know/ Can not say ------------------ 26 per cent

Being a competitive company, 48 per cent respondents are of the opinion that acquisition and merger can be an effective marketing tool for IBM India. 26 per cent do not support this idea and 26 per cent have no comments to offer on this issue.

40

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

yes

no

cant say

yes 48%

no 26%

cant say 26%

15. WHAT MEASURES THE COMPANY IS TAKING, PARTICULARLY IN THE FIELD OF MARKETING TO MAKE ITS PRODUCTS ATTRACTIVE AND COMPETITIVE IN THE MARKET?

(i) Innovative Distribution channels(ii) Professionalism within the organization(iii) Increase in market share through acquisition and merger.(iv) Other innovative marketing practices, inconsideration of the strategies adopted by the

rival companies and their results with regard to.Innovative distribution channels ranks first as regards to the effective marketing strategy of IBM in India followed by market expansion and professionalism.

41

16. IBM INDIA IS A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTATION VENTURE OF THE IBM GLOBAL. DO YOU AGREE?

Yes ---------------------------------------------------- 78 per cent No ------------------------------------------------------ 13 per cent Do not know/ Can not say ------------------------- 09 per centThe above response gives a very positive rank to the IBM Indian operation, in view of the analysis that 78 per cent of the respondents believe that IBM India is a successful business expansion strategy of IBM Global. Only 13 percent do not feel so and 09 per cent of the respondents have no considered opinion on this issue.

42

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

yesno

cant say

yes 78%

no 13%

cant say 9%

17. WHAT ARE THE REASONS THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUCCESSFUL INDIAN OPERATION OF IBM GLOBAL IN INDIA?

R&D facility-------------------------------------------------- 18 per cent Market Liberalization--------------------------------------- 14 per cent Skilled human resource ------------------------------------ 45 per cent Logistic and other support of the Parental Branch--- 16 per cent Other factors -------------------------------------------------- 7 per centThe above response is the reason why the skilled human resource in India are so valued at the global level. 45 per cent of the respondents are of the opinion that it is the highly skilled manpower are more responsible for the effective success of IBM India. This is followed by R&D facility in India, support of IBM Global, market liberalization and other factors.

43

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%

R & D facility

market liberalization

skilled humanresourceslogistic support

other factors

R & D facility 18%

marketliberalization

14%

skilled humanresources

45%

logistic support 16%

other factors 7%

18. DO YOU THINK THAT THE EXPANSION OF IBM INDIA TO OTHER BUSINESS SEGMENTS LIKE THE RETAIL SECTOR WILL HELP TO ENHANCE ITS MARKET POTENTIAL?

Yes ---------------------------------------------------------- 54 per cent No --------------------------------------------------------------- 28 per cent Do not know/ Can not say ------------------------------ 18 per centThe above response suggests that there is scope for market expansion of IBM India by entering into other fields such as the retail sector. It can be considered as a recommendation for the company for formulation of future expansion guidelines.

44

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

yes

no

cant say

yes 54%

no 28%

cant say 18%

19. IBM INDIA HAS A FUTURE GROWTH. YOUR OPINION

75 percent -------------------- IBM India is gradually spreding its wings and being a very big company has the capacity to absorb short term losses, hence has a very good prospect for the future market in India.

20 percent ---------------------- Its future is like any other private software companies in India 5 percent -------------------- do not know/ can not say

45

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

yes it is expanding

no its is like any othercompany

cant say

yes it isexpanding

75%

no its is likeany othercompany

20%

cant say 5%

20. MAJOR WEAKNESS OF IBM INDIA’S MARKETING STRATEGY.

Branding ------------------------------------ 07 per cent Publicity ----------------------------------------- 09 percent Infrastructure assessment and Development --- 26 percent Lack of effective distribution channels— 51 per cent Do not know / Can not say ----------------- 07 per cent

46

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

branding

publicity

infrastructureassessmentlack of distributionchannelscant say

branding 7%

publicity 9%

infrastructureassessment

26%

lack ofdistributionchannels

51%

cant say 7%

21. IF YOU CAN RECALL IBM WAS ASKED TO WITHDRAW FRO INDIA IN 1977. WHY?

During 1977, IBM was asked to withdraw from India due to its unwillingness to comply with the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) of 1973. However, with the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and India, the easing of trade restrictions by the Government

of India against foreign firms, the declining value of the U.S. dollar, the slump in the U.S. computer market, the rapid growth in the Indian computer market, and changes in other

environmental factors, IBM again began actively seeking and securing new business. By the mid-1980s, IBM had secured a number of large contracts and was on the verge of re-entry into

the burgeoning Indian computer market.

47

Findings of the study

IBM has come a long way since the eighties when the company first centralised its database and direct marketing was still a very new concept.

IBM's integrated marketing manager, explains that direct marketing is now an important component of the company's marketing strategy.

'In the last 12 years direct marketing has gradually increased in scope and importance as one of the major tools IBM uses in the marketing mix

IBM has its own database marketing department internally. Despite a central database facility, each country maintains its own individual database

due to the sensitive issue of data privacy. Kettle explains that the company wants to 'lead from the front' in this area, and imposes a stringent policy on how data is held.

The database is segmented according to the aims of each individual campaign. 'At a certain level the database is meant to be a reasonably complete source of

information, but obviously where it stops is where we begin to rely heavily on Blau Tequila's expertise to recommend list purchases when we're going into that smaller end of the marketplace

48

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths

1. Valuable intellectual property, software, patents, ideas.2. Talented workforce.3. Research and development ($5.7 billion).4. A multinational organization.

Weakeness

1. 2,60,000 expensive employees.2. High operating cost.

Opportunities

1. Collaborative innovation.2. Open source.3. Expensive products of competitors.4. Accepting standards brings economic expansion.

Threats

1. Low cost generic competition (commoditization).2. Outsourcing.3. New competitors in service market. Example: Dell, Accenture

49

CHAPTER-4CONCLUSIONS

50

CONCLUSION

We have found that the marketing strategies followed by them are really helping them to increase their market potential and growth in this highly competitive marketplace. Since the financial reforms of 1991, there have been significant favourable changes in India’s service sector which was earlier lying as dormant. This thesis has assessed the impact of the reforms by examining in the context of a few objectives as stated earlier. Like custom software, other software services also face limits to off-shoring. Some limits are physical, such as the need for proximity to provide hardware installation and support services. Other limits may also exist, especially if tacit (un-codified) knowledge is to be exchanged. Technological development may change these limits. For example, the invention of the router led to the creation of data centers, thus reducing the need for on-site storage hardware and support services. Similarly, the Internet has enabled the remote installation and maintenance of software. By building targeted industry solutions that combine elements of IBM products and services as well as applications from independent software vendor (ISV) partners, IBM believes it will “be selling the way customers want to buy.” In some ways, IBM sees itself moving back to its IT solutions vendor positioning of 20-30 years ago, and away from the piecemeal, build-it-yourself sales model that has characterized the industry in recent times.

51

Limitation of the study:

The study is subjected to the following limitations

The study is based on the data provided by the company statements so, the limitations of

the company’s employees remaining are equally applicable.

In some cases data is collected from the companies past records.

Lack of support of top management.

Improper Actualizations

Inadequate Development programmes.

52

RECOMMENDATION OF THE STUDY

We have found that the marketing strategies followed by them are really helping them to increase their market potential and growth in this highly competitive marketplace. Since the financial reforms of 1991, there have been significant favourable changes in India’s service sector which was earlier lying as dormant. This thesis has assessed the impact of the reforms by examining in the context of a few objectives as stated earlier. Like custom software, other software services also face limits to off-shoring. Some limits are physical, such as the need for proximity to provide hardware installation and support services. Other limits may also exist, especially if tacit (un-codified) knowledge is to be exchanged. Technological development may change these limits. For example, the invention of the router led to the creation of data centers, thus reducing the need for on-site storage hardware and support services. Similarly, the Internet has enabled the remote installation and maintenance of software. By building targeted industry solutions that combine elements of IBM products and services as well as applications from independent software vendor (ISV) partners, IBM believes it will “be selling the way customers want to buy.” In some ways, IBM sees itself moving back to its IT solutions vendor positioning of 20-30 years ago, and away from the piecemeal, build-it-yourself sales model that has characterized the industry in recent times.

53

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Marketing Management, Keller

Marketing Management, Gambhir & Prasad

Marketing Management, Sellins

JOURNALS

ICFAI University Press Journals On Marketing

AAAI Journals On Marketing

MAGAZINES

Business India

Indian Business & Economy

How to Build Strategy, Walkins

INTERNET

www.ibm.com

54

Annexure

55

QUESTIONNAIRE

This survey is being carried out to gather information about the marketing strategies of IBM

Global India. The information is being used by management students for academic purpose only

1. Since how long you are associated with IT industry In India?

0-5 Years 6-10 Years More than 10 Years

2. According to you which is the most consumer oriented brand?

HCL Compaq HP

Satyam Wipro

Others (Please specify) ________________________

3. What is the market potential of IBM Global India?

Excellent High Medium

Low Can’t Say

56

4. How would you rate consumer’s preference for IBM Global India?

Excellent High Medium

Low Can’t Say

5. What is effect of Product and Poster Display?

Excellent Very Good Good

Average Poor None

6. How would you rate the effect of Catalogue?

Very Good Good Average

Poor None

7. Please rank promotional activities on the scale of effectiveness (Rank 1-6)

Canopy Ads in Newspapers

57

Direct Marketing Insertions

EPP Can’t Say

8. How would you rank the in-shop promotional activities of Channel Partner?

Excellent Very Good Good

Average Poor None

9. Given the present software industry in India, can we begin with the assumption that

IBM India is a major software company operating in the Market?

68 percent ------------------------- Yes

27 percent -----------------------------No

05 percent ---------------------------- Do not know/ Can not say

10. How do you see the prospect of global/foreign software companies in India?

24 percent ----------------------------- Have a very good prospect

55 percent ------------------------------ Have to face a competitive market

58

12 percent -------------------------------- Have a dim prospect

09 percent -------------------------------------- Do not know /Can not say

11. How does the foreign software companies affect the prospects of the domestic players in

the Indian market?

32 percent ------------------------------ have reduced the profit margin of the domestic

players

53 percent ---------------------------------- have made the software industry more

competitive.

07 percent ------------------------------- do not have significant effects on the domestic

players operating in the software industry

08 percent ------------------------------- do not know / can not say

12. What is the market size of the IBM India in the software market in India?

74 percent -------------------------------Has a larger market size.

16 percent ------------------------------ Has a moderate market size.

07 percent --------------------------------Has a marginal market size

03 percent -------------------------------- Do not know /Can not say

13. Who are the major consumers of IBM India’s products and services?

23 percent -------------------- domestic market

27 percent ---------------------foreign market

59

44 per cent -------------------- both domestic and foreign market

06 percent --------------------- Do not know /Can not say

14. IBM Global has recently acquired Daksh BPO. In this context, do you think that

acquisition and merger is a successful marketing strategy for IBM India?

Yes ----------------------------------------------- 48 per cent

No ------------------------------------------------ 26 per cent

Do not know/ Can not say ------------------ 26 per cent

15. What measures the company is taking, particularly in the field of marketing to make its

products attractive and competitive in the market?

Innovative Distribution channels

Professionalism within the organization

Increase in market share through acquisition and merger.

Other innovative marketing practices, inconsideration of the strategies adopted by the

rival companies and their results with regard to.

16. IBM India is a successful experimentation venture of the IBM Global. Do you agree?

Yes ---------------------------------------------------- 78 per cent

No ------------------------------------------------------ 13 per cent

Do not know/ Can not say ------------------------- 09 per cent

60

17. What are the reasons that have contributed to the successful Indian operation of IBM

Global in India?

R&D facility-------------------------------------------------- 18 per cent

Market Liberalization--------------------------------------- 14 per cent

Skilled human resource ------------------------------------ 45 per cent

Logistic and other support of the Parental Branch--- 16 per cent

Other factors ---------------------------------------------------- 07 per cent

18. Do you think that the expansion of IBM India to other business segments like the retail

sector will help to enhance its market potential?

Yes ---------------------------------------------------------- 54 per cent

No --------------------------------------------------------------- 28 per cent

Do not know/ Can not say ------------------------------ 18 per cent

19. IBM India has a future growth. You opinion

75 percent -------------------- IBM India is gradually spreding its wings and being a very

big company has the capacity to absorb short term losses, hence has a very good prospect

for the future market in India.

20 percent ---------------------- Its future is like any other private software companies in

India

5 percent -------------------- do not know/ can not say

20. Major Weakness of IBM India’s Marketing strategy.

61

Branding ------------------------------------ 07 per cent

Publicity ----------------------------------------- 09 percent

Infrastructure assessment

and Development ---- -----------------------------26 percent

Lack of effective distribution channels—51 per cent

Do not know / Can not say ----------------- 07 per cent

62