IBM to add 3000 staff in a single Kolkata, India (Calcutta) facility (Link) as part of IBM’s $6 Billion dollar plan to, in the words of InformationWeek, “own India’s technology landscape”.

“IBM is betting big that India will for years to come be the center of excellence for software development and related work like IT services and help desk support. With this in mind, IBM wants to flat-out own India’s technology landscape, and it’s apparently CEO Sam Palmisano’s belief that half measures won’t do. There’s too much potential competition down there on the subcontinent.”

As of June of this year, IBM employed 43,000 workers in India, up from 23,000 in June of 2005. That is an astonishing figure. There is talk (interesting talk I might add) about IBM’s services income and revenue tapering off last quarter. It sounds strange to be ramping up capacity in a declining division, but IBM sees a market firming up in the coming years and wants to have skilled workers trained and ready. It’s easier to bid for business with the capacity in hand.

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