IBM sees Pune, Chennai as key centres to serve auto clients

NEW DELHI: Global IT major IBM said on Tuesday that it has identified Pune and Chennai as key delivery hubs to serve its domestic and global clients in the automotive sector.

The company that has six Global Business Service Centres (GBSCs) in India at Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Noida, Gurgaon, Pune and Chennai, would focus on serving domestic and global clients in the automotive industry, primarily from the two identified sites.

"Pune and Chennai will be the core centres for automotive industry. We want to get nearer to our clients as most of the major original equipment manufacturers and players in the automotive sector are concentrated in those two cities," said IBM Global Bus iness Services Global Automotive Leader Mr Sanjay Rishi. He said driven by the development the company expects steady growth in the particular industry vertical and would invest in the two centres.

 

"It is part of our core strategy to rely on India heavily," he added. IBM currently employs around 73,000 people in India, out of which 2,000 are dedicated for the automotive sector.

"As we grow in this area (automotive industry), our client base will grow and so will the number of people working for this vertical," he said.

Asked about the focus area of the company in India, Mr Rishi said, the country was becoming a manufacturing hub for small cars, and the company would also align its capabilities in the small car segment and related components.