SAN Suppliers Look East

6:20 PM -- No one should be surprised that IBM plans to triple its investment in India over the next three years. (See IBM Triples India Investment.) In fact, IBM is only one of many IT suppliers with sizeable -- and growing -- stakes there.

Cisco, for instance, in October 2005 announced plans to spend $1 billion ramping up its Indian operations. (See Cisco Invests $1B in India .) EMC renewed its commitment last year with a pledge to spend $250 million more in India by 2007, and the firm has recently beefed up its products and sales infrastructure for SMBs in the country. Brocade, NetApp, Sun, Symantec, and a slew of smaller companies have also found India to be a source of ambitious and productive technological help. (See Storage Firms Take Passage to India.)

India in turn has built a booming business in addressing the needs of U.S.-based IT vendors. In addition to companies like Satyam Computer Services and Wipro, there are specialty outfits such as Calsoft that specialize in storage networking. Many of these firms have formalized arrangements with technical colleges and universities in India, ensuring a steady stream of personnel for new projects.

All this provokes mixed feelings stateside. But when it comes right down to it, one thing is plain: India's mark on storage networking can't be minimized. The growth of U.S. storage revenues has shown that the partnerships many firms have forged with Indian technology companies have succeeded. Like it or not, their ongoing existence is guaranteed.

Mary Jander, Site Editor, Byte and SwitchOrganizations mentioned in this article: