Saturday, December 15, 2007

IBM, the BRIC countries, and patent reform

An AP article titled About 1 in 5 IBM Employees Now in India began with sentences

IBM Corp.'s expansion in developing countries shows no sign of relenting. The technology company revealed Friday [14 Dec. 2007] that it now has 73,000 employees in India, almost a 40 percent leap from last year. IBM did not provide updated figures for its work force in the U.S., which has held steady around 125,000 people in recent years.

and also noted:

Like many other technology providers, IBM has rushed to take advantage of the lower labor costs India offers even for highly skilled workers. IBM's base in India numbered only 9,000 people in 2003, but it was about 53,000 last year.

IPBiz notes that the timing of the scale-up of outsourcing to India coincides with IBM's campaigning for "patent reform" of U.S. laws, effectively a downsizing of patent rights in the U.S.

IBM is focussing on the "BRIC" countries: The plan is meant to capitalize on the higher growth rates in the so-called "BRIC" countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China. IBM's revenue from those countries rose 18 percent in the first three quarters of this year, even after discounting the benefit of currency fluctuations. IBM's total employee count in those countries now is nearly 100,000, up from 70,000 a year ago.

This is happening faster than one can say Santos Dumont.

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