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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (9588)	11/14/1999 2:56:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12475

IBM, UshaComm sign software vendor pact Usha Communication Tech ushacomm.com Usha Martin ushamartin.com Kalyan Parbat CALCUTTA 14 NOVEMBER (et) THE Jhawars of the Rs 1,200-crore Usha Martin group have teamed up with US computer colossus IBM Corporation to globalise their telecom software business. Portland-based UshaComm, the telecom software arm of the Usha Martin group, has just inked an independent software vendor (ISV) agreement with the Big Blue. By virtue of the world-wide ISV relationship with IBM, UshaComm will offer its leading-edge billing and customer-care solutions to small and mid-sized telecom service operators involved in basic, wireless and convergent communications. To start with, the IBM-UshaComm duo will jointly pitch for turnkey projects in North America and the Asia-Pacific. In the second phase, they will home in on the Latin American and European markets. Importantly, bulk of the billing/customer care solutions will be developed at UshaComm's Calcutta unit ? the group's largest telecom software development base. IBM's strategic alliance with the Jhawars is part of its global business partner initiative. It took seed in Geneva after preliminary discussions between officials of IBM's global business support systems group and UshaComm at the October International Telecom Union '99 summit. "IBM teamed up with us primarily because it doesn't have a ready billing/customer-care solution for small telecom service operators," Mr James Latham, executive vice-president (global marketing) at UshaComm, told The Economic Times. Furthermore, "Both IBM and UshaComm see unlimited opportunities in the multiple categories of small telecom companies where billing solutions are critical," he said. Elaborating, Mr Latham, who was part of the UshaComm negotiating team in Geneva said, "From now on we hope to jointly offer total solutions to the small & mid-sized telecom operators. IBM will handle the hardware element while we chip in with the relevant billing/customer care software solution." The ISV relationship with IBM will be handled out of UshaComm's London office. Mr Martin Timms, (OEM sales director), Usha Comm-UK will be responsible for the joint initiative, while his IBM counterpart will be Geoff Parkins, who heads Big Blue's global business support systems division. Coming on the heels of its global joint sales & marketing alliance with Compaq Corp, the new tie-up with IBM assumes much significance for UshaComm. Over the years, UshaComm has delivered operational support service (OSS) software to emerging telecom players across the globe. It may be mentioned that the IBM-UshaComm alliance will not target the large telecom players as IBM already offers customised billing & customer care products to that segment.