IBM's Investment in India Includes Linux Development

IBM recently announced it would triple its investment in India over the next three years. "India and other emerging economies are an increasingly important part of IBM's global success," said IBM Chairman and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano. "In the next three years, we will triple our investment in India -- from $2 billion over the last three years to nearly $6 billion in the next three years. That investment will ensure that we make the most of the opportunities to grow this marketplace, while it also enables IBM to fulfill its vision to become a globally integrated company."

In a release accompanying the announcement, IBM also touted its STG Innovation, Development and Executive Briefing Center and its focus on "Linux competency as IBM increases its focus on Linux in India." Earlier this year, said the release, IBM announced greater collaboration with the open source community to improve the development of general Linux kernel functionality. India already has IBM's third largest population of Linux developers. The new center will work closely with the Linux Technology Center, which has been operating in Bangalore since 1999.

Project INVITE (Initiative to Nurture a Vibrant Information Technology Ecosystem) -- an offering through IBM's Academic Initiative, already has created more than 25 e-governance solutions and projects developed on open source software and open standard technologies. More than 3,400 students across 155 institutions across India have participated in Project INVITE since it began in June 2005. By involving university students, the initiative seeks to help universities keep their IT curricula current and responsive to the needs of the Indian job market.