New Delhi, 3rd February 2003

IBM India announced today that they have been awarded the prestigious Gold certification from Cisco Systems, for relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction, training, support and specialisation requirements set by Cisco. IBM Global Services, the services arm of IBM India Limited, has yet again demonstrated its leadership in the System Integration market.

The certification is also testimony to IBM India's expertise in implementing Cisco solutions in India. IBM India has been Cisco's partner for the last several years. IBM is among the only 3 companies in India to be certified as a Gold partner.

Commenting on Cisco's association with IBM India, Mr. Jangoo Dalal, Vice President, Channels & Business Development Cisco Systems India & SAARC said, "IBM India is a key partner for Cisco in India. The Gold certification shows IBM's commitment to Cisco business and provides for greater opportunities for partnering with IBM and together grow and evolve the Indian networking market."

Mr. Ashish Kumar, Country Manager, IBM Global Services, IBM India, said, "This certification is a testimonial of our strong commitment to bring the best-of-breed solutions to our customers by building customer focused technology, skills and processes. Being one of Cisco's largest sales and support partners in India, the customers will immensely benefit from this gold partner certification. As a gold partner one needs to specialise in different areas of networking, and IBM specialises in the areas of IP Telephony solutions, Wireless solutions and Security/ VPN solutions."

About IBM Global Services
IBM Global Services is the world's largest information technology services provider, with 2001 revenues of approximately US$35 billion. Services is the fastest growing part of IBM, with more than 141,000 professionals operating in 160 countries. IBM Global Services integrates all of IBM's capabilities - services, hardware, software and research - to help companies of all sizes realize the full value of information technology. For more information, please visit www.ibm.com/services or www.ibm.com/in

About Cisco Gold Certification Program
The Cisco Gold Certified Partner designation offers the highest level of credibility in the marketplace. In fact, many governments and large corporations require Cisco Gold Certification as part of their Requests for Proposal. Gold Certified Partners deliver the highest level of support, have to gain expertise in three Specialisations, and should have achieved a measurable level of customer satisfaction. As a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, the partner is entitled to receive a wealth of sales and marketing information, tools, and support.

Media Contact
Vandana Rao
Corporate Communications, IBM India Ltd.
91-11-23702020
vandanar@in.ibm.com