International Business Machines Corp (IBM) has entered into a partnership with The Karnataka Vocational Training and Skill Development Corporation (KVTSDC), an organization of the Department of Labor in India, to develop a Smarter Employability Platform for employers and job seekers using mobile and cloud computing technologies.
Despite figures suggesting that only 7.0% of the Indian population have access to the mobile web, mobile devices are getting increasingly affordable, providing the perfect backdrop for the provision of government services (for instance, employment news) through them.
The Smarter Employability Platform would enable IBM to cash in on this huge opportunity. IBM and KVTSDC intend to create a meeting ground for job seekers and job providers to interact. The platform would enable employers to expand their search to even remote locations and cross reference candidates, where required. Job seekers would be able to obtain the desired training and certifications, understand emerging job trends and share information through their mobile devices, that too in their local and vernacular languages.
IBM is not new to the game. The company has helped thousands of organizations adopt cloud models. It currently manages innumerable cloud-based transactions in diversified areas such as banking, communications, healthcare and government with the help of its cloud-based technology and infrastructure services.
The Smarter Employability project will leverage IBM’s technology, which includes Spoken Web, a voice-based information provider to rural and semi-urban people through mobile phones and land lines in local languages. The system provides the user a unique phone number, which is equivalent to a URL. When other users access this voice site they get to hear whatever content has been uploaded there.
The first phase of the project will be implemented in Mandya and Bijapur districts of Karnataka and upon completion, it will spread to eight more districts.
We have a long-term Neutral recommendation on IBM and are positive on its strong fundamentals and growth prospects.
We recognize that IBM faces stiff competition from the likes of Accenture plc. (ACN), Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), all of which are well-known in India and could come up with similar solutions in other parts of the country. IBM’s first move in the fast-growing Karnataka state is a positive in this respect.
We currently have a Zacks #3 Rank for IBM, which translates into a Hold rating over the short term.
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