IBM Invests US$60 Million in Argentina Over a Ten Year Period in New Global Delivery Centers and in the Extension of Its Virtual IT Campus; the New Centers Join a Network Including Centers in Chile, Peru and Venezuela. IBM Already Has Five More IT Service Centers in Operation in SSA; the New Centers Add to a Series of Investments by IBM in Its SSA IT Centers in Excess of US$200 Million Over the Past Seven Years

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/03/08 -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it has opened three new Global Delivery Centers in Argentina, entailing a US$60 million investment over ten years. IBM also announced the extension and opening of its Virtual IT Campus, the largest IT services hub in South America.

These investments are in addition to the more than US$200 million that the company has announced in Delivery Centers over the past seven years in Spanish-speaking South America (SSA) -- Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela -- as a result of exponential growth reported in the services division and in the development of Global Delivery Services.

Argentina has been selected by IBM as one of the four countries in the world to deploy its Global Delivery Centers, as part of the company's strategy to become a globally integrated enterprise. IBM shapes its strategy, management and operations in a truly global manner, locating its operations and functions where it makes more sense, based on the right cost, the right skills, the right talent, and favorable business environment.

IBM has tripled its workforce in SSA in recent years, to almost 15,000 professionals, 50% of whom work in the Global Delivery and Services organization.

The three new global delivery centers located in Argentina serve more than 20 countries around the world. Services include server, database, network and storage monitoring and support based on global practices, processes and methodologies.

The extension of the Virtual Campus has contributed to the growth of IBM's Command Center which monitors servers across the region. Over 5,000 servers of top companies in all sectors and industries of the region are monitored from Argentina. The mainframe processing capacity of the IT Campus is equivalent to adding the capacity of all of Argentina's leading banks. Regionally integrated resources, processes and methodologies, building on IBM expertise and best practices, have placed this IT mega-center in an unparalleled position to offer uninterrupted service 24x7 all round the year, at a par with the largest centers in the U.S. and the world.

"These projects are part of the ten-year investment plan we have for SSA," said Gustavo Méndez, IT Services Director for SSA. "We are a Globally Integrated Enterprise that leverages the know-how of its human capital and its competitive edge to optimize resources and offer value-added solutions to its customers all round the world."

Due to the steady pace of growth experienced over the past five years by the LA region and LA countries -- including Spanish-speaking South American countries, IBM Corporation has included the region in a new organization called "Growth Markets." This territory comprises 51 countries with a consistent 20% growth rate, now representing 22% of the Company's global revenues. The Company is planning to invest in these countries approximately US$1.6 billion by 2010.

For more information, visit www.ibm.com/services.

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