By Renai LeMay
Tuesday, May 05 2009 10:34 AM
URL: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/business/0,39044229,62053772,00.htm

Enterprise technology giant IBM must be thanking Australia a billion--or more correctly four--after Big Blue's local office pulled in more than A$4 billion (US$2.94 billion) in revenues for the first time in the 2008 calendar year.

The company's local financial results released today said that record revenues were up 3.2 percent and comes on the back of a number of large deals in 2008, including project wins with Queensland Motorways, Country Energy, Geoscience Australia, and the Federal Government's Standard Business Reporting project.

IBM's systems integration arm picked up contracts with General Motors Holden, Downer EDI Rail, Gold Fields and MTU Detroit Diesel Australia, and its outsourcing arm inked a A$70 million (US$51.5 million) contract renewal with Medicare.

In a statement, IBM said the growth was primarily driven by its services and software arm, with Big Blue picking up wins in some sectors where the company had not traditionally had a strong presence. "IBM gained market share in financial services and industrial sectors, as well as in small and medium business," the group said.

IBM remains one of the last major technology companies not to have revealed redundancies in Australia as a result of the global financial crisis. On Monday, the company said around 15,000 people worked for the company in Australia and New Zealand in 2008.

"IBM hired over 300 graduates plus over 1500 additional sales and services delivery personnel through direct recruitment, acquisition and via outsourcing arrangements," the company said.