The 500 biggest tech spenders: the exclusive Latin Trade annual ranking of the region's technology investment leaders

Latin Trade, June, 2003 by Greg Brown

You're credited with driving growth in Brazil while the tech world was slowing. How did you do that?

Services. Solutions. This is how you do that. The proof of that is the deal we just closed with Embratel. This is a 10-year outsourcing deal and we're going to deliver significant cost savings, up to 30%. This is adding value. This is why we grow.

How does IBM attend to small and medium-sized businesses that represent almost half the Latin American market?

You need to have a very good network of business partners throughout the region with specific solutions. You need very local flavor, and you have to be very cost effective in the pricing and also in deployment. You have to imagine the needs of a bakery, doctors' offices. These offices don't want to go shopping for hardware, for software. [It] has to be very tailored and specific to the industries.

Who are you talking to more these days, CIOs or CEOs or CFOs?

There is no right answer for this. Every part of the company is so specialized. You have to be very holistic, which is why you need to have people there who understand the industry. This is why the addition of [consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers] has been very important to our portfolio.

When you want to close a deal, what do you say to convince customers?

One of the things I try to tell the customers is that we're no longer a sales company. When you close the contract, you are just starting a long relationship. This is no longer a business of selling the product, sending the bill, and then being happy. It's a consultative business. We have to celebrate the deal, but we have to commit to delivery. Ten years from now, when the books are closed, maybe we can celebrate.