Mahindra & Mahindra, Cisco Reach Partnership Agreement

India’s Mahindra & Mahindra and U.S.-based Cisco Systems have agreed to a partnership to offer technology services – including cloud computing and virtual dealerships – according to media reports.

The Wall Street Journal also reports that the companies will also offer services in sports, entertainment and smart cities.

"We are looking to cater to a global market size of $5 billion... We expect $500 million-$750 million revenue in the next five years," Naresh Balwant Wadhwa, president and country manager Cisco Systems (News - Alert) (India) Pvt. Ltd., said during a news conference that was covered by the Journal.

Wadhwa predicts that 15 percent of the companies’ revenue will be brought in from India.

Both companies have so far invested $2.2 million in the joint venture.

"We have a long-standing relationship with Mahindra and we have complete confidence in Mahindra's differentiating capabilities to create new markets and we look forward to working together on these initiatives globally," Wadhwa said in a company press release.

Cisco is a provider of networking gear and other products for data centers. Mahindra & Mahindra is part of the Mahindra group, a diverse company with interests in autos, aviation, information technology, hospitality, financial services, logistics, real estate and retail, The Journal reports.

Mahindra and Cisco will collaborate to build a private cloud roadmap for the Mahindra group in different businesses, the Journal added.

In addition, Cisco Development (India) Pvt., will provide solutions for current and new properties built by Mahindra Lifespace Developers, according to the Journal. The first project under the partnership will be a technology park – called Mahindra Innovation Park. Mahindra Lifespace will build the park’s infrastructure and Cisco will provide technology platforms.

In related news, TMCnet reports that Tech Mahindra entered into an alliance with Microsoft (News - Alert) to offer Business Intelligence (BI) solutions for telecom service providers. Tech Mahindra will use Mahindra Satyam’s iDecisions for Telecom on a Microsoft platform, which will let both companies offer customized BI solutions to their customers.