Bangalore: IBM plans to invest $ 700 million in the next three to five years for overall business development in the area of web services, a senior company official said on March 8.

The investment by the world's second largest software company would be in the field of marketing and developing products among others, Siva Darivemula, Worldwide Marketing Manager, Web Services, IBM Corporation, told reporters.

Meanwhile, IBM India plans to focus on web services within the country wherein it would work closely with Indian independent software vendors (ISVs) to enable developers to easily create, deploy and maintain web-based applications.

As part of this initiative, IBM India would also enable its business partners with requisite skills to help them efficiently deploy applications for IBM's customers in India, a top IBM India official said.

"Dynamic e-business will arm our customers with enhanced business flexibility to compete in a changing world", Frank Luksic, Country Executive-Software Group and Developer Relations, IBM India Limited, said.

IBM officials said IBM's web services would enable dynamic e-business using open Internet standards, and customers would gain the "highest level" of business advantage and ability to run applications across multiple platforms.

PTI