NEC partners with Sify to sell thin PCs

TOKYO, March 1 (Reuters) Japan's NEC Corp. said on Thursday it will partner with IT services firm Sify Ltd. to pitch thin client computing systems in India as an alternative to conventional desktop computing.

NEC is targeting India's booming PC market for sales of 100,000 thin client terminals, which run programmes by accessing a central server instead of a hard drive on the PC, by 2009.

That target would help double NEC's sales in India to 0 million in 2009 from 0 million in 2006, said NEC, which competes with Hewlett-Packard Co. and Wyse Technology Taiwan Ltd. in thin client systems.

The Japanese electronics group hopes to supply 6,000 servers to Sify, which would provide thin computers to both multi-national and Indian customers and install thin client systems in its 3,500 Internet cafes throughout India.

''The PC market is still just starting in India,'' said Sify President and CEO Raju Vegesna during a news conference.

''In India the architecture is open, and there is great potential for growth,'' Vegesna said.

NEC shares closed down 0.2 percent to 627 yen, compared with the benchmark Nikkei average <.n225>, which closed down 0.86 percent.

REUTERS DKS PM1503