Indian companies spent $3 bln on IT in 2004

India medium businesses (MBs) surged ahead in 2004, hiring employees, opening new sites and increasing spending on IT. The previously under-saturated MB market made strong strides in adopting new and advanced IT products and solutions, encompassing virtual private networks (VPNs), networked storage, wireless LANs, intrusion detection, firewalls and customer-focused enterprise applications. Overall, 2004 spending on IT by India medium businesses grew by 15%, registering nearly $3 billion, according to AMI Partners.