ibm case study summary

How IBM Became A Multinational Giant Through Multiple Business Transformations

Table of contents, here’s what you’ll learn from ibm’s strategy study:.

• How an accurate diagnosis of your organization’s most pressing challenge can help you form a coherent strategy to overcome it.
• How developing your strategic instinct to recognize change early and decisively transforming your business rely on unifying your organization towards a single direction.
• How focusing on short-term financial gains is putting your long-term survival and profitability in jeopardy.

IBM stands for International Business Machines Corporation and is a multinational technology corporation with over 100 years of history and multiple inventions that are prevalent today. Its headquarters are in Armonk, New York, but it operates in over 170 countries.

Institutional investors own over 55% of IBM, while around 30% belongs to mutual funds, and individual investors own less than 1%. Since 2020, IBM’s current Chairman and CEO is Arvind Krishna.

IBM’s market share and key statistics:

• Total assets of $28.999B as of September 30, 2022
• Revenue of $57.35B billion in 2021
• Total number of employees in 2022: 345,000
• Brand value of $ 96,992B in 2021
• Market Capitalization of over $130B as of December 2022

Humble beginnings: How did IBM start?

IBM was founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) in Endicott, New York, United States.

CTR was the product of three and a half amalgamated companies:

• The Tabulating Machine Company
• The International Time Recording Company
• The Computing Scale Company
• The Bundy Manufacturing Company

The company’s founding was very well-timed. It coincides with the profound shift of the United States’ agricultural economy to an industrial one. At that time, inventions and innovations were introduced at an unprecedented rate, evolving people’s way of life and defining our modern lifestyle.

The company’s success at these times was due to the wide range of products it offered that were in high demand in industrializing economies from time recording clocks and commercial scales to various mechanical data handling systems, tabulating machines.

But it was CTR’s corporate culture and managerial practices that enabled it to pioneer and serve that demand.

IBM’s scammy and problematic birth

The birth of IBM was the result of the vision and leadership of CTR's first president, Charles Ranlett Flint.

Flint was notorious for combining companies, creating monopolies, and having other people manage them while he simply owned stocks. That’s what he intended to do with the creation of CTR as well.

Here are the companies that formed what later became IBM:

• In 1900, Flint bought  The Bundy Manufacturing Company , the inventor of the “punch card” that allowed factories to convert working hours into salaries. The company was quite successful due to increased demand from emerging factories and the founder’s acute business skills. Flint merged the company with the International Time Recorder (ITR).
• ITR  was the core of CTR. By the time Flint created CTR, ITR was already a business group and an established player in selling and maintaining time recorders with an international presence. Flint had bought out almost all of his competitors, effectively creating a mini-monopoly.
• The next company that formed CTR was the  Computing Scale Company . A marginally profitable company that had created a commercial scale for small merchants like butchers and cheesemakers. It was part of Flint’s vision of mechanical data handling.
• The fourth and last company that formed CTR was  The Tabulating Machine Company . The main product of the company was the punch card tabulating equipment that automated parts of a manual and very labor-intensive process. It sped up “data entry,” increased accuracy, and reduced costs dramatically. It was Herman Hollerith’s invention, the second founder of CTR.

The merging of these three and a half companies didn’t make “business sense” at the time, nor was it the result of a careful business strategy.

At least not in the way we mean it today. It was a technical scheme that would allow Flint to protect his investment even if one of the companies wasn’t profitable and he had to sell it. Because, as it turns out, ITR was prosperous, and the tabulating business was slowly growing even though it required huge capital reinvestments. But the computing part of CTR was dying.

As a result, the child of this amalgamation was overvalued by twice its actual value.

This inflated value was supported by a loose argument of “economies of scale” since all these businesses were “measuring stuff.” From its very first days:

• The stock was overvalued
• The company was heavily in debt
• There were a lot of internal clashes
• The three businesses had no synergy
• There was little attention to innovation
• The board of directors only cared about profits
• The customer and employee treatment was poor

In short, IBM was born with some of the worst conditions for any company.

IBM’s coherent business strategy that got it out of the pit

Just three years after its creation, in 1914, the company changed its culture, executive team, and product line.

In ten years, it went through an astounding business transformation.

The move that initiated this transformation was the hiring of Thomas J. Watson Sr. as general manager for the company. The previous leader of the company was simply a credibility mark that Flint had implanted to draw investors. Watson’s influence on the company, however, is so monumental that he is considered the third founder of CTR, who shaped it into IBM.

Watson carried out a series of initiatives that laid the foundation for what would later become America’s largest technology company of the previous century:

• He built a mighty salesforce and a training program called “Sales School” that every salesperson had to graduate from.
• He brought clarity of purpose with frequent communication of goals and performance measures.
• He aligned daily actions with measurable targets that were part of the company’s strategy. He effectively created a culture of execution.
• He created a new line of products in the data-processing industry.
• He implemented initiatives to bring people from the three different divisions close together.
• He improved efficiencies by bringing product developers and manufacturing staff into the same building enabling cross-functional support and information exchange.
• He cultivated a system of shared beliefs and practices that empowered employees to make decisions that were consistent with the company’s priorities.
• He trained customers on how to use their products, gaining valuable feedback and ideas.

Watson spent half of his career as a valued employee of the National Cash Register Company (NCR), where he learned everything he knew about running a business. When he came to CTR, he brought all of his knowledge with him. It included: the development of the salesforce, budget and personnel practices, and even some executives that worked for his previous employer.

Watson was a highly motivated, optimistic, and conservative man of principle. During his tenure, CTR grew and consistently developed its product lines to cover a wide range of business machinery.

He took CTR from a scammy amalgamation to a respectable and healthy organization giving it a new name: International Business Machines (IBM).

Key Takeaway #1: Diagnose the challenge and tackle it with a coordinated strategy 

When Watson became general manager, the company was rotten. However, he was ambitious and driven. His approach transformed the firm and affected the company’s journey for many generations. It can be summarized into two distinct steps.

When faced with a crumbling organization:

• Diagnose the most important challenge. Make an honest  swot analysis . Watson found that CTR had a dying division (weakness), a profitable one (strength), and a promising one (opportunity). He based his approach on these findings.
• Devise a coherent and executable strategy. Create a strategic plan that addresses this challenge and coordinates resources. Watson applied all his expertise to developing a salesforce to seize the opportunity he found while internally reforming the company.

Watson practically transformed IBM’s culture into an improved copy of NCR’s culture. His experience fitted like a glove in IBM’s challenges. Some could argue that he happened to be a hammer who found its nail. Others that he found a nail and shaped himself into a hammer.

Whatever is true, his results were undeniable.

IBM’s Golden Period: the strategy and tactics IBM used to penetrate the computer industry

IBM went through the Great Depression and came out of it stronger, wealthier, and healthier.

It also went through World War II, which gave the company an explosive push that was hard to maintain once the war ended. IBM’s activities during WWII were plentiful and… complicated. One thing is certain, among the most important initiatives of Watson was the financial support of every IBMer’s family who went to join the fight and the promise that once the war was over, they would regain their job in the company.

As a result, once WWII ended, the company had more than 25% increased workforce at its disposal while a huge part of its revenue-generating business vanished nearly overnight: the military contracts.

Here’s how IBM faced these new challenges.

IBM’s corporate strategy against an increased workforce and a vanished revenue stream

Watson recognized the problem from the beginning. His strategy may have been simple, but the flawless execution made all the difference since it wasn’t without obstacles.

The strategy had two key pillars, both focusing on technological advancement:

• Improve, marginally, current products whose demand was still high. The strategic objective was to expand sales on those product lines to generate immediate cash and keep the business floating.
• Invest in R&D of advanced electronics, a new technology that wasn’t fully understood nor ready to be commercialized. This was a necessary bet for the future of IBM.

It was obvious to Watson that the company should, one way or another, lead or at least ride a new wave of innovation and technological advancement. And that wasn’t possible with the company’s current product lines, internal structure, and culture.

The technological and business transformation that IBM went through was an undertaking that few high-tech companies have managed to pull off. Especially when so many stakeholders’ survival is dependent on the company’s well-being. Shareholders, banks that had provided loans, and employees were all highly incentivized to keep the status quo as is and fight against the transformation. “Since we’re selling, why change?” they thought.

This kind of resistance is typical when industry-reshaping technology emerges. Kodak went through the same but, unlike IBM, succumbed to stakeholder resistance, retained its status quo, and eventually died.

IBM’s strategic pivot faced a list of major challenges:

• The best minds in advanced electronics were not working at IBM.
• Advanced electronics was a relatively new industry that nobody could really understand or predict what problems it would solve and what use businesses would find in it.
• New and strong players emerged while old rivals were still actively competing. Remington Rand was an old and active foe while researchers were leaving universities to start new companies and develop systems for the U.S. Army like ENIAC. The reason was that the US government was issuing funding programs investing millions in this new technology. Whoever demonstrated enough expertise and promise was winning the funding, conducting research, innovating, and reaping the benefits.
• Sales resisted the new technology, clinging to its old and tested practices and propositions. In other words, sales and engineering weren't aligned. 

The tactics IBM implemented to overcome these challenges and not only survive but also transform as a business in a record time are numerous. Since we can’t really know every single one of them, we’ll go through some of the most important events and principles that enabled the company to devise the solutions it needed.

How IBM overcame the challenges of its strategic pivot

The event that marked IBM’s transformation and sealed its strategic pivot was Watson’s son, Tom, entering the business.

Tom was a bright and ambitious young man who, with the help of his father’s influence and a series of chance events, became IBM’s Executive Vice President at the age of 33.

Tom understood the emerging new technology, and so he led that part of the business. On the other hand, Watson didn’t understand how it worked, so he focused on the more familiar, traditional and still revenue-producing product lines. The two clashed regularly and intensely on many issues. But it’s important to mention that their arguments were never focused on whether IBM needed to transform and adopt advanced electronics. They agreed on that part. They clashed only on the cadence of the transformation and the policies they put in place.

This distinction is crucial because it reveals that the company wasn't divided at its core, the direction everybody moved was the same. The clash between the old and the new was extremely productive because:

• The company started building critical mass in electronics by reinvesting earnings and rental cash flow. It didn’t rely on government funding, but rather it developed its capacity slowly and safely.
• In order to catch up with the industry’s velocity with its bootstrapped approach, IBM’s advanced electronics department had to do things differently. So it cultivated a  culture of transparency  and  accountability  where information flowed freely.
• The  604 Electronic Calculating Punch , the world's first mass-produced electronic calculator, was IBM’s first highly profitable product that came out of this approach.
• The firm used its active customer network to understand customer needs and prioritize improvements on the data processing machines. Thus it created machines with validated demand.
• The whole process enabled IBM to create “an infrastructure of knowledgeable customers, salesmen, and servicemen for electronic computers.”

As soon as the 1950s came, IBM entered the electronic computing market and became a highly competitive player. After that, it changed its strategy, took on larger computer projects, and became more dependent on federal funding to offset the associated risk.

It continued to accumulate knowledge and expertise, improving its processes and products.

Key Takeaway #2: Develop your strategic instinct and adapt fast

Develop your ability to recognize change and quickly transform your business to respond to it. To perform a successful business transformation, unite the organization towards a single direction.

If the need for change is clear at the top, it’s a matter of implementation and policies. It’s not easy, but it’s far more successful to lead a united organization than a two-headed one. So when you perform a business transformation:

• Define the direction or destination as clearly as possible.
• Align senior leadership with the desired direction.
• Build guiding policies that take you from the old to the new. Don’t simply kill the old, transform it.
• Treat the transformation as an idea worth spreading. Take advantage of your strengths and apply the  Law of Diffusion of Innovations .

The decline during the last decade and IBM’s enterprise strategy to return to the top

IBM slowly but surely started shifting its business model again in the late half of the past century and the following decades.

This time, the strategic pivot was more fundamental. The company shifted from “components to infrastructure to business value.” In other words, it shifted from manufacturing computers and new technologies to offering IT consulting and integration services.

This is reflected in its revenue percentages by segment. In 1980, 90% of IBM’s revenue was generated from hardware sales. By 2015, the company was generating over 60% of its revenue from services and less than 10% from hardware sales.

However, the journey wasn’t as smooth as in past transformations.

The challenges of the consulting industry that has left IBM behind in the last decade

The shift, this time, was taking place less effectively.

The company was selling fewer and fewer pieces of hardware each year while its revenues from consulting services weren’t increasing as fast. The company wasn’t investing as much in R&D, and it entered the new era of computing with an extreme focus on financials.

In 2006 and in 2010, the company's leadership announced “Roadmap 2010” and “Roadmap 2015,” respectively. These were financial goals that were mistakenly used as strategic guiding policies. And to the company’s detriment, they dictated decision-making on every level.

Here are key facts that indicate this extreme financial focus was a terrible strategy at the worst timing:

• IBM’s new CEO, Virginia Marie “Ginni” Rometty, didn’t enjoy employee support. Due to her merciless tactics and her relentless focus to please the stakeholders, employee morale, and thus productivity, was at an all-time low.
• Revenue was decreasing year over year.
• “Rebalancing the workforce,” AKA layoffs, became a regular quarterly tactic to make the numbers.
• Current and ex-IBMers were losing faith and becoming less and less content with leadership.
• Despite the lack of growth, stocks continued rising, paying dividends and high Earnings Per Share (EPS). That was the result of “financial gimmicks” like massive stock buybacks or stashing assets and profits outside of the US to avoid taxes.
• Extreme focus on cutting back costs. Using overseas “global delivery skills,” AKA cheaper workers and even docking 10% of salaries to offer training to employees while charging high-end prices for IBM’s services.

But you can only cut costs for so much and save that much. There is a limit to how much cost-cutting you can do until you hurt operations and production. And IBM reached that limit well before 2015, the year “Roadmap 2015” was promising $20 EPS.

By the end of 2014, the company had amassed a huge debt, its hardware profitability had taken a nosedive, its margins had declined, the executive leadership forwent their personal annual incentive payments for 2013, and it abandoned the Roadmap.

To save the company, leadership had to come up with a radically different strategy. And it did. The 5 “imperatives” strategy was much more attractive to all the stakeholders and would prove to be much more effective.

IBM’s 5 imperatives and its strategy to recovering its past glory

IBM’s biggest weaknesses in the first one-and-a-half decade of the current century have been financial performance and strategic blunders.

But if it had no strengths to leverage, then it wouldn’t be alive today. And its size is one of them. IBM is huge. For example, as of 2018, the company employed around 378.000 people and commanded one of the largest collections of PhDs in computer science and technology. IBM generates over $50 billion in revenue annually with consistently large profits. In 2017, the company had over $8 billion in cash.

The “five imperatives'' were a strategy that focuses on actual performance and not financial engineering to be successful.

The five imperatives were:

• Cybersecurity
• Cloud computing
• Social networking
• Mobile technologies

The company made several acquisitions to close the competitive gap in all of those focuses while it shifted resources to support those initiatives. As a result, it surpassed its competition with  analytics software  and its capabilities to manage and analyze massive bodies of data. With a $2 billion acquisition of SoftLayer, it caught up with  cloud computing  and extended its services to include  cybersecurity.  A partnership with Apple Computer offered the promise of  portable computing and app development  platforms lodged in cloud servers. Finally, IBM offered management consulting as much as software services through its  social networking  focus.

IBM's Strategy has focused even more in recent years, integrating the imperatives into two major pillars: hybrid computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

It puts everything under the umbrella term: Digital Transformation.

IBM’s focus on digital transformation propels it into the future

IBM’s future looks promising, and its strategy is putting it back at the center of computers and technology. In January 2018, the company announced its first quarter of YoY revenue increase since 2012.

It focuses once again on delivering value to its customers by addressing the crucial challenges that accompany every digital transformation:

• Managing the increased complexity of heterogeneous enterprise IT environments.
• Extracting valuable insights from available data.
• Sustaining operational competitiveness against disruptive market changes.
• Increased cyber threats and increasing cost of cybersecurity.
• A cohesive end-to-end execution of solutions that address all of these matters.

The way IBM addresses these challenges and chooses to differentiate itself is by adopting a platform-centric hybrid cloud approach paired with advanced AI capabilities. The infrastructure relies on Linux, containers, and Kubernetes as the architectural foundation.

In layman’s terms, the value proposition of the company is the sustainable and accelerating transformation of their client’s businesses and processes through:

• Hybrid cloud that develops ability and speed.
• Tailored and trustworthy data governance respecting privacy and generating data-driven business insights.
• AI-driven decision-making that automates enterprise processes.
• Consistency, security, and compliance.

The company is rapidly growing its ecosystem, enhancing client experience while driving value and innovation with its open-source technologies.

Key Takeaway #3: To succeed long term, focus on developing business capabilities instead of financial returns

Ambitious goals and financial promises are not strategies. They might provide some returns in the short term but ultimately set the company up for future failure. Cutting costs is not an infinite-returns-yielding tactic.

When the industry changes, new trends and technologies emerge, and your competitive advantage won’t be serving you for much longer:

• Make a thorough analysis of the environment . Spot the most promising emerging trends in technology, customer expectations, and markets.
• Perform an  internal analysis  to define your strengths, weaknesses, and current capabilities that power your competitive advantage.
• Develop a strategy  that takes advantage of your current capabilities, develops adjacent ones, and mitigates weaknesses to seize the opportunities you spot.
• Until your new strategy is performing and your competitiveness relies on it,  ensure cash flow and sustainability  through your current healthy lines of products.

Why is IBM so successful?

IBM’s success over its long history can’t be attributed to a single cause.

In each distinctive phase, IBM demonstrated the qualities that enabled it to thrive and pioneer in technological advancements. One consistent quality that allowed IBM to stand the test of time has been its decisive adaptability, the ability to spot new trends and transform its business in time to lead change.

Its corporate culture of respect and hard work has been the cornerstone of every single one of its achievements.

Growth by numbers

 {{cta('eed3a6a3-0c12-4c96-9964-ac5329a94a27')}}

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

Waking Up IBM: How a Gang of Unlikely Rebels Transformed Big Blue

Six years ago, IBM was a has-been. Today, it’s an e-business powerhouse. It didn’t turn around by imposing change from the top. It let ideas, initiatives, and enthusiasm bubble up from below. Maybe your company should do the same.

Do you remember when IBM was a case study in complacency? Insulated from the real world by layer upon layer of dutiful managers and obsequious staff, IBM’s executives were too busy fighting their endless turf battles to notice that the company’s once unassailable leadership position was crumbling around them. The company that held the top spot on Fortune ’s list of most admired corporations for four years running in the mid-1980s was in dire need of saving by the early 1990s. Fujitsu, Digital Equipment, and Compaq were hammering down hardware margins. EDS and Andersen Consulting were stealing the hearts of CIOs. Intel and Microsoft were running away with PC profits. Customers were bemoaning the company’s arrogance. By the end of 1994, Lou Gerstner’s first full year as CEO, the company had racked up $ 15 billion in cumulative losses over the previous three years, and its market cap had plummeted from a high of $ 105 billion to $ 32 billion. Armchair consultants were nearly unanimous in their view: Big Blue should be broken up.

• Gary Hamel is a visiting professor at London Business School and the founder of the Management Lab. He is a coauthor of Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020).

Partner Center

IBM Change Management Case Study

Change is a constant in the business world, and organizations that can effectively manage change are more likely to succeed. 

Change management is the process of planning, implementing, and controlling change within an organization to minimize negative impacts and maximize benefits. 

One company that has successfully implemented change management is IBM.

With a history spanning over a century, IBM has undergone significant changes over the years, including the implementation of change management to ensure a smooth transition. 

In this blog post, we will take a closer look at IBM’s change management case study, examining its background, change management strategy, and results. 

Brief History and Growth of IBM 

IBM, also known as International Business Machines Corporation, is an American multinational technology company that was founded in 1911. 

The company was initially formed as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) through the merger of four separate companies: the Tabulating Machine Company, the Computing Scale Company, the International Time Recording Company, and the Bundy Manufacturing Company. 

In 1924, the company was renamed International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). IBM’s early products included tabulating machines, time clocks, and punched card equipment, which were used for data processing and information management. 

Over the years, IBM has evolved into a leading provider of enterprise technology solutions, including hardware, software, and services, serving clients in over 170 countries around the world.

IBM experienced significant growth in the mid-20th century, as it became a leading provider of computers and data processing equipment. 

In the 1950s, IBM introduced its first electronic computer, the IBM 701, which was followed by a series of other computer models that became increasingly advanced and sophisticated. 

IBM also played a key role in the development of the personal computer, releasing its first PC in 1981, which quickly became a standard in the industry. 

In the 1990s and early 2000s, IBM shifted its focus to software and services, becoming a leader in areas such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. 

Today, IBM is a major player in the technology industry, with a global workforce of over 350,000 employees and revenue exceeding $70 billion in 2020.

Key drivers of change for IBM  

There were three dominant factors that created a need for IBM to implement effective change management processes to successfully navigate the challenges and opportunities it faced.

1. Technological advancement 

Technological advancements have been a key driver of change in the technology industry, and IBM was no exception. In the 1980s and 1990s, IBM faced significant disruption as the market shifted from mainframe computers to personal computers, which were smaller, cheaper, and more accessible to individuals and small businesses. 

This shift threatened IBM’s dominance in the computer industry, as it had built its reputation on large-scale mainframe computers. To adapt to this changing market, IBM had to shift its focus to services and software, invest in research and development to create new technologies and innovations, and develop new partnerships and alliances to expand its offerings. 

Additionally, the emergence of cloud computing and artificial intelligence in the 2000s and 2010s further pushed IBM to adapt and innovate to stay ahead of the competition. These technological advancements required IBM to adopt a more agile and flexible approach to business, with a greater focus on innovation, speed, and collaboration.

2. Globalization 

As IBM expanded its operations globally, it faced a range of challenges related to cultural and regulatory differences across different countries and regions. In order to effectively navigate these differences, IBM had to develop a more flexible and adaptable approach to business, one that was able to respond to local market conditions and customer needs while also maintaining a consistent global brand and corporate identity. 

This required IBM to invest in building a diverse and multicultural workforce, to establish strong local partnerships and alliances, and to develop a deep understanding of local cultures, languages, and customs. 

Additionally, IBM had to comply with local regulations and laws in each country it operated in, which often required significant resources and expertise to navigate. By embracing globalization and developing a more flexible and adaptable approach to business, IBM was able to successfully expand its operations globally and establish a strong global presence.

3. Market competition 

IBM faced intense competition from emerging tech companies in the 1990s, particularly in the areas of personal computing and software development. 

Companies like Microsoft and Intel were challenging IBM’s dominance in the industry, and IBM had to adapt quickly to remain competitive. 

To address this challenge, IBM shifted its focus to services and software, investing heavily in research and development to create new products and innovations that could compete with emerging technologies. 

IBM also streamlined its operations to improve efficiency and reduce costs, while exploring new markets and opportunities for growth. 

This required IBM to be more agile and responsive to market conditions, and to take calculated risks in pursuing new ventures and partnerships. Ultimately, these efforts enabled IBM to remain a major player in the technology industry and to continue innovating and expanding its offerings.

Change management strategy of IBM 

IBM responded to these three drivers of change in several ways, as explained below:

1. Technological advancements

To adapt to rapid technological advancements, IBM invested heavily in research and development to create new products and innovations. It also embraced emerging technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence and developed new partnerships and alliances to expand its offerings.

IBM also shifted its focus to services and software, which helped it to stay competitive as the market shifted away from mainframe computers. Additionally, IBM adopted a more agile and flexible approach to business to enable it to respond quickly to changing market conditions and customer needs.

2. Globalization

To effectively navigate different cultural and regulatory environments, IBM invested in building a diverse and multicultural workforce, established strong local partnerships and alliances, and developed a deep understanding of local cultures, languages, and customs.

IBM also complied with local regulations and laws in each country it operated in, which required significant resources and expertise to navigate. Additionally, IBM developed a consistent global brand and corporate identity while also maintaining the flexibility to respond to local market conditions and customer needs.

3. Market competition

To remain competitive in the face of intense market competition, IBM explored new markets and product offerings while streamlining its operations to improve efficiency and reduce costs. IBM also invested heavily in research and development to create new products and innovations that could compete with emerging technologies.

IBM adopted a more agile and responsive approach to business, which enabled it to take calculated risks in pursuing new ventures and partnerships. Additionally, IBM developed a culture of innovation and collaboration to foster creativity and agility, which helped it to stay ahead of the competition.

Positive outcomes and results of IBM successful change management implementation

IBM’s successful implementation of change management led to several positive outcomes and results, including:

Increased profitability: IBM’s shift to services and software helped to increase its profitability by creating new revenue streams and reducing costs. By focusing on high-margin businesses such as consulting and software development, IBM was able to improve its financial performance and profitability.

Improved competitiveness: IBM’s investments in research and development, partnerships, and new markets helped it to remain competitive in the face of rapid technological advancements and intense market competition. By adopting an agile and responsive approach to business, IBM was able to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and customer needs, which helped it to stay ahead of the competition.

Enhanced customer satisfaction: IBM’s focus on innovation, collaboration, and customer service helped to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. By developing new products and services that met customer needs and expectations, and by providing excellent customer service and support, IBM was able to build strong relationships with its customers and earn their trust and loyalty.

Increased employee engagement and retention: IBM’s culture of innovation, collaboration, and diversity helped to increase employee engagement and retention. By fostering a culture of creativity and agility, and by valuing and supporting its employees, IBM was able to attract and retain top talent, which helped it to drive innovation and growth.

Strong brand reputation: IBM’s successful implementation of change management helped to strengthen its brand reputation and identity. By maintaining a consistent global brand while also remaining flexible and responsive to local market conditions and customer needs, IBM was able to build a strong and respected brand reputation that is recognized around the world.

Final Words 

IBM’s successful implementation of change management serves as a powerful case study for businesses facing rapid technological advancements, intense market competition, and globalization. By adopting an agile and responsive approach to business, investing in research and development, exploring new markets and partnerships, and fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration, IBM was able to remain competitive and relevant in the technology industry. 

About The Author

Tahir Abbas

Related posts.

Key Performance Indicators for Housekeeping – Explained with Examples

The Promising Potential of Nudge Theory in Healthcare

12 Important Steps in Crisis Communication

Creating a better future of work. Sign up for our newsletter.

Smart. Open. Grounded. Inventive. Read our Ideas Made to Matter.

Which program is right for you?

Through intellectual rigor and experiential learning, this full-time, two-year MBA program develops leaders who make a difference in the world.

Earn your MBA and SM in engineering with this transformative two-year program.

A rigorous, hands-on program that prepares adaptive problem solvers for premier finance careers.

A 12-month program focused on applying the tools of modern data science, optimization and machine learning to solve real-world business problems.

Combine an international MBA with a deep dive into management science. A special opportunity for partner and affiliate schools only.

A doctoral program that produces outstanding scholars who are leading in their fields of research.

Bring a business perspective to your technical and quantitative expertise with a bachelor’s degree in management, business analytics, or finance.

Apply now and work for two to five years. We'll save you a seat in our MBA class when you're ready to come back to campus for your degree.

Executive Programs

The 20-month program teaches the science of management to mid-career leaders who want to move from success to significance.

A full-time MBA program for mid-career leaders eager to dedicate one year of discovery for a lifetime of impact.

A joint program for mid-career professionals that integrates engineering and systems thinking. Earn your master’s degree in engineering and management.

Non-degree programs for senior executives and high-potential managers.

A non-degree, customizable program for mid-career professionals.

The Learning System at IBM: A Case Study

There is widespread recognition that changing technologies and ways of working are increasing the importance of workforce skills and the need for skill upgrading. Yet despite a long history of research on training in the fields of organizational psychology, human resources, and labor economics, little is known about the state‐of‐the‐art in training practices offered by employers, use of training opportunities by employees, or the effects of training and upskilling on critical outcomes for workers or employers. This report by Fei Qin, an Associate Professor in Management at the University of Bath, and Thomas A. Kochan, the George M. Bunker Professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, seeks to start filling this void by describing what the authors believe to be a state‐of‐the‐art learning system at IBM Corporation and tracing the effects of learning on job performance and career advancement. In this report, the authors first describe the overall learning system and its multiple components and then trace the use of the system by incumbents in several key technical sales occupations between 2014 and 2019. Their analysis draws from combined personnel, learning, and performance data about IBM's technical sales population along with interviews with multiple stakeholders in the company’s learning and training ecosystem. The results show that time spent on learning and achievement of internal learning credentials that the company calls “badges” is positively associated with (1) achievement of sales targets, a key measure of performance for sales staff, and (2) career advancement as measured by movement up levels in the salary bands governing these occupations.

Read the Paper

• IBM Security Cloud Pak for Security
• IBM Security Global Forum
• IBM Security Guardium
• IBM Security MaaS360
• IBM Security QRadar
• IBM Security QRadar SOAR
• IBM Security Trusteer
• IBM Security Verify
• IBM Security Z Security
• IBM Security Skills & Learning
• User groups
• Upcoming Security Events
• IBM TechXchange Webinars
• All IBM TechXchange Community Events
• Gamification Program
• Getting Started
• Community Managers' Welcome
• Post to Forum
• Share a Resource
• Share Your Expertise
• Blogging on the Community
• Connect with Security Users
• All IBM TechXchange Community Users
• IBM TechXchange Group
• IBM Champions
• IBM Cloud Support
• IBM Documentation
• IBM Support
• IBM Support 101
• IBM Technology Zone
• IBM Training
• Security Blogs
• IBM Security Experts
• Security Learning Academy
• Request for Enhancements
• IBM TechXchange Community Partner Program
• IBM TechXchange Conference
• Marketplace

IBM Security

Join our 16,000+ members as we work together to overcome the toughest challenges of cybersecurity..

Start collaborating

Register now! watsonx Pre-Conference Virtual Hackathon - 12-22 September

• Discussion 1.3K
• Members 15K

Case Study: The Score Prophet App Built with IBM Security Verify & IBM Cloud – Just-In-Time for the FIFA World Cup 2022

By stephen swann posted thu october 20, 2022 10:35 am.

Executive Summary

In June 2022, Madigan Solutions doubled in size following a recruitment campaign targeting young talent enthusiastic about Information Technology but who had not necessarily studied the topic at university. The directors of Madigan Solutions went about finding talent with diverse backgrounds and skill sets with a view that targeted training could reap excellent results. The hired trainees, with an average age of just 23, had little or no work experience never mind any computing background. The training was going to be broad, intensive, and tough.

“Within four weeks, we had covered virtualization, the Linux operating system, JavaScript, SQL and non-SQL databases, directory servers, containerization, GIT, and of course, IBM Security technology” explained Stephen Swann, Director of Strategy & Vision.

Training in labs is all fine and well but it is no substitute for real-world experience in delivering solutions for customers and working within the constraints of project deadlines and ever-changing customer requirements. But how do you introduce trainees to a real-world experience without having to deal with external customers? And how do you select a technology platform upon which the build of applications can be accelerated?

The Score Prophet

Stephen Swann explained: “At the beginning of August 2022, and after six weeks of training, we decided to run a project to build a cloud-native web application that could showcase IBM Cloud technology, but specifically integrate the application into IBM Security Verify. The idea was that the trainees would learn about project lifecycles, IBM Cloud technology, and understand the benefits of IBM Security Verify in the context of a real-world application.”

The FIFA World Cup 2022’s official start date is November 21 st , 2022, and the team decided it might be interesting to develop a game that allowed people to predict the results of the matches and rank the participants on the quality of their guesses. That was the cue to gather requirements, design the game, and crucially, work out how on earth one goes about developing such a thing.

“It was amazing to watch the team in action. Not only did they think about the solution itself, but they were really focused on using modern technology to develop their skills and even wanted to understand how they could go about marketing such a solution at the end of the process. This wasn’t just a training exercise for them. They wanted it to be a success in its own right!”

The team immediately split itself into front-end UI/UX developers and back-end API and database delivery teams. They gathered their requirements, thought about the screens and experience required to deliver a quality solution, then mapped the various API endpoints required to support that experience.

Once the screens were mocked up and the API endpoints defined, it was time to select a means of delivering the technical solution. Node.JS using the Express framework with a MongoDB database was selected from a shortlist of technologies that simplified the next decision to be taken – which components on the IBM Cloud could best serve our needs?

Building the solution on the IBM Cloud was a natural fit for an IBM Business Partner. A cloud-native delivery pattern was important to the team (and their stakeholders).  The team was focused on delivering a solution rather than delivering procedures for patching operating systems.

IBM Code Engine was selected as the container orchestration tool for both the front-end application and API backed. IBM Toolchains were created for automating the CI/CD processes. IBM Key Protect was used to store keys and secrets. IBM Functions was selected for the execution of periodic batch processes. Conceptually, their first architecture diagram looked like this:

“The great thing about the World Cup was it had a fixed deadline. No amount of asking for an extension to our project timelines was going to result in FIFA shifting their match schedules” joked Swann.

The team got into “build mode” and with a target to deliver a minimum viable product within four weeks, the results were impressive:

• A MongoDB instance in a highly available configuration was brought online.
• An API backend application was built using Node.JS and Express, containerized and deployed to IBM Code Engine.
• A front-end application was built with some beautiful imagery using ­­Node.JS and the bootstrap framework. It was containerized and deployed to IBM Code Engine.
• Integration with third-party API endpoints to automate the updating of match scores in real time was provided by Node.JS code snippets deployed to IBM Code Functions.
• And of course, the application was integrated with IBM Security Verify to provide authentication services and integration to other identity providers such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

Hooking the platform up to IBM Security Verify was critical. Delegating authentication decisions to a third-party by using OpenID Connect (OIDC) would remove a whole world of pain from the development team.

Thankfully, the SDK for the Verify platform provided by IBM just worked.

The SDK wasn’t the only feature of the integration that proved to be a success, though. Configuring IBM Security Verify to delegate authentication to trusted social identity providers (such as LinkedIn and Facebook) was a point-and-click affair. The setup of an application definition for OIDC integration was similarly simplistic. And enabling context-based and adaptive authentication was a breeze.

Madison Shaw, one of the trainees who looked after the integration with IBM Security Verify said: “OIDC, OAuth, access tokens and refresh tokens were all new concepts to me when I started. I can’t believe how easy it was to implement a means of authenticating users and get the bare minimum user information passed to The Score Prophet platform to establish who was playing the game.”

Theming the IBM Security Verify user experience was the responsibility of Billy Quigley. He also found the process of customizing the UI/UX for the various use cases that required IBM Security Verify interaction easy to get to grips with: “The APIs for templating and theming was very intuitive. We had the theme we wanted to be designed, built, and applied within minutes.”

In summary, a team of trainees with no previous technical background other than six weeks of in-house training built and delivered a fully-fledged web application hosted on the IBM Cloud and protected by IBM Security Verify within just a month.

The targets may have been challenging, but determination and focus have resulted in something that wasn’t just fun to build, but will be fun to play, and will be re-used for other sporting competitions in the coming months and years.

“Obviously the team deserves a lot of credit for what they have achieved. But getting there was made so much easier by taking a cloud-native approach using IBM Cloud technologies,” said Swann. “And the lessons learned? Invaluable.”

And of course, visually, it renders beautifully on both desktop and mobile devices.

To learn more about the game or to participate and demonstrate your predictive skills, visit www.thescoreprophet.com .

IBM Solution Components Used

IBM Security Verify IBM Cloud – Code Engine IBM Cloud – Functions IBM Cloud – Container Registry IBM Cloud – Toolchains IBM Cloud – Key Protect IBM Cloud – Compose for MongoDB IBM Cloud – Object Storage

About Madigan Solutions

Madigan Solutions UK Limited is a leading provider of IBM Security Verify solutions. Whether your needs are access management, identity management & governance, or privileged access control & monitoring, Madigan Solutions can help you satisfy those needs.

Workforce Monitor

Resources on Credentials & the Future of Work

The Learning System at IBM: A Case Study

By Fei Qin and Thomas Kochan – Published December 2020 by MIT Work of the Future

IBM’s Your Learning System is an in-house digital training and human resources management platform “designed to address changing workforce demographics, improve employee learning experience, promote career transparency, and enhance the social contract in the organization.” In this report, authors Qin and Kochan tracked how internal badges achieved by technical sales staff through the IBM platform correlated with job performance and career advancement from 2014-2019. 

Your Learning Front-End UI Designed as a “one-stop shop” for online employee training, the Your Learning platform offers “more than 300,000 resources, including both learning content created by IBM, such as the IBM Think Academy [for IBM registered employees], and learning resources offered by third-party suppliers, such as Coursera, Edx, and others.” Employees can access any course on-demand and complete badges within their own schedules, as well management-required courses that are tracked. 

Personalized Learning Experience The core of Your Learning’s value is derived from the AI-driven personalized learning experience it offers to employees. Through IBM’s in-house AI tools, such as the “Watson Tag Advisor,” courses are organized based on subject matter and recommended to employees based on their individual learner profile’s course history, interests, skills, and job role, among other factors. Specifically, as learners interact with courses, AI algorithms learn employee preferences and create “ individual learning channels , recording in real time each user’s learning activities, such as courses completed, badges awarded, and time spent on learning at any point in time.” 

Integrated Digital HR Tools Other in-house IBM AI tools such as the “Compensation Advisor with Watson” use information from the Your Learning System to provide salary guidance to managers. Taken into consideration with job performance, the Compensation Advisor gives managers a more complete picture of a team member’s current skills and potential value to the organization. Further, the integration of salary compensation mechanisms into the learning platform incentivizes employees to consistently upskill. 

Report Findings: Employer Engagement and Job Performance

• In 2019, 99 percent of IBM employees visited the learning system at least once.
• Although technical sales staff is only required to complete 40 hours of Your Learning courses each year, learners invested 77 hours into the platform on average.
• Of all badges achieved, 56% were knowledge-based (“badges associated with learning at concept theory levels, including either discipline-specific learning content or knowledge from a broad range of topics”) and 30% were skill-based (“badges associated with hands-on application of concepts and theory”).
• The odds of an employee being promoted increase relatively by approximately 9% with each badge acquired. For example, the odds of promotion for a technical seller in one year is approximately 7.7%, with one more badge, it increases to 8.4%
• One more skill badge increases the odds of promotion for a technical seller relatively by approximately 16%. 
• Significant positive effects with both job performance and odds of promotion are associated with achievement of “skill” badges (badges that test for application of new knowledge) and “strategic” badges (those covering specific knowledge and skills related to new technologies such as AI and cloud computing and critical behavioral skills such as design thinking).
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, learning hours on the platform increased significantly among employees. 

Implications for IBM & External Audiences Compared to “most prior corporate training programs,” IBM’s Your Learning system provides employees more freedom to choose preferred course offerings. For example, being able to choose from a large pool of inhouse and third-party courses on-demand from one platform without “being limited to requesting permission to participate in training programs developed by inhouse training professionals offered at a specified time or location” affords employees schedule flexibility and a diverse range of courses to pursue specific knowledge and skills. This increased accessibility and course choice within the platform can serve a broad variety of employee’s career needs/aspirations, but also requires continuous investment to ensure quality and relevancy of learning content. 

Additionally, authors Qin and Kochan offer the following insights: 

• Due to the increase in employee engagement during the COVID pandemic, Qin and Kochan suggest organizations offering on-demand training programs like the Your Learning system may benefit from increased inhouse training funding during economic downturns. 
• Combining data from “a variety of different parts of IBM’s database” with the help of “coordinated efforts of professionals who collect and manage a number of different HR units . . . produced results that document some of the benefits of IBM’s learning system to the company and its employees.” 

Qin and Kochan took on this study, in part, to provide a case study for the MIT Task Force on Work of the Future . They evaluated the “current state of private and public sector training and development programs, practices, and institutions.” It was noted that “the mix of technical and behavioral resources available to IBM’s tech sales staff mirrors the mix of skills needed for these professionals to adapt to advancing technologies, changes in product mix, and evolving customer needs. The high take up rates observed among these professionals and the positive effects of their learning on job performance and career progression demonstrate the potential of this type of system.” 

• IBM: The value of values (A)

This case is about rebuilding a high performance culture at IBM. The case starts in 2002, shortly after Sam Palmisano succeeded Louis V. Gerstner as Chairman and CEO of IBM. By the time Palmisano took over, the company had gone through a painful turnaround and was back on a healthy footing. The challenge for Palmisano, an IBM lifer, was how to persuade fellow IBMers to keep on changing in the absence of a “burning platform”. After ten years of sacrifice and effort, there was a real danger of slipping back into complacency. Palmisano took a bet on an online “jam” – a massive, 72-hour chat room where employees worldwide could voice ideas about the values of the company. The exercise served to showcase IBM’s technology and its willingness to tap into the ideas of its employees. It helped breathe new life into IBM’s values as well as reconnecting IBM with its heritage. Most importantly, it provided Palmisano with a collective mandate for ongoing change that, in 2010, pushed IBM’s results to new record highs.

This case explores what culture is and how it can be changed, focusing on the particular challenge of building on success. For instructions looking for a broader discussion of IBM’s major leadership and change challenges since 1993, see case IMD-4-0318.

The Case Centre

Cranfield University

Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK Tel +44 (0)1234 750903 Email  [email protected]

Harvard Business School Publishing

60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600 Fax (617) 783-7666 Email  [email protected]

Asia Pacific Case Center

NUCB Business School

1-3-1 Nishiki Naka Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003 Tel +81 52 20 38 111 Email  [email protected]

IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services .

Research Information & Knowledge Hub  for additional information on IMD publications

• IBM: The value of values (B)
• IBM: The value of values (C)

The most successful executive teams can achieve outsized outcomes, but they can also be challenging to manage and be a part of. The author, a psych...

This is a fascinating case about Adam Neumann’s problematic behavior, which led to the downfall of WeWork, once one of America’s most valued startu...

For managers and teams, this is an unhealthy rapport. Here’s how to stop rolling your eyes and start treating each other like full-fledged adults. ...

No company can grasp the potential of AI until it has set up a data-driven culture enabling employees to create value from the insights that emerge...

In 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight KE007, a Boeing 747, suffered a tragic fate that claimed the lives of all 269 passengers and crew. Against the bac...

Prior research has identified the value of reconnecting dormant ties (i.e., people you used to know), allowing individuals to refresh relationships...

In 2022, Elon Musk, known for his innovative ideas and often compared to Steve Jobs, made a big move by buying Twitter for $44 billion. He then sta...

Peter Goldschmidt became the CEO of pharmaceuticals company STADA in 2018. He was a firm believer in culture as a driving force – and a predictor –...

In our digital age, smartphones have become a double-edged sword, offering boundless information at our fingertips while silently ensnaring us in a...

Over the last few years, there’s been a renewed focus on burnout, a serious physical and psychological condition that requires attention and care. ...

• Harvard Business School →
• Faculty & Research →
• November 1990 (Revised September 1991)
• HBS Case Collection

The Transformation of IBM

• Format: Print
• | Language: English
• | Pages: 22

About The Author

David B. Yoffie

• Call to +1 844 889-9952

Case Study Analysis: The Rise of IBM

IBM is a company that is working globally and has laid its foundation more than one hundred years ago. In this Case, ‘The Rise of IBM’ has thoroughly examined using various analytical tools. Firstly, the internal strength and weakness of the company has discussed and then the environmental conditions have identified through Porters five forces analysis. Moreover, the SWOT analysis has initiated to identify the strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats of the IBM. Finally, this study has kept its efforts to explore the corporate strategies, business strategies, and its effect on the operation of the company and identified some specific recommendation that has provided to increasing the performances of the company.

Background of IBM

International Business Machine shortly known as IBM is a multinational company that mainly deals with the computer hardware and software products and one of the popular names in the world of information technology. IBM is the oldest organization, which started its business even before the invention of computer and primarily named as Tabulating Machine Company initiated by Herman Hollerith in 1896. They worked on punched card data processing equipment. In 1911, Tabulating Machine Company has sold to Charles Flint for 2.3 million dollars and Flint invested 1.2 million dollar to develop a company name Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation or CRT. It incorporated on June 16, 1911 in Endicott, New York and merged with other two companies named the Computing Scale Corporation, and the Time Recording Company while the charge of the merger remains on the Charles Flint and he was the key financer of the merge. In 1914, Thomas J. Watson held the position of the General Manager of CRT and in 1917. CRT entered into the Canadian market through the name of International Business Machine Company Limited or IBM. In 1950, IBM got the chance to work on developing computer system for United States Air Force to automate the defense system. IBM’s computer business actually started in 1985 when they started working on large mainframe computer and the world saw the first commercial dealing of computer in the market through the model of ESA/390 and the S/390. In the decade of 80’s IBM earned revenues from the selling of mainframe computer beyond the expectations and it was the starting point of the rising of IBM as symbol brand computer.

IBM’s internal Strength and Weakness

In this section, the internal strengths and weakness of IBM have explored for better understanding about the company.

• IBM is the worlds largest as well as the oldest manufacturer of computer hardware and software;
• It introduced open source initiative supported by Linux, which enables the customers to use the software without payment;
• It has a strong brand image in the market through Big Blue (which means the loyalty of the customer and of the employees ) ;
• IBM has a worldwide operation and it serves every corner of the world with their products and technologies.
• IBM has a wide range of product line, which touch every sphere of the computer and IT infrastructure.
• IBM acquires approximately hundreds of organizations through out the world for their business purposes;
• It has developed unique processor for gaming console, which has used by most of the play station producers in the world;
• It has Unified Communication and Collaboration or the UC2 program that creates the platform for the latent programmer and computer experts to work in a sound environment.
• It has another program named Extreme Blue, which has developed to link the employees and engineers to construct high value product for IBM;
• IBM has adroit employees and currently the company consists 398,455 employees in the organization;
• It has separate corporate policy on environmental issues, which reduce the use of carbon to produce their products;
• IBM has a great investment in R & D as it is investing six billion dollar in this field.
• Being unparallel in producing mainframe computer, IBM failed achieving an skyscraping success in recent PC market
• IBM’s annual report shows the decreasing rate of revenues from the year 2007 to 2008;
• IBM is quite belated to hasten with the changed modern PC market than the other competitors.
• IBM uses the operating system of Microsoft, which annihilates its unique identity of brand PC producers;
• IBM has licensed most of its product to other producers in the world, which lowers the quality of its offering;
• Client-server network system opposes to IBM’s network system, which descend the market share of IBM.

Environmental Analysis of IBM

IBM is a multinational organization that works on global basis, thus, its environmental scrutiny includes a global prospective. With five forces analysis of Porter the environmental issues of IBM will be much clear.

• Threat of substitute product or services: The substitutes of mainframe computer and servers are already in the market. Computer market is so dynamic that almost every day new product comes into the market. IBM’s main product in the market is their brand PC that has substituted by Laptop or notebook computer and the PDA computer, which are real menace for IBM.
• The threat of the entry of new competitors: Computer industry is now exceptionally colossal which mainly has operated on a global basis, creating the chances for new entrance to pierce into the market more easily. IBM has a brand image and loyalty to the old customers and special attention from the corporate world but in the consumer levels this brand is not that much trendy. On the other hand, the competitors have the brand image to the mass consumers.
• The intensity of competitive rivalry: IBM faces a strong competition in the market because of the dynamics of the market and the presence of a big number of competitors. HP is the main competitor in the industry as it already detains the major share of the market. Its other competitors like ASUS, Acer, Dell, etc also compete there strappingly.
• The bargaining power of customers (buyers): In the global market of computers, the competition has largely based on the price of the products. The competitors here continues to reduce the prices and the buyers are edified about it. IBM is also investing a huge amount in R & D increasing the costs, which adversely affect the price of the product. The buyers of IBM are also limited in number as it sells its product at supplier levels.
• The bargaining power of suppliers: IBM is a company that largely depends on the suppliers and its most of products go through the supply chain, which terminate in the supplier levels. As a result, the bargaining power of the suppliers is high and IBM tries to leverage the suppliers bargaining power through an acquisition.

SWOT Analysis

• IBM has a strong brand image in the market;
• It has a strong market position in the corporate level segment;
• It has a large number of expert employees with their expertise.
• It has a wide variety of product line;
• It has a number of research institutes working with research and development;
• Their four researchers got novel prize for research.
• IBM has global business and strong customer base;
• It has large support system for their customer and collaborator.
• The main weakness of IBM is its current market share, which lag behind the other competitors;
• IBM concentrates on only one market segment.
• It is losing revenues in the recent years;
• It concentrates more on services rather than the product development;
• It heavily relies on suppliers and collaborators.

Opportunity

• The current dynamism of the industry creates the chance for new product development of IBM;
• IBM has the opportunity to flourish server-based-network system for their clients.
• IBM has the opportunity to enter into the new market of Asia and Africa;
• IBM can develop end user notebook, as the market of this product is very competent.
• Currently HP and other competitors are showing strong subsistence in the market;
• Chinese companies are entering into the market with their low priced products.
• Competition in the market largely depends on price than that of quality, as quality is the brand mark for IBM;
• Some big producers are merging to gain the competitive advantages in the market.

Corporate-Level Strategy of IBM

The mission of IBM is

• IBM’s works are dedicating and they hope to contribute for the success of their clients.
• Innovating new products or services that requires for both the company and the customers;
• Maintaining all kind of relationships, trust, and responsibility;

The corporate strategy of IBM falls in four categories. These are:

• Promote business in a way that will maximize the interest of the stockholders;
• Gain smart profit over sales to maximize the use of capital and other resources.
• Interact positively in the market;
• Compete in the market through ethical standard.
• Select suppliers who have quality products and services.
• IBM must be pioneer in new product development as it hopes to introduce new products in the market and others will follow it.
• It is cautious about the advancements or new product developments and it would try to advance them all the time in accordance with their futuristic technology;
• Produce high quality product at lower the costs so that it can offer best products in the market at low price.
• Know exactly the need of the customers and helps them not only for the current needs but also for the needs, which may arise in future.
• It helps customers to use its product in the best possible ways, so that, they can maximize the value;
• It provides customers with finest services for maintenance and support.

Business-Level Strategy of IBM

• Identifying Customer: IBM is a customer driven company. The customer base of the company has built on corporate level and the target customer is business organizations. IBM constructs the PCs focusing on the business functions while producing the computers.
• Assessing current and future demand: IBM always tries to identify the current demand of the customers as well as the future demand. To do this, the company interacts with the customers and develops a large software system for interaction of the customer with the company.
• Satisfying the demand: IBM satisfy the demand of the customer needs through a wide range of product both hardware and software. They acquire many companies and collaborate with other businesses to bring new product in the market to gratify the customers.

IBM’s business strategies focus on a number of areas, which includes:

• Cost Leadership: IBM’s main effort is producing high quality product with low cost because competition largely depends on the price. As one of the low cost producer, it already captures the corporate customers of large volume in USA. To minimize the supply cost and production cost IBM uses the acquisition strategy in the market. IBM concentrates to cut the cost of overhead but they still expend a large sum of money in research and development.
• Differentiation: IBM differentiates products in the market and their strategies regarding the differentiation are providing deep blue product to their valued customers, which is unique in every way from their competitors. IBM always tries to be a leader in the innovation of new technology (Hill & Jones 350).
• Focus Differentiation: IBM produces PCs and other products related to the demand of a specific level of customers. Their target market for their customized products is the business organization and IBM provides high value product and service to the corporate customers and less focus on general customers or end users.

IBM’s structure and control systems

IBM’s structure includes four marketing and sales units, and nine manufacturing units and these thirteen units have acknowledged as baby blues. The nine manufacturing units of IBM have largely based on the technology or product development and the four marketing and sales unit work on marketing the product or technology of those units. In this structure, every division manager has adequate power and it would balance the power of technologist over the other executives.

In case of supply chain structure, IBM initially uses vertical integration due to scarcity of suppliers in the market. However, in course of time when the magnitude of suppliers increases the model would change and appear as more horizontal.

Control system

To control the activities of IBM, the company has established a well set of guideline, which serves as a basic controlling tools of the organization.

• Every employee of IBM would develop and suggest both long and short-term goals according to his position;
• They must understand the corporate policy and procedures and would comply with it. The members may also suggest the change in the organization’s policies if requires;
• The member should present realistic budget for the income and expenses, and work with the approved budget efficiently.
• They must aware of the fact that if their any modification requires to up-to-date the operation;
• The superior person must teach the subordinates and appraise their performance time to time;
• The superiors must clearly the responsibility of the subordinates and give them proper support to achieve the goal.
• Employees of IBM must develop an atmosphere where everyone support each other and praise the achievement for anyone;
• They must inform about the development, which would affect the products and services of IBM.

For the implementation of the corporate strategy of IBM, the company has developed above-mentioned guidelines and these will clearly fit with the strategies of IBM.

Recommendation

• IBM should plan to establish more plants by their own initiative rather than merger and acquisition;
• It should produce computer processor and motherboard for their own branded PCs rather than using the Intel processor and motherboard;
• IBM may think to develop its own operating system rather using the operating system of Microsoft or Linux.
• It should explore new market for their product and services especially concentrate on third world country;
• IBM should emphasis on the end user segment of the market beside the business or corporate segment;
• IBM has to reduce their cost of products and services to gain the market edge over the competitors.
• IBM ought to engage its efforts to developing new products and services as well modification of the current product lines to keep updated;
• It should create new investment portfolio for the investors and try to raise stock price in the market;
• It ought to focus on the research and experiment work for creating new product with more values;
• IBM supposed to concentrate on more value addition in their current operating procedure and stepped to an extensive production and marketing.

Works Cited

Hill, Charles. & Jones, Gareth. Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach , 8 th edition. 2007. Print.

Cite this paper

Select style

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

BusinessEssay. (2022, December 15). Case Study Analysis: The Rise of IBM. https://business-essay.com/case-study-analysis-the-rise-of-ibm/

"Case Study Analysis: The Rise of IBM." BusinessEssay , 15 Dec. 2022, business-essay.com/case-study-analysis-the-rise-of-ibm/.

BusinessEssay . (2022) 'Case Study Analysis: The Rise of IBM'. 15 December.

BusinessEssay . 2022. "Case Study Analysis: The Rise of IBM." December 15, 2022. https://business-essay.com/case-study-analysis-the-rise-of-ibm/.

1. BusinessEssay . "Case Study Analysis: The Rise of IBM." December 15, 2022. https://business-essay.com/case-study-analysis-the-rise-of-ibm/.

Bibliography

BusinessEssay . "Case Study Analysis: The Rise of IBM." December 15, 2022. https://business-essay.com/case-study-analysis-the-rise-of-ibm/.

• Business Plan For the Mobile Vegetarian Restaurant
• Business-to-Consumer DVD E-Commerce Business
• Industry Base Case Study: Korean Airline Ground Handlers
• Skelton Truck Lines: The Sales Force Effectiveness
• Merging Compaq-Digital Process Analysis
• Lonely Planet Publications: Past and Present
• Kool Kutz: Case Study
• Globalization in Businesses and the Ethical Issues
• The In-N-Out Burger Services: Venture Into the Mexican Market
• “Validation Study Report Against Various International Standards” Review

• Artificial Intelligence
• Generative AI
• Business Operations
• Cloud Computing
• Data Center
• Data Management
• Emerging Technology
• Enterprise Applications
• IT Leadership
• Digital Transformation
• IT Strategy
• IT Management
• Diversity and Inclusion
• IT Operations
• Project Management
• Software Development
• Vendors and Providers
• Enterprise Buyer’s Guides
• United States
• Middle East
• España (Spain)
• Italia (Italy)
• Netherlands
• United Kingdom
• New Zealand
• Data Analytics & AI
• Newsletters
• Foundry Careers
• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Copyright Notice
• Member Preferences
• About AdChoices
• Your California Privacy Rights

Our Network

• Computerworld
• Network World

3 Case studies demonstrate the power of modern enterprise content management

Customers in insurance, banking, and healthcare find benefits in replacing aging content management tools with modern systems..

From insurance to banking to healthcare, organizations of all stripes are upgrading their aging content management systems with modern, advanced systems that introduce new capabilities, flexibility, and cloud-based scalability. In this post, we’ll touch on three such case studies.

Global insurance company

A large insurance company adopted a cloud-based document management system to enable paperless operations around the world and simplify regulatory compliance. The organization had some tactical document management systems, but they were siloed and based on slow, outdated technology. Plus, all files were stored in U.S. data centers, creating obstacles for a globally dispersed user base.

After adopting Alfresco Content Services and Alfresco Governance Services running on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the insurer fully digitized its operations. The IT team worked closely with business users to build a solution “in which paper wasn’t part of the process,” the company’s SVP and CIO said.

The solution provides electronic file and records management capabilities that integrate seamlessly with the company’s core insurance applications, automating everything from document retrieval to records management . The solution is saving the company $21 million over five years thanks to massive reductions in paper, printing, and storage costs.

Large community bank

When a 28-branch community bank decided to sunset its document storage system, it needed a solution that would work with its cloud-based core banking system.

After identifying dozens of company requirements, the organization selected  OnBase  running on the Hyland Cloud. With support from Hyland Professional Services, the bank migrated 2.5 million documents, representing the past 15 years of business documents, to OnBase. Soon after, the bank added WorkView , Hyland’s low-code application builder, to create solutions and address new challenges with speed and agility.

“With WorkView, you can build workable solutions with almost no code at all. It’s enabled us like a force multiplier. We can accomplish so much with a small team,” said the bank’s enterprise process manager.

Among the benefits, the solution helped the bank’s lending department retire its manual, paper-based workflow in favor of more automated processing using OnBase workflows. The results have been significant: a mortgage loan process now takes less than 20 minutes to complete each day, down from two hours.

What’s more, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank was able to bring on remote, temporary workers to handle an onslaught of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications.

“All the documents needed were visible in OnBase without relying on paper to complete the work,” said the bank’s senior vice president and director of operations and process improvements. “We couldn’t have managed the loan volume without OnBase in the cloud.”

Large pharmacy and healthcare firm

A large American retail pharmacy and healthcare company was looking to upgrade its aging knowledge management systems. Its executive leadership team directed the business to select a knowledge management platform with a modern, open-source approach that would reduce the company’s dependence on IBM, Oracle, and other proprietary solutions.

The company opted for Hyland’s  Nuxeo Platform , an open-source and highly scalable platform that enables the provider’s customer care representatives to quickly access their customers’ current coverage details. It also gives the company the flexibility to introduce new solutions in the future without worrying about being constrained by proprietary technology.

Ultimately, the healthcare firm used Nuxeo to replace two aging platforms:

• A mission-critical solution, previously based on IBM File Net, that’s used by more than 20,000 customer care agents to serve clients daily.
• A content management solution based on Oracle Stellent for managing policies, procedures, and other business content.

Now, the company is confident its agents will be up to date on the latest information they need to do their jobs effectively, from patient details to urgent notices about drug recalls.

“We’re confident the Nuxeo Platform will enable us to inform our reps ASAP,” said a healthcare company rep. “This is critical not only for our business, but also for the well-being of the millions of people who use [our] services.”

To learn more, visit Hyland .

Related content

The evolving state of enterprise content management: how ai changes the game, the secret to effective enterprise content management: building from a sound base, how intelligent document processing automates content-intensive processes, 5 benefits intelligent document processing brings to content management, from our editors straight to your inbox, show me more, google’s gemini gets new gems assistants, imagen 3.

Going public: Corporate CIOs make the shift to government IT leadership

What tech Infrastructure NSW’s ICT director aligns with business objectives

CIO Leadership Live Australia with Nazih Battal, Chief Information and Technology Officer at Rashays

Mike Aiello, CTO at Secureworks, joins CIO Leadership Live from Foundry's CIO100 event NEW

CIO Leadership Live Australia with Andrew Dome, Chief Digital Information Officer at Uniting

Kubecost helps firms monitor, optimize their Kubernetes and cloud spend

Mike Aiello, CTO at Secureworks, joins CIO Leadership Live from Foundry's CIO100 event

Sponsored Links

• The future of identity is here. Unlock brand growth with Merkury
• Everyone’s moving to the cloud. Are they realizing expected value?
• The cloud shouldn’t be complicated. Unlock its potential with SAS.
• Everybody's ready for AI except your data. Unlock the power of AI with Informatica