International Business Machines (IBM), is a global technology company that provides hardware, software, cloud-based services and cognitive computing.
Founded in 1911 following the merger of four companies in New York State by Charles Ranlett Flint, it was originally called Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company. It would be renamed to IBM in 1924.
Given that the company is over 100 years old it is no surprise that it has had to adjust to different technological trends throughout the decades.
The company is now transitioning from being an infrastructure player to one that is more cloud and data driven.
Nicknamed ‘Big Blue’, the company offers cloud products in the shape of Bluemix, a SoftLayer cloud, and data analytics, or cognitive computing capabilities, with the Watson supercomputer.
International Business Machines Corp. provides integrated solutions that leverage information technology and knowledge of business processes. It operates through the following segments: Cloud & Cognitive Software, Global Business Services, Global Technology Services, Systems, and Global Financing. The Cloud & Cognitive Software segment provides integrated and secure cloud, data and solutions to the clients. The Global Business Services segment provides clients with consulting, application management and global process services. The Global Technology Services segment provides comprehensive IT infrastructure and platform services that create business value for clients. The Systems segment provides clients with innovative infrastructure platforms to help meet the requirements of hybrid cloud and enterprise AI workload. The Global Financing segment encompasses two primary businesses: financing, primarily conducted through IBM Credit LLC, and remanufacturing and remarketing. The company was founded by Charles Ranlett Flint and Thomas J. Watson Sr. on June 16, 1911 and is headquartered in Armonk, NY.
While the company has expanded its portfolio from server hardware, this is still an area that it operates in with the z Series mainframe. The company also offers software with the likes of its DB2 database offering, and IBM SPSS.
Ginni Rometty, IBM CEO, said: “Digital is the wires, but digital intelligence, or artificial intelligence as some people call it, is about much more than that. This next decade is about how you combine those and become a cognitive business. It’s the dawn of a new era.”
IBM has been focused on continuous innovation for more than a century. Patenting is an important barometer of that innovation, and IBM has topped the annual list of U.S. patent recipients for the 20th consecutive year.
IBM is a leading cloud platform and cognitive solutions company. Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are the largest technology and consulting employer in the world, with more than 350,000 employees serving clients in 170 countries. With Watson, the AI platform for business, powered by data, we are building industry-based solutions to real-world problems. For more than seven decades, IBM Research has defined the future of information technology with more than 3,000 researchers in 12 labs located across six continents.