IBM 2001 Annual Report Download - page 25

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no. 7
We grew a business from
the ground up
THE BIRTH OF IBM GLOBAL SERVICES
Put another way, we realized that the future of the computer
industry wasn’t in computers.
In 1991, we were a $64.8 billion company that got less than
$6 billion from non-maintenance services. Ten short years
later, the business of information technology services gener-
ated more than 40 percent of our $86 billion in sales and
became the single largest source of revenue in our portfolio.
How did that happen? It was partly the result of old-fashioned
hard work and serious commitment
—
growing customer by
customer; building disciplined management and financial
systems; and investing to hire and train experts in everything
from I/T consulting, to systems architecture, to Web services.
We used our financial strength to fund the expensive push into
outsourcing. And we placed informed bets on the future
—
in
areas such as I/T utility services (“e-business on demand”) and
hosted storage.
But most important, the success of IBM Global Services
comes from something very simple
—
a clear understanding of
customers’ needs. We saw that technology and business were
converging to create something new
—
and challenging
—
for
every kind of enterprise. We had the deep experience in both
areas to help our customers combine them most effectively.