IBM 2002 Annual Report Download - page 32

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30
the fact is, few IT companies have the imagination or the financial
model to do much real scientific exploration. And that’s all well and
good. There’s plenty of money to be made leveraging the innovations
of others, and occupying commodity segments of the marketplace
where low price is the most important criterion.
We’ve chosen to live at the other end
of the spectrum—at the frontier of
inquiry and game-changing innovation.
This is where 3,000-plus IBM
researchers probe mind-stretching
problems such as the folding of proteins
or the manipulation of atomic-scale
structures. More and more, they also
venture out of the lab to immerse
themselves in the marketplace, working
on grand challenges brought to them
by our customers.
Over the past 10 years, we’ve steadily
invested about $5 billion annually in
research, development and engineering.
We consider it the price of entry for those
who want to play in the arena where
world-altering discovery takes place.
Why
high-tech isn’t for everyone
(but why it’s good that
someone is doing it)