IBM 2011 Annual Report Download - page 25

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Management Discussion
International Business Machines Corporation and Subsidiary Companies
Maintenance: a complete line of support services from product
maintenance through solution support to maintain and improve the
availability of clients’ IT infrastructures.
GTS Services Delivery: responsible for the worldwide delivery
of IBM’s technology- and process-based services. Operating within
a globally integrated delivery model enables regional client-facing
teams to utilize a global network of competencies and centers,
providing industry-leading, standardized, integrated tools and
processes. By leveraging insights and experience drawn from IBM’s
global scale, skills and technology, with applied innovation from IBM
Research, clients gain access to leading-edge, high-quality services
with improved productivity, flexibility, cost and outcomes.
Global Business Services (GBS) primarily provides professional
services and application management services, delivering business
value and innovation to clients through solutions which leverage
industry and business-process expertise while integrating the
industry-leading portfolio of IBM and strategic partners, to define
the upper end of client-valued services.
GBS Capabilities
Consulting and Systems Integration: delivery of value to clients
through consulting services for Strategy and Transformation; Application
Innovation Services; Enterprise Applications and Business Analytics
and Optimization.
Application Management Services: application development,
management, maintenance and support services for packaged
software, as well as custom and legacy applications. Value is delivered
through advanced capabilities in areas such as applications testing
and modernization, cloud application security, the company’s highly
differentiated globally integrated capability model, industry knowledge
and the standardization and automation of application development.
Software consists primarily of middleware and operating systems
software. Middleware software enables clients to integrate systems,
processes and applications across a standard software platform to
improve their business results, solve critical problems and gain
competitive advantage within their industries. IBM middleware is
designed on open standards, making it easier to integrate disparate
business applications, developed by different methods and
implemented at different times. Operating systems are the software
engines that run computers. Approximately two-thirds of external
software segment revenue is annuity based, coming from recurring
license charges and ongoing subscription and support. The remaining
one-third relates to one-time charge (OTC) arrangements in which
clients pay one, up-front payment for a perpetual license. Typically,
the sale of OTC software includes one year of subscription and
support. Clients can also purchase ongoing subscription and support
after the first year, which includes unspecified product upgrades
and technical support.
Software Capabilities
WebSphere Software: delivers capabilities that enable clients to
integrate and manage business processes across their organizations
with the flexibility and agility they need to respond to changing
conditions quickly. With a services-oriented architecture (SOA),
businesses can more easily link together their fragmented data and
business processes to extract value from their existing technology.
Smarter Commerce software enables seamless interaction between
companies, their customers and suppliers throughout the business
cycle, resulting in better customer experience, higher sales, lower
inventories, better service levels and improved response times.
Information Management Software: enables clients to integrate,
manage and use their information to gain business value and improve
their outcomes. Solutions include advanced database management,
enterprise content management, information integration, data
warehousing, performance management business analytics and
intelligence, as well as the emerging area of big data analytics.
Tivoli Software: helps clients manage their technology and business
assets by providing visibility, control and automation across their
organizations. With solutions for identity management, data security,
storage management, cloud computing, enterprise mobility and the
ability to provide automation and provisioning of the datacenter, Tivoli
helps build the infrastructure needed to make the world’s systems—
from transportation to water, energy and telecommunications—
run smarter.
Lotus Software: enables businesses to connect people and processes
for more effective communication and increased productivity through
collaboration, messaging and social networking software. By remaining
at the forefront of collaboration tools, Lotus helps organizations reap
the benefits of social networking and social business.
Rational Software: supports software development for both IT as
well as complex and embedded system solutions with a suite of
Collaborative Lifecycle Management products. Jazz, Rational’s
technology platform, transforms the way people work together to
build software, making software delivery more integrated and
collaborative, while optimizing for successful business outcomes.
Security Systems Software: provides clients with a single security
intelligence platform that aligns with their business objectives and
enables them to more intelligently secure their enterprises by
applying deep analytics to better identify and prevent vulnerabilities
within traditional, cyber, cloud and mobile security.
Operating Systems: software that manages the fundamental
processes that make computers run.