IBM 2001 Annual Report Download - page 25
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Please find page 25 of the 2001 IBM annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.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.