Industry analyst firms, including Forrester Research, have ranked IBM No. 1 in services. The company has a varied services portfolio led by IBM GBS (Global Business Services) and IBM GTS (Global Technology Services). IBM GBS operates in more than 160 countries and provides clients with deep business process and industry expertise across 17 industries. IBM officials say their GBS is the world’s largest service provider in business consulting, system integration and application services. GBS helps clients implement solutions that deliver business outcomes with far-reaching impact and sustainable results, whether that’s designing and implementing new service after sales business models, revolutionizing the business model for automotive insurance with innovative technology or becoming one of the leading logistics providers for supply chains. IBM works with its clients to identify the level of change that suits their needs and will result in actionable change and sustainable outcomes. Meanwhile, IBM officials said IBM GTS is the world's largest IT services and consulting provider, with about 190,000 professionals in 160 countries. For instance, IBM's GTS business in Greater China (Hong Kong, Taiwan, China) addresses the entire spectrum of its clients' business needs, from business transformation and industry expertise of IBM's consulting business to hosting, infrastructure, technology design and training services. GTS provides services such as business continuity and resilience, user services, integrated communication services, IT strategy and architecture services, maintenance and technical support services, middleware services, outsourcing services, security and privacy services, server services, site and facilities services, and storage and data services.
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IBM Technology Services: 20 Reasons Why It’s No. 1
by Darryl K. Taft
Leading Performance
In 2009, IBM’s GTS division reported revenue of $37.3 billion.
Understanding Services
GTS primarily provides IT infrastructure services and business process services, delivering business value through the company’s global scale, standardization and automation. GTS capabilities include strategic outsourcing services, business transformation outsourcing, integrated technology services and maintenance. The division’s outsourcing businesses are supported by two integrated worldwide delivery organizations: integrated technology delivery and business process delivery.
World’s Largest IT Consultancy Services Organization
In addition to GTS, the other services segment is IBM GBS, the professional services arm of Global Services. The world's largest IT consultancy services organization, GBS includes strategic management consulting, industry expertise, business analytics and optimization, systems integration, and application management services.
Services Revenue Mix
Collectively, IBM's services divisions—including technology services and business services—represented 42 percent of IBM's total revenue in 2009.
The Future of Services
IBM was ranked the top service provider for 2010 by Forrester Research, which projected that the company will maintain its position through 2020.
Leader in Outsourcing
IBM is the world's largest outsourcing services provider, with more than 1,000 clients from around the globe.
Acquisitions Increase Opportunities
The 2002 acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting brought IBM new insight into client business issues and new market opportunities. Some notable recent acquisitions include: Internet Security Systems (August 2006); Softek (January 2007); Serbian Business Systems (April 2007); NovusCG (October 2007); Arsenal Digital Solutions (December 2007); and National Interest Security Company (2010).
Wide Range of Services Clients
IBM partners with the world's leading organizations to solve fundamental business problems and transform business models through technology. Over the last few months, IBM announced new deals with Hilton Worldwide, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and ElectraCard Services (India), among others.
Business Continuity and Resiliency
With more than 40 years of global experience in the business continuity arena and more than 155 business resilience centers worldwide, IBM has deep industry-specific knowledge and a broad range of major clients and leading services.
Three Pillars of Services Delivery
GTS Services Delivery is responsible for delivering IBM's IT and business process outsourcing services. The strategy to drive quality and productivity in GTS Services Delivery is achieved through standardization, automation and global integration.
Global Service Delivery
IBM operates an extensive network of service delivery centers in more than 20 countries—with multiple sites in many of those countries. The centers provide IT services and business process outsourcing capabilities to IBM clients around the world.
GTS and Cloud
IBM GTS plays an integral role in the company's cloud strategy, and delivers services for the assessment, consulting, design and implementation of clouds. Many of the company's cloud offerings are hosted from IT delivery centers.
First in Security
Frost & Sullivan recently named IBM the North American market leader for managed security services for its ability to maintain the most market share among managed security service providers.
Security Operations
IBM has six worldwide research labs focused on innovation in security technology and nine global security operations centers to monitor for the latest threats and protect clients. IBM is also the only technology provider with more than 40 years of security development and innovation.
Role of Research
IBM's technology services division applies the knowledge from the company's research arm—which includes eight global locations—to the practical development of technology services and cloud computing. One example includes a recently opened technology services delivery center in Dubuque, Iowa, as part of IBM's Smarter Cities project.
Modernizing Health Care
Through a first-of-a-kind project, IBM Research and NASCO are teaming to make health care smarter. The companies will explore the application of leading-edge research to develop tools that will spur the modernization of today's health care claims systems and enable automation of the processes for setting up new customers.
Deploying Smart Systems
In one of the largest services agreements in the history of the health care industry, Kaiser Permanente tapped IBM to deploy smart systems and activate its highly sophisticated global delivery network to provide patients, members and physicians real-time access to medical data and tools whenever and wherever they need it.
Data Center Space
IBM owns and operates more than 8 million square feet of data center space — more than any other company in the world.
Efficient Data Centers
IBM's data center approach can easily and efficiently be expanded to handle additional computing capacity (via more servers, power and cooling systems) as needed using the same simple, "plug and play" approach that all computer users are accustomed to. It's just like popping in memory to a laptop. The new design approach is paying off for clients, helping them reduce data center energy costs by up to 50 percent.
Cutting Edge Services Lines
IBM was the first IT services organization to launch a service line dedicated to business analytics and optimization, allocating more than 6,000 consultants with industry expertise, as well as launching seven global analytic solutions centers in 2009.
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Industry analyst firms, including Forrester Research, have ranked IBM No. 1 in services. The company has a varied services portfolio led by IBM GBS (Global Business Services) and IBM GTS (Global Technology Services). IBM GBS operates in more than 160 countries and provides clients with deep business process and industry expertise across 17 industries. IBM officials say their GBS is the world’s largest service provider in business consulting, system integration and application services. GBS helps clients implement solutions that deliver business outcomes with far-reaching impact and sustainable results, whether that’s designing and implementing new service after sales business models, revolutionizing the business model for automotive insurance with innovative technology or becoming one of the leading logistics providers for supply chains. IBM works with its clients to identify the level of change that suits their needs and will result in actionable change and sustainable outcomes. Meanwhile, IBM officials said IBM GTS is the world's largest IT services and consulting provider, with about 190,000 professionals in 160 countries. For instance, IBM's GTS business in Greater China (Hong Kong, Taiwan, China) addresses the entire spectrum of its clients' business needs, from business transformation and industry expertise of IBM's consulting business to hosting, infrastructure, technology design and training services. GTS provides services such as business continuity and resilience, user services, integrated communication services, IT strategy and architecture services, maintenance and technical support services, middleware services, outsourcing services, security and privacy services, server services, site and facilities services, and storage and data services.