A good quarter and, of course, its vaunted marketing machine gets it a very positive
write up in NY Times.
But is IBM really "nimble"?
I have written before that when IBM gets its act together it
can be awesome. But that does not happen consistently. It is often tough to find the
appropriate client partner to invite them to opportunities (opportunities – think
what happens when there are problems). Sales teams often do not how to leverage
IBM’s global delivery assets. Or to bridge multiple infrastructure and
application services areas. Or they continue to cling to older price paradigms when they should be using massive scale to put teeth into utility offerings.
Its recent software moves have been mostly about buying
companies which have leveled off in growth and giving them a bigger channel.
Not exactly innovation, but more reach. And like with services, with a broad portfolio
you often get left hand not knowing what the right is doing.
IBM sometimes reminds me of a visit I made to the Egyptian Museum
in Cairo a few
years ago. Embarrassment of riches – so many amazing artifacts as you walk through it – but lots just
strewn around. And often reaching back to
past glory. The website was last updated in 2003.
Lots of other adjectives come to mind, but nimble is a stretch.
