Ibm : The New Era Of The Technology Industry And At The Forefront Of Innovation

Marketing research is very important component of a business used to identify and define the opportunities and problems that they will encounter on the market. The aim

IBM Global Services, the technology services and consulting division of International Business Machines (IBM), is the world’s largest provider of systems integration and technology consulting. It offers services in areas such as application development, data storage, infrastructure management, networking, and technical support (Datamonitor Plc., 2007, p.4). IBM Global Services is also among the world leaders in providing business consulting and outsourcing services. IBM Global Services’ headquarter locates in Armonk, New York. The company has more than 190,000 employees around the world.

A market analysis, or market research, helps to understand the community an organization is working for, as well as come up with ideas for the future (Berkowitz, 2011). This is true for any organization, and even more important for smaller organizations, as that may not have a large amount of money to use for new ventures, services, and products. Not to mention the organization needs to determine the best plan of action for their consumers, as well as those that are not yet utilizing the services and products being offered.

Market research is utilized by companies to make the right decisions when it comes to

In the seven years (since 1994), that Lou Gerstner reigned over IBM, the company’s earnings per

IBM needs to grow revenue and stay competitive in the dynamically changing computer marketplace of the 1990’s by maintaining technological leadership and accepting the organizational transformation which needs to be undertaken for them to excel. IBM needs to recapture their previously held powerful position in the personal computer and microprocessor markets and regain value in the company which will increase its stock value and competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Personal computer business naturally can be classified as a sub component of business solutions provider that IBM’s positioned for. The tagline indeed shows that for every transactions made, IBM has something to deal with it to make things easier, meaningful and on advantages. The decision to relinquish interest in the above mentioned sector doesn’t put IBM in any advantage if it decided to discontinue advertise in mass media. On the contrary, by resuming the current practices it helps maintains and restore the brand name that could probably enhance the brand loyalty.

Most of the businessmen consider market research the key to a successful business empire. It is quite essential to conduct a thorough research to analyze the prospects of an existing or new product. A well-conducted research proves fruitful in evaluating the business situations, the potential sales of a product, prospective customers and so forth.

Before launching or expanding a business venture, there needs to be an understanding of the industry, its competitors, and its customers. Market research is vital in assisting companies in the decision-making process and their marketing direction. Data from marketing research is important because it provides companies with ways to identify opportunities, identify market potential, minimize chances of loss, devise effective marketing strategies, gauge customer satisfaction, and serve as an evaluation tool.

IBM main activity is to find solutions to its wide range of clients using advanced information technology. Its clients are individual users, specialized businesses, and institutions such as government, science, defense, and spatial and educational organizations.

Over the past five years, IBM has quietly transformed itself into a "software, solution and services" company. With the transformation from a hardware vendor to a solution provider, it has entered the area of consulting services.

Question 1. What competences has IBM had to invest in arising from its transformation from a ‘product-centric’ to a ‘service-centric’ organization?

Prior to their cultural change that took place in the early 1990’s, many would have said that IBM was on a fatal downhill slide. At this point they were beginning to become obsolete. IBM at one point was among the leaders within the world for hardware/software development and information technology services, but all divisions within the organization were run independently from one another. They were not a unified enterprise. To solidify this even further, “rather than working together as a team, divisions competed against each other both internally and in the field” (DiCarlo, L., 2002).

IBM’s mainframe thinking- in terms of pricing and cost structure IBM tried to launch it in the middle market-and it bombed. It also blinded IBM to the much faster evolutionary path of the PC.

After sifting through the leads and finding the right ones to investigate management must formulate an international marketing plan. This further helps management in locating potential markets for their products. The first step is to use secondary research to find out what the sales potential is in a given market. Asking the questions of need, demand, and support gives one a starting point for research. If we were a company that sold pants we might want to ask the following questions. Is there a need for pants? Is it cold enough there to wear pants? Do people that demand the pants have money? These are the questions that one should ask of potential markets. Table 1-located at the end of the paper-shows the statistics that are needed for a general market picture. After gathering the information from the secondary research, the picture of a potential market becomes more evident. However, to make the picture clearer, one must conduct primary research. This research outlines the specifics of the potential market that directly pertain to the product. Robert Douglas' book, Penetrating the International Market, addresses the issue of locating potential markets in greater detail.2