IBM Services is the professional services arm of IBM, made up of business, technology and industry experts who apply advanced technology and help clients design, build and run businesses. It includes two divisions: IBM Global Business Services and IBM Global Technology Services.
IBM Global Business Services
IBM Global Business Services is the professional services arm of Global Services, including management and strategy consulting, systems integration, and application management services. Revenues from the Global Business Services were $13.5 billion in 2014.
History
IBM's early involvement in IT services can be traced back to the mid-seventies and its Data Processing Support Services division. At the time, the company was under regulatory pressure to unbundle its support services from the sale of hardware. Additionally, with the launch of its early teleprocessing and database products, such as CICS and IMS, many customers could only acquire the expertise needed to build their applications through hiring consulting services directly from IBM itself. Later, in 1989, Eastman Kodak Company and IBM completed an agreement by which IBM designed, built and managed a new state-of-the-art data center for Kodak in Rochester, New York under the brand name ISSC, Integrated Systems Solution Corporation. Also in 1989, IBM introduced Business Recovery Services, an offering that enables a business to continue operations in the event of an unplanned outage or disaster. In 1992, the company formed IBM Consulting Group, as a new management consulting organization with service lines in Business Transformation and IT Strategy Consulting. This initiative was led by Robert M. Howe, IBM vice-president and general manager of IBM Consulting Group. The group was rebranded to IBM Business Innovation Services in 2001, and then IBM Business Consulting Services. As the management consulting became more entangled with more technology delivery, the integrated organization became known as IBM Global Business Services. In 2002, IBM Global Services acquired the management consulting and technology services arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, around the same time some of the other Big Four accounting firms were selling off their consulting arms. PwC's consultancy business was sold to IBM for approximately US$3.9 billion in cash and stock. This nearly doubled the number of consultants within IBM Global Services, adding 30,000 consultants in 52 countries. In 2016, IBM announced its planned acquisition of Promontory Financial Group in September 2016 and completed the transaction in November 2016.
Organizational structure
IBM Global Business Services is organized into three growth platforms which contain seven service lines:
IBM Global Technology Services provides information technology services for clients around the world. GTS professionals design, build, run and maintain critical infrastructure and systems across clients’ IT environments. In recent years, GTS has expanded its capabilities in hybrid cloud and is applying automation and Watson in its services delivery, especially through the IBM Services Platform with Watson launched in July 2017. Organizational structure IBM Global Technology Services is organized into two core capabilities:
Infrastructure Services delivers a portfolio of cloud, project-based, outsourcing and other managed services. The portfolio includes hybrid cloud services and solutions to assist clients in building and running enterprise IT environments that utilize public and private clouds and traditional IT, built around a key set of solutions addressing systems, mobility, resiliency, network, and security.
Technology Support Services delivers support services to maintain and improve the availability of clients’ IT infrastructures. These offerings include maintenance for IBM products and other technology platforms, as well as software and solution support.
