How IBM's future is based on Business Analytics

Information and Business Analytics

This year alone, there will be 1,200 exabytes of data generated, with 80% of this information coming from social media sources such as blogs and wikis as well as mobile devices. Business and governments alike are grappling with the challenge of making sense of this data deluge to turn it into new business opportunities. In fact, one key business priority for CEOs and CIOs is to harness this growing information by applying the power of Business Analytics and transform this information into a strategic asset.
The Importance of Information Management and Business Analytics in Today's Market
• Business Analytics continues to be the big mega trend, with a market estimated by analysts worth $105 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 8% - a faster rate of growth than the overall IT market itself.
• According to a recent IBM survey of nearly 300 clients, 1 in 3 business leaders frequently make critical decisions without the information they need, and 53 percent do not have access to the information needed to do their jobs. Sifting through massive amounts of paperwork to get any process to the finish line is costing businesses millions of dollars. In the case of governments, it is impacting the level of services for citizens.
• Technology spending reigns are being loosened as the global economy slowly recovers, especially for Business Analytics projects which are recognized as the foundation for business transformation.
• In IBM’s September 2009 Global Study of 2,500 CIOs across 78 countries, 83 percent of respondents identified business analytics as a top priority.
• In IBM's 2010 Global CFO Study of 1,900 CFOs and senior Finance leaders worldwide, the majority of respondents indicated that they plan to use sophisticated analytics to uncover correlations among seemingly unrelated pieces of information and find patterns nearly impossible to detect manually.
• Business Analytics is going mainstream – it is no longer a niche technology for corporate, government or IT analysts, statisticians or C-suite execs using fancy dashboards. It is becoming "democratized" -- available to everyone in an organization. A dashboard in every pocket.
IBM’s Commitment to Information Management and Business Analytics
• IBM provides the most sophisticated portfolio of analytics capabilities to help clients manage, capture, integrate, analyze and predict on the widest range of information, both within and outside their organization.
• IBM's expertise spans across software, services, research, hardware and decades of industry leadership.
• On May 12, at IBM’s 2010 Investor briefing, IBM Chairman, President and CEO Sam Palmisano reaffirmed the company’s commitment and focus on Business Analytics as a key growth area.
• IBM CFO Mark Loughridge also stated that IBM is projecting $16 billion in Business Analytics and Optimization revenue by 2015.
• In the last 5 years IBM has invested $11 billion in acquisitions to build this portfolio; dedicated 5,000 services consultants; and made 18 acquisitions. Our investments are paying off – during our recent earnings, IBM saw double digit growth in both Software and Services around Business Analytics.
• A significant part of IBM's $6 billion invested to date in R&D is focused on driving innovation around Business Analytics. This investment is supported by:
• 35,000 IBMers around the globe
• 80 Research and Development Laboratories
• 40 innovation centers worldwide
• In the past 12 months, IBM has opened 7 new analytics centers worldwide (NY, Washington, London, Tokyo, China, Berlin and Dallas), and has assembled 5,000 analytics consultants with industry expertise.
• IBM has one of the world's most recognized Research departments, including 200+ IBM Research mathematicians dedicated solely to business analytics efforts.
• For 17 consecutive years IBM has been a leader in patents – with 4,914 in 2009
Market Footprint
• In IBM’s Q1 2010 earnings, Business Analytics revenue was up double digits, and was one of the fundamental drivers of performance across Software and Services.
• On IBM’s Q1 2010 earnings call, IBM CFO Mark Loughridge called out how Business Analytics has spurred growth. "Our investments are unique to IBM strategy, and are paying off."
• Today, IBM is working with more than 250,000 clients worldwide on Business Analytics, including:
o 22 of the top 24 global commercial banks
o 11 of the top 12 US specialty retailers
o the top 26 property and casualty, life and health insurance companies in the US
o major national governments including the U.S. military and U.S. state governments.