IBM PartnerWorld: CEO Rometty Addresses Transformation

IBM CEO Ginni Rometty took to the stage during day two of IBM’s PartnerWorld Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, thanking channel partners for their support during what she called “a time of transformation” for the company.

“I want to answer a question, and it’s a question my mother asks me every time I talk to her: What is happening at IBM? It’s what must happen at IBM—we’re transforming the company and doing it as generations before us have and what generations after us will,” she said.

IBM has been working to reshape itself as it struggles with poor earnings—11 straight quarters of declining revenue—and find its way in a new, cloud-based technology ecosystem. After divesting itself of its commodity server business and its semiconductor manufacturing, IBM is focused on seven distinct areas: IBM Watson, cloud, security, services, systems, commerce and analytics.

And while its conversations around cloud during the conference have been more elementary than I’d have guessed they’d be, the company is emphasizing its broad cloud portfolio, from SoftLayer at the infrastructure level to Bluemix at the platform level and IBM Cloud Marketplace at the application level, Rometty emphasized IBM’s breadth of offerings available to channel partners.

“The cloud is about remaking enterprise IT for the era of the cloud,” she said. “For the client it is about agility and speed. Hybrid, security and design for data are our differentiators. …  IBM is on its way to being an as a service for you to build on. And for those who sell managed services, it’s a way to invigorate that.”

Two other areas where Rometty said IBM is differentiating—big data and engagement—offer opportunity for channel partners as they help their customers navigate new technologies and new ways of doing business.

“Big data analytics: This is about transforming [customers’] industry or their profession for a competitive advantage. It will separate the winners and the losers,” she said. “What do we bring that’s different? It is a unique ability to integrate many sources of data. This is otherwise a dream. It is the ability in the range of the analytics we do—from descriptive to prescriptive to action. And it is domain and industry experience—you cannot be a generic provider in this area. You have to have ability and expertise.”

And of engagement: “This is about reimagining work. This is one place where our differentiation has matured,” Rometty said. “You have to understand workflow. You also have to understand systems of engagement’s impact to systems of record.  Security is a big differentiator for us also – whatever people are doing isn’t enough.”

While not addressing IBM’s growing pains specifically, Rometty did note the road has not been smooth during these past few transitional years.

“Transformation is always challenging but the progress we have made together is very real,” she said. “Transitions only are easy when told through revisionist history. Together I am confident we will solve the world’s most business and societal problems.”

Here’s hoping Big Blue can weather the rest of its transformation relatively unscathed.