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Adding Services Means Adding Knowledge: The Successful Case of the IBM Corporation.

Luna Leoni

University of Rome “Tor Vergata”

In this paper two research methods have been adopted: systematic literature review, to identify a gap in the literature between servitization and knowledge management fields of study; and single-case study, to demonstrate the connec-tions between the two topics in the real organization life. The analysis focuses on the IBM Corporation, and explores how knowledge management tools and practices have been developed and modified during the servitization strategy implementation. Findings show that the two fields are closely connected, thus involving both managerial and research implications. The study could be con-sidered as a first step to fill the gap and be used as a pilot case for future re-search works.

1. Introduction The adaptation process pushes all kind of firms to change themselves in order to adapt both to their task and general environment.

The companies of our time compete in what is called “knowledge economy”, charac-terized by a service-dominant logic (Vargo; Lusch, 2008 and 2004) that is creating and implying profound changes, especially in manufacturing firms. The latter are called to respond to new needs and characteristics of the market and society that are less and less based on material products and more on services, to which products may be associated.

In order to remain competitive over time, manufacturing companies are increasingly closer to the services world by activating a servitization process which leads to a new type of value creation that is no longer based on product sales but on the offering of a product-service system (PSS).

Generally, the transition into more service-like entities requires manufacturing firms to move up the value chain (Neely, 2008) and to adopt new and alternative practices and technologies (Baines et al., 2011). This determines a successful situation for the company only if it is accompanied by changes: in the strategies adopted, in the or-ganizational culture, and in the working people within the organization (Oliva; Kallen-berg, 2003; Wise; Baumgartner, 1999).

Thus, the servitization process requires the company to change and expand its Knowledge. Adding services to the physical products means acquiring and dissemi-nating the services’ own sets of knowledge, skilfully integrating them with those of

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material goods. In this vein, the set of managerial actions, consciously aimed at providing both the consolidation and evolution of key knowledge into the company in order to maintain its competitiveness, becomes crucial – namely knowledge man-agement (Paniccia, 2006).

Despite this, the literature lacks a deep and interconnected analysis of these issues, in order to verify how firms actually create value through the simultaneous adoption of servitization and knowledge management practices concerning, in particular, the need for and acquisition of new knowledge inside the whole company.

This study addresses this research gap aiming to analyse and systematize what has already been written in the literature, to verify connections between the two topics and to demonstrate how, in the real world of servitized manufacturing firms – such as the IBM Corporation – they acquire new knowledge during a servitization strategy implementation and how this knowledge is both disseminated and integrated within the organization.

Thus, following this introduction, the paper is structured in three sections:

1. In the first part are described the two research methods adopted, and the sys-tematic literature review results are also presented;

2. The second part is devoted to the presentation and analysis of the case study findings, which could be considered as a model of best practices adoptable and adaptable by other manufacturing companies that aim to pursue and achieve the same results as the IBM Corporation; and

3. In the third and final section, research and managerial implications, conclu-sions, and suggestions for future research are presented.

2. Research Methods Design and Setting In order to successfully reach the paper aim, two research methods have been adopted:

1. Systematic Literature Review: a method widely used in management literature (Crossan; Apaydin, 2010; Newbert, 2007; David; Han, 2004) that differs from traditional narrative reviews (Huff, 2009; Cooper, 1998) because it is based on rigorous and reproducible steps that allow the linking of future research to questions and concerns posed by past research (Thorpe et al., 2005);

2. Case Study Research: a useful method for research works that aim to produce a first-hand understanding of people and events (Yin, 2004) commonly used in economics and business management studies due to its ability to examine in-depth a case within its real-life context (Tavoletti, 2007; Yin, 2004).

These two methods were chosen because they are considered to be the most ap-propriate ones in order to obtain a research work that is both rigorous and practical at the same time.

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In the next sub-paragraphs the data collection and analysis for both methods will be presented; but, while the systematic literature review results will be given immediate-ly after, a later section is devoted to the results of the case study.

2.1. Systematic Literature Review Data collection

Based on the traditional systematic literature review process, the following set of cri-teria has been established:

• EBSCOhost as the research database;

• Only peer-reviewed journal articles published in English;

• Only papers published since 2000, to focus on the period of greatest expan-sion of both servitization and knowledge management practices;

• In order to ensure substantive relevance six keywords research strings have been used, obtaining the following results:

In this way, all the papers connecting the two theoretical frameworks have been collected.

• All the articles selected, in the previous phase, are scanned by reading their abstracts to ensure substantive content;

• The articles’ relevance is controlled by reading the text of all the papers se-lected through the previous screening of abstracts;

• A “snowballing” technique is adopted to support the results from the previous phases.

In sum, a final population of 60 papers composes the dataset.

Dataset analysis

When analysing the dataset there are two preliminary considerations: the first is re-lated to the distribution of the papers per year of publication. In fact, Figure 1 shows, that the number of papers increases the closer we get to the present day. Thus, demonstrating an increasing interest by academia in the topics covered in this paper.

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Figure 1: Distribution of papers per year. Source: Elaboration on the dataset.

The second consideration is related to the multidisciplinary nature of those topics. Figure 2 shows how many different journals are involved.

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Figure 2: Distribution of papers per Journal. Source: Elaboration on the dataset.

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Results

Going deeper in the analysis, after a thorough reading of the 60 papers, it is possible to identify a gap in the literature: there is a paucity of studies that analyse explicitly the correlation between servitization – and the corresponding creation of a product-service system – and knowledge management aspects related to the company’s need to acquire new knowledge and manage it in a proper way.

In general, the literature focuses on the need for knowledge by:

• Designers – “they are the bridges” (Dell'Era et al., 2011) able to integrate the material characteristics of products with the immateriality of services into a single offering; and

• Customers – firms need to transfer necessary knowledge to enable the cus-tomer to use the solution (Kleijnen et al., 2004).

Nevertheless, the servitization process is something more; it means “transforming almost every aspect of the way business is conducted: such as strategies, positions in the value stream, capabilities, organizational structures, as well as culture and mindsets” (Leiringer; Bröchner, 2010) at all organizational workers’ levels.

This entails significant investments and since “the greater the knowledge gap be-tween new and old practices, the greater the probability of resistance to the new way of working” (Hartmann et al., 2010), it is fundamental to have a motivated and com-petent management.

Even though it has been recognized that:

• “the management theories developed for manufacturing may not be applicable to service operations” (Reed; Storrud-Barnes, 2009);

• there “are the need to revisit traditional operations management tools, tech-niques and frameworks” (Wilkinson et al., 2009); and

• “the management may well frequently espouse the need to equip employees with better ‘people skills’” (Raja et al., 2010)

there is little evidence of how this is translated into specific organizational policies and practices.

2.2. Case study Given the limited theory about if and how the servitization strategy is linked to the knowledge management tools and practices in a firm, an inductive single-case study was adopted, in order to demonstrate the existence of connections between the two fields in a real organization. In particular, “inductive studies are especially useful for developing theoretical insights when research focuses on areas that extant theory does not address well” (Ozcan; Eisenhardt, 2009); while “single-case studies can richly describe the existence of a phenomenon” (Siggelkow, 2007).

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The choice of IBM as single-case is appropriate because it represents well a recog-nized successful servitization model; thus, it is logical to assume that if there are connections between servitization and knowledge management fields, it will be pos-sible to find them through the analysis of this case study.

For a detailed overview of the relevant dates and events of the IBM Corporation, see Appendix A: “IBM Corporation historical background”.

Data collection

Data sources followed Yin (1994, 1989) and occurred through:

• Interviews, with internal professionals belonging to different IBM business units; and

• Corporate documents, both internal and available online.

Interviews are the primary source of the data analysed in this case study. All of them are aimed at uncovering connections between the servitization strategy implemented by the firm and the knowledge management tools and practices inside the organiza-tion, with specific reference to the last 13 years (2000-2013).

In order to better understand the type of informants and to give an overview of the interviews see the Figure 3 and the Table 1.

Figure 3: Simplified representation of IBM structure. Source: Own elaboration.

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From how it is represented in Figure 3, the IBM Corporation can be divided into five business units:

• S&D is the interface unit between the company and its customers. Its profes-sionals identify business opportunities, collect high level of customer require-ments and enable the competent Line(s) of Business (LOB).

• GBS is the unit that provides services related to management consulting, sys-tems integration, and application management and development services, in order to implement and offer integrated solutions to the customers. Inside the unit there is the L&K team that, through different tools, provides the necessary skills and capabilities to the professionals so they can share and divulge their knowledge.

• SWG is the business unit devoted both to software development (in the IBM Software Labs) and sale.

• GTS includes outsourcing services, business continuity and resilience, inte-grated technology services, and maintenance.

• STG is often referred to as the “hardware” division of IBM since IBM hardware products originate from this area.

Table 1 gives details of interviews with professionals from three IBM business units: S&D, GBS (including L&K), and SWG, because these units are the ones on which the servitization has had – and still has – the greatest impact.

Table 1: Interviews details. Source: Own elaboration.

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A total of 14 interviews were carried out, corresponding to 700 minutes1 of audio re-cording.

In order to understand if and how tools and practices of knowledge management were adopted during the servitization strategy implementation, two types of inform-ants were interviewed. The first type comprised individuals that could be defined as “knowledge management process users” (typically the professionals who use the knowledge management system in order to perform better at their job); the second, instead, could be regarded as “knowledge management process owners” (typically the people directly involved both in the design and implementation of the knowledge management system, such as the L&K team). Anonymity was promised to informants to encourage honesty in the answers and to create an atmosphere free of tension.

The interviews ranged from 31 to 91 minutes, were recorded and structured in two parts. The first, equal for both informants’ group, was to gather general information about the interviewee (e.g., business unit, years of activity within the company, etc.). The second part was different, depending on the informant type, and even in the same group there were differences (caused by the numbers of years worked, the di-vision to which they belong, etc.). Figure 6 shows the interview key points that sum-marize the main subjects covered.

Figure 4: Interview key points. Source: Own elaboration.

1 The exact duration of all the interviews is equal to 699 minutes and 22 seconds.

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Interview techniques have been adopted (Ozcan; Eisenhardt, 2009), such as:

• Courtroom questioning: to carry out interviews that emphasized facts, avoiding questions that typically yield vague answers;

• Event tracking: the informants were put back in the time frame of the events, and then guided forward to produce a chronology of events that was as accu-rate as possible (Eisenhardt, 1989);

• Non-directive questioning: to allow the possibility of answering freely.

Corporate documents are the secondary data source used. They consist of: Internet web pages, annual reports, publications and internal documents.

Triangulation of data collected from the different sources and related to different time periods strengthens confidence and validity in the accuracy of findings (Johansson, 2003; Jick, 1979).

The case study could be considered as a longitudinal one, because even if the data collection has been done in a short period of time (three months), both the employ-ees’ years of activity and the corporate documents have allowed an evaluation of the phenomenon that goes beyond the period of time taken into consideration.

Data analysis

The in-depth analysis of data began through a cross-interview analysis, in which the insights that emerged from each interview were compared with those from other in-terviews in order to identify similar constructs and themes (Ozcan; Eisenhardt, 2009; Eisenhardt; Graebner, 2007). Each recorded interview has been listened to several times and notes taken about the focal points of the answers given. The various notes were then compared to highlight similarities and differences. The results emerging from this first step of the analysis were triangulated with data from other sources to develop more robust theoretical concepts and causal relations.

3. Findings Case study findings emerging from the data analysis are reported through seven propositions, each of which is analysed separately, in a specific section.

The propositions can be seen as a step-model that the firm could adopt and adapt in order to create a knowledge management system that facilitates the adoption and success of their servitization strategy.

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Adding services means adding knowledge

Learning or knowledge acquisition is a prerequisite for change (Rouse, et al., 2011) that facilitate servitization (Lertsakthanakun et al., 2012) because the shift from a product-oriented to a customer-oriented business model means to enter new markets with a new combination of material products and intangible services, without fully knowing the characteristics of the latter.

Data indicate that this was exactly the case for the IBM Corporation in the early 1990s. The CEO recognized the need for a drastic strategic change with a new focus on customers and their needs. However, awareness although necessary was not a sufficient condition to put in place company reframing, because to be competitive and successful in the new context of servitization, IBM had to put in place the change starting from its knowledge base. IBM had always been a manufacturing company but lacked the skills and capacity to implement the new strategy. This gap had to be bridged through the acquisition of new knowledge.

Proposition 1. Servitization strategy adoption requires the acquisition of new knowledge.

Become a “squint” company

Development of the new offerings requires the integration of a wider span of exper-tise, which poses new challenges in the way knowledge is captured and managed (Chirumalla, 2013).

Data show that IBM has followed a dual strategy for the acquisition of new knowledge, by becoming a “squint” company. On the one hand, the company has provided its internal professionals with indications to understand the new strategic direction and the new tools adopted. This has allowed professionals to feel part of the change and to accept it without resistance. On the other hand, the company has had to acquire specific services knowledge, and to do so has put in place numerous company acquisitions. In this way, it not only came into possession of the market share previously held by the acquired companies, but also of the knowledge embod-ied in people working within those companies.

In this context, a relevant example is IBM’s acquisition of the PricewaterhouseCoop-ers Consulting in October 2002. This combination of companies has created a new global business unit, IBM Business Consulting Services, comprising more than 30,000 IBM and 30,000 transferring PwC Consulting professionals. As a result, today IBM Global Business Services (previously named Business Consulting Services) has become the world’s largest consulting services organization, with operations in more than 160 countries.

Proposition 2. The acquisition of new knowledge must be twofold: internal (expanding the knowledge of the employees within the company), and external (acquiring com-panies that have already incorporated the necessary services knowledge).

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Integrate without melting

As stated by many authors (e.g., Gebauer et al., 2009 and 2007; Auguste et al., 2006; Oliva and Kallenberg, 2003), firms moving into the service field seem to face difficulties in managing manufacturing and service businesses within the same or-ganization.

How do the data suggest solving this problem? The best solution seems to be the one adopted by the IBM Corporation: setting up a distinctive division, the IBM Global Business Services, exclusively dedicated to the provision of services. In this way it is possible to allocate the right people, with the right knowledge, to the right division. However, it is also possible to offer a set of products and service systems (PSS) acti-vating and making people from different divisions work together to build integrated solutions for the customer.

Proposition 3. Services have to be integrated in the firm but need a dedicated busi-ness unit.

Knowledge management system follows business strategy and Web opportuni-ties

A culture change programme, such as servitization, is of little use if the underlying management structures and processes are not aligned with the business strategy (Johnstone et al., 2008). This implies that information and knowledge management systems have to support the dissemination, gathering, and application of knowledge (Ward and Graves, 2007) and ensure that the right people have the right knowledge at the right time to make the right decision (Chirumalla, 2013; Molloy et al., 2009). In particular, knowledge management is a vital practice that supports individual learn-ing, promotes knowledge sharing and integration, and creates an organizational learning culture which is able to prepare employees for servitization (Lertsak-thanakun et al., 2012) giving to the company the ability to succeed by using the new strategy.

In this vein, the role of Web 2.0 technologies become crucial in managing knowledge for their “…potential to lower barriers to leveraging informal and unstructured knowledge, contextualized information, networks of connections, and collective crea-tion and maintenance of knowledge assets, which could complement current knowledge management systems…” (Chirumalla, 2013).

The IBM knowledge management system has undergone profound changes over the years, both in tools and purpose. Regarding the former, it is important to note that the IBM turnaround coincided in terms of time with the widespread use of the Internet. This has enabled the development of new ways of providing knowledge (e.g., virtual learning, self-learning, etc.) to its globally located professionals, and also reduced training costs. IBM’s new purpose was to give professionals knowledge related to customer characteristics and needs, rather than simply knowledge related to the products. The most important aspect related to the changes in IBM’s knowledge management, is that the system does not only work top-down (i.e., from the centre to the units geographically dislocated), but also, and especially, bottom-up. In fact, as demonstrated by the data, the knowledge disseminated by the holding company is basic and general, but through the use of the IBM Intranet, is enriched by the specific

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knowledge of the single professionals worldwide located. This process allows what Von Krogh et al. (2000) identified as the fifth knowledge enabler: globalize local knowledge.

Proposition 4. The learning method and content have to change drastically, accord-ing to the strategy adopted.

Proposition 5. The knowledge management system has to be structured along two opposite but complementary pathways: top-down (for the knowledge base deploy-ment) and bottom-up (to enrich, define and modify the knowledge base) through the use of the Web technologies.

Social perspective and informal network

As stated by Kolb (1984) knowledge results from a combination of grasping and transforming experience, but experience generates tacit knowledge (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Polanyi and Sen, 1983); for the organization it is important to put in place knowledge conversion modes (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) that make tacit knowledge available to the whole company. As stated by Nonaka and Konno (1998), to make sure that this conversion takes place in the right way, it is important to apply the Japanese concept of “ba” (“space” in English): a shared space for emerging rela-tionships that can be physical, virtual, mental or a combination of these – a platform for advancing knowledge either individual or collective.

Data indicate that the IBM Intranet portal performs this “ba” platform function, creat-ing a “basho” (a set of “ba” connected to each other). In fact, the IBM Intranet is the space devoted to the sharing of knowledge. It has a particularly complex structure, as it contains all the IBM knowledge, but it does not undergo a strict and formal control. People feel free to share their experiences, to create communities and fora, thus al-lowing knowledge sharing.

Even if the huge amount of information on the Intranet and the absence of a formal control can create problems in obtaining timely information, the data suggest that the costs to “reorder” the platform would not be repaid by the benefits arising from that revision.

Proposition 6. The knowledge sharing tools should not be strongly controlled and bureaucratized, but organized in a social way that allows informal relationships.

Encourage knowledge sharing

A successful extension of the service business is strictly related to the enthusiastic and ongoing commitment of service workers (Raja et al., 2010; Gebauer et al. 2005).

The data indicate that IBM encourages knowledge sharing through both implicit and explicit rewarding systems. The former is related to the IBM culture: people, who share their knowledge on an ongoing basis, become “famous”, a reference point for the IBM community (which has more than 400,000 employees). The latter is instead related to monetary incentives and career possibilities (the “amount” of knowledge

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shared is not a determining condition to obtain a recognition but it is nevertheless taken into consideration).

Proposition 7. Firms have to encourage the use of knowledge management tools, through rewarding systems.

4. Discussion and conclusions As shown through the systematic literature review, there is paucity in the literature about the possible connections between the servitization and knowledge manage-ment fields of study.

The case study findings seem to prove the contrary. All data collected, obtained through interviews and corporate documents, responded positively to the research question “Are changes in the knowledge management system directly related to the adoption of the servitization strategy?”

Furthermore, the seven findings propositions are all rooted in the existing literature of servitization and knowledge management, bringing out the main research and mana-gerial contributions of this work.

The first contribution is related to the gap in the existing literature. It does not refer to the theory underlying the two fields of study – servitization and knowledge manage-ment – but to the connection between them. In fact, in order to allow designers and customers to use the new knowledge they have, thanks to the servitization adoption by the firm, it is essential for companies to understand where to take this new knowledge and what tools and practices are used to disseminate it effectively and efficiently throughout the whole organization.

The second, and more fundamental contribution of this paper, has been to show the link between the two theoretical frameworks through the identification of seven con-nection points. The resulting model, summarized in Figure 5, could guide the manag-ers of a servitized company in order to understand if their knowledge management system is appropriate, or if it needs to be modified.

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Figure 5: Connections between servitization and knowledge management. Source: Elaboration on case study findings.

The model has been represented in a circular manner, as the servitization is an on-going journey: consumer needs are constantly changing and consequently must change the knowledge available within the company.

Moreover, even though this paper is based on a single-case study, it is reasonable to believe that it could be considered as a representative case of companies of our time (especially global ones); thus, its findings could be considered as sufficiently general-izable.

Future research could adopt this case study as a “pilot case” and use it to investigate other firms that have already put in place a shift from a product-centric to customer-centric organizational model. This would help them to understand if they have also to adopt similar strategies in the knowledge management field, or help them to success-fully implement the servitization process through the adoption of knowledge man-agement tools and practices.

It could also be interesting for future research works to investigate not only global companies, but also: small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), companies using a more complex and articulated knowledge, and companies operating in niche mar-kets to verify if different contexts (where change both the quality and the quantity of knowledge that needs to be managed) determines also different approaches to the servitization and the corresponding knowledge management system.

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Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges all the IBM professionals for their time and devotion to this study. In particular, the author is indebted to Fabio Menis, who has allowed, through his support and suggestions, the success of this investigation.

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Appendix A

“IBM Corporation historical background”2

IBM until 1993

The International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) was founded in 1911 as the Computing Tabulating Recording Company (CTR) through a merger of three compa-nies: Hollerith's Tabulating Machine Company, Computing Scale Company of Ameri-ca and International Time Recording Company. The IBM name was adopted only in 1924.

From the beginning the enterprise was characterized by a business diversification: from commercial scales and industrial time recorders to meat and cheese slicers, along with tabulators and punched cards.

The hardware products and all the activities related to the ICT industry have always played a crucial role within the organization, but the real success of the brand arrived in 1981 with the launch of the first IBM Personal Computer.

The successful inventions and innovations have enabled a dimensional growth that led the firm to become a multinational company characterized by a strong corporate culture, high hierarchical structure and product-oriented approach. IBM was, de facto, a monopoly.

Thus, in the early nineties, when the ICT industry was undergoing profound transfor-mations – i.e., the growing number of competitors and the use of client-server archi-tecture – the IBM company did not give the necessary attention to these phenomena because of strategic lethargy (Cafferata, 2009). At the end of 1992 the company net profit was US$ -8.1 billion and in March 1993 its stocks reached the price of US$ 12.7.

Emerging from the crisis through servitization

On April 1, 1993 IBM announced a new CEO and Chairman: Louis Vincent Gerstner. The first step towards the company’s renewal had been made: after more than 80 years, IBM began to look outside their boundaries making Gerstner the first CEO without an internal career development.

The imminent possibility of IBM bankruptcy convinced Gerstner that the only possibil-ity was to reinvent the company through the adoption of a servitization strategy, be-cause the services represented both the new market driver and the source of growth and profit.

The new strategies implemented by IBM in order to make this turnaround effective are well summarized in Gerstner’s (2003) book in which he says: “All our actions will be based on a careful listening to the customer and will be focused on the perfor-

2 All the information and data contained in this appendix are based on IBM internal documents and the IBM website, unless

otherwise specified.

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mance expected by customers from us”. These words were translated into the follow-ing changes:

• Become global. In order to obtain cost optimization it was decided to centralize many infrastructures. Thus, some processes and functions, that were once managed regionally, now were managed globally, i.e., transforming the IBM from a Multinational to a Global Integrated Company.

Figure 6. The Global Integrated Company. Source: IBM internal document.

• Providing solutions. The new IBM offering was more customer-oriented and service-centred to satisfy in a proper way customers’ needs. For this reason a new division was specifically created in 1996: the IBM Global Services, whose birth strongly emphasized the new IBM core business: Services.

• Change internally. Another important item in Gerstner’s agenda was to change not only their external dealings, but also the internal relations with and be-tween employees. There was a need to be “one thing”, and this was translated into: the adoption of a unique brand and advertising for all countries and divi-sions, and a more informal and friendly work environment.

The first positive results were not long in arriving and in 2002 the services income was about 44% of the total amount, demonstrating the extraordinary effectiveness of the servitization strategy put in place by the company.

Knowledge management adoption

Knowledge has always been considered important within IBM. However, IBM's first knowledge management initiative came in parallel with the adoption of the strategy servitization, in 1994, in order “to provide a knowledge base of the work and knowledge of colleagues so that the assets and intellectual capital could be reused, enabling IBM to deliver client solutions with more quality and speed” (Powers, 2006). As stated by Indu and Govind (2009), IBM used several tools to capture, share and manage knowledge. This effort started with the asset reuse programme, which was formalised as the Intellectual Capital Management programme. The next stage in the evolution of knowledge management at IBM was communities of practice, which

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were self-organized communities, through which employees with similar job functions and interests came together. This could not be considered only as a temporal coin-cidence, but as the first evidence of the close connection between servitization and knowledge management practices.

IBM today

The IBM Corporation strategy implies continuous transformation in its business port-folio to maintain as central its customer-based approach. The company’s broad mix of businesses and capabilities are combined to provide integrated solutions to the company’s clients (product-service system) characterised by increasing complexity. Those initiatives are shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: IBM Strategy and Growth Initiatives. Source: IBM internal documents.

In general, it is possible to observe that three of those initiatives (Smarter Planet, Business Analytics and Cloud and Next Generation Data Center) are a continuation of the servitization strategy, while the fourth is related to the market position.

In particular:

• Smarter Planet means “artificial intelligence” inside infrastructures and pro-cesses in any industry or market (e.g., government, cities, oil and gas, etc.);

• Business Analytics are new analytics tools able to create business value through the management of the explosive growth of data in the digital world to generate competitiveness in every market sector;

• Cloud and Next Generation Data Center represent new models to provide IT services based on virtualization, standardization and processes; and

• Growth Markets are the emerging markets that are growing at double the rate of mature markets so that they will generate 30% of IBM’s total revenue in 2015.

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Author:

Luna, Leoni, PhD Student in Management University of Rome “Tor Vergata” Department of Studies on Business, Government, Philosophy Via Columbia, 2 – 00133 Rome – Italy E-mail: luna.leoni@uniroma2.it