Electronics: News stories

IBM is reasserting itself and again setting the course in the IT market. The on demand vision has made the company more responsive to the needs of its customers. IBM executives make their case directly to CEOs of customer companies, emphasising the business benefits, not the technology specifics.

Korean firms need to focus on better management practices instead of investing only in product development. Korean pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and financial services firms all have tremendous opportunity abroad and should follow the lead of the electronics sector.

Outgoing IBM Global Services group executive Doug Elix says growing the $40-billion organisation is a challenge that involves partnering with smaller integrators, a careful re-investment in the customer, and the creation of entirely new markets.

IBM Australia reported its financial results for the first time ever, after recently restructuring to become more aligned with its global parent. Analysts say that IBM has grown faster than the industry average in all three of its operations: hardware, software, and services.

IBM will grow faster than the industry average by expanding its market share and tackling new services opportunities, said CEO Sam Palmisano. IBM is specifically aiming to capture more large business process transformation deals with its large services arm.

Four new IBM Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) Design Centers in Austin, Beijing, Delhi, and Hursley allow customers to put together new SOA solutions for their specific needs. The goal is to make the business demands drive the technology.

Recent changes in IBM's executive structure emphasise its services and e-business on demand business strategy. IBM CFO John Joyce will take over as IBM Global Services (IGS) head, while Doug Elix, former leader of IGS, will now run IBM's sales and distribution operation.

Two new managed services for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that bring legitimacy to the market. The IBM Desktop Management Services and IBM Network Management Services are offered by IBM Global Services under the IBM Express portfolio.

IBM Global Services chief Doug Elix spoke with VARBusiness on the day before moving to head IBM's sales and distribution division. He said IBM's success is predicated on the success of its customers, and IBM Global Services' outsourcing business is growing strongly with that strategy.

A recent IBM Business Consulting Services global survey of 370 executives found more CRM success stories than in the past, as well as surprising attributes of successful CRM implementations. Employee concerns are actually the most important factor in CRM success.

Four new small- and medium-sized business (SMB) offerings from IBM simplify the maintenance and management of companies' back-end infrastructure. The services include network operation and management, infrastructure recovery, infrastructure management, and high availability.

A new IBM suite of managed desktop services for medium-sized companies brings the same on demand computing opportunities to smaller firms that larger enterprises can get. The new IBM Desktop Management Services constitute a total service solution, available on a price-per-seat basis.

IBM has signed a $300 million business process outsourcing agreement with Philips Electronics to take over that firm's North American customer service operations. IBM will manage parts, repair, and Web-based support for the consumer electronics maker.

IBM's supply-chain-services consulting group is guiding the deployment of Halliburton Energy Services' logistics, manufacturing and outsourcing strategy by recommending technologies and processes. IBM also helped Philips Consumer Electronics to analyse its supply chain processes.

Small and medium businesses have a number of choices when it comes to CRM applications, and carefully chosen hosted solutions can provide significant benefits. SMBs were most interested in CRM and sales force automation software sold through the hosted model.