IBM

Tagline

THINK

Net Worth

$115,000,000,000

Started in (City)

Armonk, New York

Started in (Country)

United States

Incorporation Date

16th December, 1911

Bankruptcy Date

Founders

Charles Ranlett Flint

About

IBM or International Business Machines, often referred to as “Big Blue”, due to its big blue eight-bar logo. IBM is a multinational technology company. IBM\’s expertise was mainframes, expensive, large-scale computers that could process numerical data at great speeds. IBM together with Harvard University financed the invention of The Mark 1, the first machine to compute long calculations automatically. The firm did not enter into the growing market of personal computers for home consumers until 1980.

Beginning

It has its genesis in Armonk, New York. It was started in,1911, in a small village in Endicott, US. It was initially known as CTR, Computing Tabulating and Recording Company due to the consolidation of three companies- The Computing Scale Company, Tabulating Machine Company and the International Time Recording Company. In 1914, Thomas J Watson joined the CTR as CEO and held the title for twenty years. In 1924, under his leadership, the company was given the name IBM. Watson was a man of considerable marketing skill and had gained complete control, he turned the then floundering company into the leading American manufacturer of punch-card tabulating systems used by governments and private businesses. He assembled a highly motivated, well trained and well-paid staff, as well as a well-disciplined and competitive sales force that adapted the company’s custom-built tabulating systems to the needs of customers. His motto was “Think” and he managed to establish IBM as one of the most innovative technology firms of its time. In 1933, IBM purchased the Electromatic Typewriters Inc., and hence entered the field of electric typewriters, where it eventually became an industry leader. During the Second World War, IBM helped create high-speed electrochemical calculators that were the precursors of electronic computers. The firm did not have a hand to play in this field until, Watson’s son, Thomas Watson Junior became the president of the company. He pushed for the firm to be introduced into the computer field and invested heavily in research and development. This investment capability added to its dominance in office calculating machines, its marketing expertise, and its commitment to repair and service its own equipment enabled IBM to assume a predominant position in the American computer market. By 1960, IBM was producing 70 per cent of the world's computers.

Road to Success

Since 2000, IBM’s supercomputers have been placed at the top or near the top of the industry’s list of the most powerful machines as measured by a standardized test. Added to this, IBM in cooperation with Toshiba Cooperation and Sony Cooperation, designed the Cell Broadband engine, this advanced computer chip has numerous applications, including supercomputers, Toshiba High Definition Television and Sony Playstation 3. IBM also designed chips for X360 and Wii game systems. IBM became the first company to generate more than 3000 patents in one more. The company now hold 40000 active patents, which generate considerable income. Currently, IBM has over 352600 employees and 12 research labs worldwide. IBM has many awards and honours to its name. In recent decades, with the onset of the technical revolution, IBM kept its roots in the sectors like computing, microprocessors, data storage devices, gaming consoles. The majority of electronically operating devices, use IBM powered microchips and processors. It is one of the largest and most trusted brands, due to its unique business trends and marketing, it has laid down new patterns and derivations to be followed. IBM transcended some of the other tech giants, including Microsoft in 2011, with a closing value of $214 billion, leaving Microsoft at $213.2 billion. IBM has a diverse portfolio, as of 2016, including Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and security.

Challenges

The first IBM PC, known as the IBM Model 5158, ran on a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 microprocessor and used Microsoft\’s DOS operating system, sparking the computer revolution. Although the product achieved a major share in the market, it was unable to remain dominant in the market. The invention of new semiconductor chip-based technologies was making computers smaller and easier to manufacture, this allowed smaller companies to enter the field and exploit new developments such as computer networks and workstations. Owing to its enormous size IBM was not able to keep up with the rapidly accelerating rates of technological advancement and by the 1990s the company downsized considerably. In 2002 IBM bounced back, by selling its magnetic hard drive business for $ 2 billion to a Japanese firm, Hitachi. IBM agreed to continue manufacturing hard drives with Hitachi for three years, the joint venture was known as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. A few years later Hitachi took it over and IBM stops manufacturing with them. In 2005, IBM sold its personal computer to Lenovo, a Chinese manufacturer. This venture had IBM gaining an 18.9 per cent stake in the company, which acquired the right to market its computers under the IBM brand. This also allowed IBM to shift its focus on its software, supercomputers and scientific research.

Failures

Between 1991 and 1993, IBM's market share fell down to 26% and it lost approximately $16 billion. even though it was the most profitable companies in the 1980s, it went into loss because of continuously missing market trends, losing touch with customers, reluctance to change, and so on.

Achievements

Fortune — Most Admired Companies
Fortune — First “Change the World” list
Forbes— World’s Most Valuable Brands
Interbrand — Best Global Brands

Subsidies

ADSTAR
IBM India
IBM Informix
Red Hat

CEOs

Arvind Krishna
Virginia M. ( Ginni) Rometty
Samuel J. Palmisano
Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.
John F. Akers
John R. Opel
Frank T. Cary
T. Vincent Learson
Thomas J. Watson, Jr