IBM Consulting, rebranded in 2021 from IBM Global Business Services, is the professional services and consulting arm of
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
. It provides services to companies, global government organizations,
non-profits and
NGOs
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
.
It has approximately 160,000 employees globally, with capabilities spanning strategy and
management consulting
Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...
, experience design, technology and
systems integration
System integration is defined in engineering as the process of bringing together the component sub-systems into one system (an aggregation of subsystems cooperating so that the system is able to deliver the overarching functionality) and ensuring ...
, and operations.
History
IBM's early involvement in IT services can be traced back to the mid-seventies and its Data Processing Support Services (DPSS) division. At the time, the company was under regulatory pressure to unbundle its support services from the sale of hardware. Additionally, with the launch of its early teleprocessing and database products, such as CICS and IMS, many customers could acquire the expertise needed to build their applications only through hiring consulting services directly from IBM.
Later, in 1989, Eastman Kodak Company and IBM completed an agreement by which IBM designed, built and managed a new state-of-the-art data center for
Kodak
The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
in
Rochester,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
under the brand name ISSC, Integrated Systems Solution Corporation.
Also in 1989, IBM introduced Business Recovery Services, an offering that enables a business to continue operations in the event of an unplanned outage or disaster.
In 1992, the company formed IBM Consulting Group, as a new management consulting organization with service lines in Business Transformation and IT Strategy Consulting. This initiative was led by Robert M. Howe, IBM vice-president and general manager of IBM Consulting Group. The group was rebranded to IBM Business Innovation Services in 2001, and then IBM Business Consulting Services. As the management consulting became more entangled with more technology delivery, the integrated organization became known as IBM Global Business Services.
In 2002, IBM acquired the
management consulting
Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...
and technology services arm of
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom.
It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, alon ...
, around the same time some other
Big Four accounting firms were selling off their consulting arms (this was in order to avoid conflicts of interest in light of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act). PwC's consultancy business was sold to IBM for approximately
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
3.9 billion in cash and stock. This nearly doubled the number of consultants within IBM Global Services, adding 30,000 consultants in 52 countries.
In 2016, IBM announced its planned acquisition of
Promontory Financial Group in September 2016 and completed the transaction in November 2016.
In October 2021, IBM Global Business Services was renamed IBM Consulting after the spin-off of IBM's Global Technology Services division into
Kyndryl Holdings.
Organizational structure
IBM Consulting has three main divisions:
* Business Transformation Services
* Cybersecurity Services
* Hybrid Cloud Services
Acquisitions
Over the years of its operating, IBM Consulting acquired numerous formerly independent consulting companies:
* PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Consulting, 2002
* Bluewolf, 2016
* Resource/Ammirati, 2016
*
Promontory Financial Group, 2016
* TruQua, 2020
* 7Summits, 2021
* BoxBoat, 2021
* SXiQ, 2021
* Sentaca, 2022
* Neudesic, 2022
* Dialexa, 2022
* Octo, 2022
* Apptio, 2023
See also
*
Outline of consulting
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to consulting:
Consulting is the activity or business of giving expert assistance on a particular subject, notably to other professionals but also to the consumer market. Th ...
References
External links
IBM Consulting YouTubeIBM Consulting LinkedInIBM Consulting TwitterIBM Global Services: a brief history, IBM Corporate Archives, May 2002
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Consulting
A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...
IBM Business Consulting Services