Thread regarding IBM layoffs

Virginia Rometty famously said that IBM’s “moon shot will be the impact we have on healthcare.

Is it possible to have a refund on Virginia Rometty please ?

IBM reportedly shopping Watson Health just as healthcare gets hot --
https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/07/ibm-reportedly-shopping-watson-health-just-as-healthcare-gets-hot/

Mainframe modernization is nothing but a short term play to counter the hyperscalers who are aggressively convincing IBM customers to move their workloads to the cloud. When was the last time we got a new logo on Z? When was the last time an existing Z customer substantially increased their footprint? The Z market is still big and profitable, but it's shrinking and has been for a long time.

Ginni was the dog that caught the mail truck (CEO position) Once she caught it, she didn’t know what to do. She had zero vision for IBM, and decided to just follow Sam’s lead Invest in commodity services and throttle back investment in innovation Makes the bottom line (eg roadmap strategy for earnings) so much easier to make. IBM has a history of being innovative and that innovation has served them well. IBM also has a history of very very poor purchases that they sell for Penny’s on the dollar several years later (watson health being the latest example) Until IBM gets back to innovation, they will flounder. AK has been handed a very poor hand, and he has decided that a much smaller “niche” IBM is the way to move forward. If you see “new” innovation come out of IBM in the near future, they will thrive. If it’s more of just farming the branch, they will flounder. PLEASE note modernizing mainframe code with Redhat LINUX can be quite innovative especially if it give System Z a leg up. That’s where AK is focusing

I wonder how well it will be recognized - in the long run - that Rometty essentially destroyed IBM.

This is a nice summary of Watson Health and it’s demise

https://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/252055-what-happened-to-watson-health/fulltext?mobile=false

If you have a paywall problems here is the archived verson of the article:
https://archive.is/bNTcF

Another multi billion dollar “strategy” Ginni had that turned into a waste of money and ultimately, a fiasco. Still amazed the board let her run amok for years.

[Entire article quoted below]

By: Eric J. Savitz
Updated Jan. 5, 2022 12:03 pm ET / Original Jan. 5, 2022 12:02 pm ET

In the latest move by International Business Machines CEO Arvind Krishna to reposition the tech giant by streamlining and restarting growth, Big Blue has hired BofA Securities to find a buyer for its Watson Health artificial-intelligence-software business according to a report. IBM ‘s looking for a price of more than $1 billion.

According to Axios, which cites “people familiar with the situation,” IBM (ticker: IBM) wants to exit its health-care vertical market, after spending more than $4 billion on a series of acquisitions to build the unit. Watson Health emerged from the company’s push into artificial-intelligence software a decade ago, but the business never met expectations. IBM paid $2.6 billion for Truven Health Analytics in 2016, paid close to $1 billion for Merge Healthcare, a medical-imaging business, in 2015, and paid around $230 million for Phytel, which focuses on population health.

IBM declined to comment.

In an interview with Barron’s late last year, Krishna concedes that Watson didn’t provide the expected payout for IBM, although he’s hardly gave up on the broader promise of AI. “Coming out and saying it’s going to be its own unique application was perhaps a bridge too far,” he says. “I actually believe we’ll get there, but it’s probably another decade.” Krishna sees opportunity for AI across many applications, citing call centers and managing insurance claims, among others.

Almost a year ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that IBM was exploring a sale of the unit, noting that it has about $1 billion in annual revenue and isn’t profitable.

Axios reports that bids for the business were due yesterday, and that the company hopes to pick a winner by the end of January. According to the report, one strategic buyer and several private-equity firms are “in the mix.”

While selling Watson Health would be have a big impact on the business, it continues the company’s focus on streamlining operations, a process highlighted by the spinoff its managed-services business, now called Kyndryl Holdings ( KD ).

Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani writes in a research note Wednesday that “while the financial implication from this is likely minimal, the strategic relevance of IBM consolidating their focus around the multi/hybrid cloud narrative and reducing the noise in their portfolio would be a positive.”

been seeking a "buyer" (or an arranged marriage) for a while now...for those who are buying, take a look under the hood. It's ancient technologies you are buying.

IBM and Bank of India...the romance is strong Classic case of master and apprentice. IBM helped BoA rapidly grow 25 years ago and they reciprocated by teaching IBM how to offshore Can't wait for both to implode Won't be long

The question is how many employees will go with the sale. IBM will put a value on the selloff headcount in addition to the business. It’s all about cost take out to get down to AK’s plan (180k headcount)

I am one of the lucky ones who is finally leaving WH on my own accord. I truly loved the people I worked with, but the products just aren't good or market-leading anymore!

I like the way Axios phrased it even better:

"The bottom line: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A potential buyer of IBM Watson Health will have to figure out how to make it profitable, which could mean private equity buys it and tears it to pieces."

Sayonara Watson Health! Thanks for the memories!

"Axios reports that bids for the business were due yesterday, and that the company hopes to pick a winner by the end of January. According to the report, one strategic buyer and several private-equity firms are “in the mix.”"

Oh I can't wait to see who the su---r is who buys this!!