Ibm has always relied on relationships to sell their products. In the last 18 months ibm has retired out their relationships for cheap labor and a superior delivery of service bet. Retiring out relationships is usually a very poor bet as most customers value the relationship (people buy from people they like). This is the pivot to strategic initiatives that IBM is betting the company on. (Sell once, and count on superior service delivery to continue revenue generation as time goes on). To date, IBM's bet looks to be failing. (State of Indiana, state of Texas, Australia census, WhatsApp migration, CIA contract, etc etc etc). Failures in delivery are where relationship saves you. Without relationships, customers just move. I believe IBM bet the farm on cloud, but tossed the relationships way too soon. Now IBM is at a loss as to what to do when services drops the ball. My guess is IBM will sell legacy (think non-strategic initiatives) for current revenue, and then use that revenue to buy relationships. Soooo what will they sell??? Power brand HW, and DASD HW. Non-strategic initiatives SW and services. (Think HPE on steroids). Essentially IBM will whittle themselves down from 80 billion to 60 billion in revenue, then buy someone with relationships. Net net. IBM will settle with 65 billion in revenue and be 60-65% of their current size. If you are not in the strategic initiatives column, you will be sold.
Bumped from an older thread for excellent commentary. Posted by @PobY2HX-2nyy.