IBM is not gambling in the sense that its choices are random .. it is just very very very slow like we imagine dinosaurs were. Most of the things IBM is betting on are good ideas .. 10 years ago. Being late to the game probably did not matter as much in the past with physical products and services, but with internet-based products and services, the companies who decide things faster end up with a permanent and growing 10-year insurmountable head start.
I worked in IBM Research for more than 10 years until early this year and the big change that happened there (especially in the last 6) was that research that was not immediately transferrable to products was discouraged. Long term 10-to-20-years-out thinking and research was discouraged. This was happening while Microsoft and Google were expanding their long-term Research labs. So now the cupboards are bare - there is literally nothing significant happening in IBM Research that is not happening years earlier and 10x-better-funded elsewhere. I personally witnessed this change of direction and directives during the past 6 years. I also witnessed Google and Microsoft successfully recruiting most of our top talent.
I remember one vocal Distinguished Engineer banging his head against the wall of bureaucracy trying to get management to pay attention to and plan for "the cloud" .. this was back in 2007 and 2008. He gave up and quit and went to Amazon and is now comfortably retired at age 55.
Unfortunately this is the truth. As sad as this is, @YNInG5H-1qns is absolutely right.