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'IBM will lead the new era of computing'

Patricia Pieterse
By Patricia Pieterse, iWeek assistant editor
Las Vegas, 27 Feb 2013

The IT marketplace is changing.

So said Mark Hennessy, GM of Global Business Partners at IBM, adding that the technological areas for the most potential growth, and the ones on which IBM will be focusing in the near future, are big data, cloud computing, social business and mobility.

"These four areas are where we see opportunities to make the most difference," said Hennessy.

Hennessy spoke at the IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference, held recently in Las Vegas. The theme of the event was "Leadership on a Smarter Planet". Hennessy said the conference was designed around exploring three big changes: the new era of computing, a new kind of customer, and a new type of expertise.

According to the company's bi-annual CEO survey, says Hennessy, most respondents regard technology as the biggest factor for success of a company.

Bruno di Leo, senior VP of sales and distribution for IBM, reiterated the need to keep up with changing technology. He says IBM will continue to transform itself over the next few years, and urged all partners to do the same. "It is very strategically important to do so," Di Leo said.

Smarter computing, said Di Leo, is about making IT relevant beyond the office of the CIO.

According to Di Leo, cloud computing presents companies with the biggest growth opportunities out of all the technological changes mentioned. This is followed by mobile, then big data, smarter cities/commerce, social business, and finally, analytics. "IBM will lead the new era of computing," said Di Leo.

Speaking on the company's strategy, Di Leo said IBM aims to be the most essential company in the industry.

He said having a complete set of solutions is not enough to achieve this, and that customer experience is essential to being relevant. "Client experience is not just about what you do, but how you do it," he said.

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