I.B.M. to Take Big Step Into Mobile

For I.B.M., mobile computing has come of age. At least, smartphones and tablets may be popular enough to make I.B.M. several billion dollars.
The company is announcing a major mobile initiative involving software, services and partnerships with other large vendors. I.B.M. plans to deploy consultants to give companies mobile shopping strategies, write mobile apps, crunch mobile data and manage a company’s own mobile assets securely.
Thousands of employees have been trained in mobile technologies, I.B.M. says, and corporate millions will be spent on research and acquisitions in coming years. I.B.M. also announced a deal with AT&T to offer software developers access to mobile applications from AT&T’s cloud.
“Mobile is the next big growth play that I.B.M. is going after,” said Michael J. Riegel, the head of mobile strategy. He said his company had made 10 mobile-related acquisitions already, and would have a global research and development team of 160 people dedicated to mobile technology. In 2012 alone, he said, I.B.M. won 125 patents related to mobile.
Despite its roots in computer hardware, I.B.M. long ago moved from the business of selling things like personal computers. Much of its business now comes from higher-value work like software creation. Even its big mainframe computers, like the Jeopardy-winning Watson, are usually sold in conjunction with services and software deals.
The push into mobility comes after forays into Web commerce, data analytics and security. In each case, I.B.M. has taken an approach of signing big contracts for large-scale engagements.
By contrast, newer competitors like Google Analytics and Amazon Web Services aim for smaller sales of technologies like analytics or cloud computing, but on a mass level. I.B.M.’s entry into mobile will test whether companies want a large, pervasive approach for this kind of technology.
I.B.M.’s announcement also signals a realization among many companies that employees and customers are accessing corporate data and services via mobile devices from lots of places, any time of day. This, along with mobile access to cloud computing, is challenging many social and business assumptions.
“Our customers are leaving billions of dollars on the table,” Mr. Riegel said. “They are not getting the productivity gains they could. They need to rethink their customer relations to allow people to access them at any time.”
The move into mobile is one of the first major initiatives by Virginia M. Rometty since she became chief executive in January 2012.
Ms. Rometty previously ran I.B.M.’s Global Services division, and worked on a push to bring I.B.M. into the developing world. Mobile technologies, which are usually cheaper than conventional computers, are expected to be the way billions of people in poorer nations will come online in the next few years.

Original Article :  http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/ibm-goes-mobile/