IBM Company Description

IBM is one of the oldest tech giants formed after the consolidation of three different companies. It currently operates in five segments namely: Global Technology Services, Global Business Services, Software, Systems and Technology, and Global Financing. It earns 57% of its revenue from Global Services, which provides services to clients ensuring efficiency in processes and operations. The Software segment accounts for 24% of revenues, and provides middleware and operating systems. Systems and Technology, which comprises 17% of total revenues provides hardware such as servers and mainframes. The company’s current strategy is focused around Smarter Planet, Growth Markets, Business Analytics and Cloud Computing. Read More: IBM

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) – Tech Time Warp of the Week: IBM Speech Recognition, 1986

A pair of carefully painted lips, a feathered head-of-hair, pearl earrings, a pink button-down beneath a blue sweater, synthesizer music, a personal computer with a floppy drive, and a monochrome display. Welcome to the 1980s.

  

At first, the display is blank, except for a flashing green cursor. Is it waiting for someone to type? No, it’s not. This PC is different from the average DOS machine. When those carefully painted lips say the word “speaking,” the letters arrive on the display, as if by magic. Then we see that those lips belong to a perfectly coiffed spokesmodel. “I talk,” she says, “and the words appear on the computer screen.” And then these words appear on, well, you get the idea.

This little piece of computer history appears in an IBM promotional video that says as much as about the culture of the times as the technology (see above). The year is 1986. IBM is still the king not only of the PC world, but the tech world as a whole, and with the video and a spokesmodel that could come from no other decade Big Blue shows off its early efforts in speech recognition software. Read more.

IBM's CFO Loughridge to retire by year-end

IBM's (IBM) Chief Financial Officer Mark Loughridge is retiring at the end of the year after almost a decade on the job as the technology services provider struggles with declining revenue and weakness in emerging markets.

Loughridge, who joined International Business Machines in 1977 as a development engineer, will be succeeded by Martin Schroeter, who was previously IBM's head of global finance, the company said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. In December, Loughridge will turn 60, IBM's traditional retirement age, a spokesman said.

  

However, three sources with knowledge of discussions about management said originally Loughridge was set to leave in 2015 but that a number of factors had led to his earlier departure. In addition, James Kavanaugh, vice president and controller at IBM, may take on a new role as well, the sources said. Read more.

International Business Machines Corporation IBM SmartCloud for Government Receives FedRAMP Authorization from U.S. Federal Government

IBM’s SmartCloud for Government, infrastructure as-a-service cloud platform, has been granted Provisional Authorization to Operate (P-ATO) from the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Joint Authorization Board (JAB). With this approval, IBM’s SmartCloud for Government has achieved all the current critical security authorizations required by the government ahead of the June 2014 government deadline.

IBM’s SmartCloud for Government, FISMA and FedRAMP-compliant cloud environment is part of IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) established and dedicated Federal Data Centers (FDC) in Colorado and North Carolina. These rigorous security assessments help agencies looking to meet U.S. government Cloud First Computing mandate make more informed choices on platforms. Launched in 2010, the IBM SmartCloud for Government provides one of the industry’s most secure and comprehensive certified multi-tenant cloud computing environments. Numerous US Federal Agencies are already taking advantage of IBM’s secure and resilient cloud offerings leveraging ATO’s across DOD and Civilian. Read more.

IBM Unveils New Design Studio to Transform the Way Clients Interact with Software and Emerging Technologies

IBM (NYSE:IBM) today announced the opening of a state-of-the-art product design studio in Austin, Texas that will focus on how a new era of software will be designed, developed and consumed by organizations around the globe.

From this studio, IBM will transform how the company designs software across all IBM, including Big Data, cloud, mobile, social software and cognitive solutions.  This new space is built for direct collaboration, bringing together designers, developers and product managers to help IBM change its approach to softwar. Read more.  

International Business Machines Corp. Accuses Twitter of Patent Infringement (IBM)

Twitter made an update to its S-1 Form, which outlined that the soon-to-be-public Twitter has received a letter from IBM Corp (IBM) stating that Twitter is infringing on three IBM patents.

The letter mentioned in the S-1 also says that IBM has invited Twitter to negotiate a business resolution for the allegations. 

Twitter had the following defense: “we believe we have meritorious defenses to IBM’s allegations, although there can be no assurance that we will be successful in defending against these allegations or reaching a business resolution that is satisfactory to us.” An actual patent infringement suit from one of the old guard tech companies could be bad news for Twitter, as it tries to focus on its IPO.

Aside from IBM, the most buzzed about change to Twitter’s S-1 is that the company now has its shares set at $23-$25, which is up from the company’s previous share price of $17-$20. Read more.

IBM, Twitter Plan Talks on Patent Dispute

Twitter and IBMIBM +0.58% plan to meet to discuss settling a patent dispute, said people familiar with the matter.

Twitter disclosed the dispute in a securities filing Monday, just days before its planned initial public offering. IBM notified Twitter last week of the potential infringements, said those people.It is not clear when the two companies might meet, or whether they could reach an agreement.

The dispute highlights the increasing value of intellectual property and the way it can be used as a weapon in the technology industry. Patent disputes have long been a part of the industry, but they have heated up in recent years as the explosion of mobile devices and the wealth created by them raises the stakes for giants like AppleAAPL +1.28%, Samsung Electronics and other companies. Read more.

India asks IBM to pay $866 mln in outstanding tax - reports

Indian tax authorities have asked IBM's(NYS:IBM) local unit to pay 53.57 billion rupees in outstanding income tax on fiscal 2009 revenue, media reported on Saturday.

In an emailed statement, an IBM India spokeswoman confirmed the company had received a tax notice, but declined to comment on the amount of tax liability or the nature of the notice.

The Income Tax office issued the company a notice for under-reporting revenue for fiscal 2009 by the Indian unit, the Business Standard newspaper said, citing a tax official.

"IBM does not agree with the tax department's claims and will aggressively defend itself through the appropriate judicial process," the IBM India spokeswoman said.

IBM has been locked in a tax dispute with authorities related to its 2009 reporting year income, media have reported previously. Read more.