, Chairman and CEO of IBM, had driven IBM to follow an overall strategic focus to maintain a superior standing in the computer industry. The future of IBM was expected to be determined by its effectiveness in competing in the rapidly growing and highly competitive computer services industry, specifically in the professional computer services segment. In light of IGS's declining financials and its overall importance to the future success of the IBM Corporation, Gerstner was asking his IGS executive management team to consider changing the way IGS was doing business.
With a solid knowledge of revenues under multi-year contracts and past retention rates for contracts coming up for renewal, computer services firms can predict with a high degree of confidence the amount of revenues that they"ll earn in a set time period. According to Standard and Poor's Industry Survey, the computer services industry had experienced a prolonged period of strong growth, which was expected to continue into 2001 and beyond. According to Standard and Poor's Industry Survey, the global computer services industry would continue growing at a compound annual rate of 11 per cent through 2004. One of the most significant trends in the computer services industry was convergence within the overall computer industry. Companies in diverse areas were rapidly forming alliances with each other through joint ventures, mergers, and acquisitions, allowed companies to integrate computer technology products with computer services so that they could offer a greater selection of products and services. All of this was causing a blurring of traditional industry categories in computer information technology and communications.
The Professional Computer Services Segment offers the following services:.
• Consulting: Computer consulting firms work with corporations to create implement strategies to cope with the most complex business problems.