Report 30 Mar 2026

IBM - Vendor Profile - US

Overview:

This PAC (SITSI) vendor profile reviews IBM’s US business and strategy following its strategic reset toward hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). It covers the company background, positioning, portfolio, vertical expertise, and 2025 performance estimates.

 

Key points:

Company background: Century-old tech leader; spun out Kyndryl (2021); >100,000 US employees; US lead: Neil Dhar.

Strategic positioning: Focus on hybrid cloud, generative/agentic AI (watsonx), open-source models, and long-term bets like quantum. Major acquisitions include Red Hat (cloud) and HashiCorp (automation); Confluent (real-time data) is highlighted.

Go-to-market & partnerships: Shift from proprietary-first to ecosystem play; strategic alliances with Microsoft, AWS, Adobe, Salesforce, etc.; emphasis on consulting-as-code via IBM Consulting Advantage.

PAC’s view: IBM is an attractive digital transformation partner for large enterprises, strong in application services and infrastructure software/platforms; ranked in top positions across several verticals (banking, utilities, public sector).

Financial/market snapshot (PAC estimates, 2025): Total SITS revenue ~$24.5bn; largest shares in infrastructure software & platforms (28%), SaaS (14%), and application project/services segments

 

Recommended advisory: PAC Leadership Session – AI in Business Transformation