Forget Jeopardy Games, IBM’s Real Success is in Delivering Value

When you think of today’s tech giants, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and even Facebook come to most minds. It’s been a long time since IBM has been part of that pantheon. After absolutely leading the pack for decades, IBM quietly shifted over the past 12 years into the background.

Or was that the back office? By selling off of its blockbuster Thinkpad laptop line to Lenovo in 2004, IBM lost its consumer footprint and the visibility that comes with it. The once cutting-edge company became the quintessential blue chip – safe and predictable.

But today’s IBM is not your father’s, nor even your grandfather’s. Big Blue has built a strong and increasingly commanding presence in analytics through both strategic acquisitions and continued development of its Watson program.

Suddenly IBM is of interest to more than back office IT and investors looking for a safe investment. In fact, Watson has IBM blazing trails again in areas such as cancer research, psycholingustics and machine learning/Artificial Intelligence. It even won Jeopardy and regularly creates inventive new recipes in a new field called cognitive cooking.

As inspiring as IBM’s advanced new capabilities are, the real excitement is around the value the company is delivering to customers. We did a recent analysis and found that on average, IBM delivered $15.82 for every dollar spent on its solutions. That’s across the board for marketing, sales and analytics – areas where IBM is once again emerging as a leader to beat. It’s an impressive Return On Investment (ROI) that should have everyone taking a second look at IBM.

In fact, just let that ROI number sink in for a second. Given the many costly IT projects that fail to deliver any value, imagine a solution that on average can give you back nearly $16 for every dollar you invest. That’s an easy sell to the CFO.

Which reminds me of that old saying that “no one ever got fired for buying IBM products.” A common phrase in the 70s up through 2000. Given the focus on value and impressive, proven ROI that IBM can deliver, it’s time to dust that old chestnut off again.