In April 2020, IBM was facing a global pandemic, dropping sales numbers, and a market capitalization of less than $100 billion, about a tenth of that of companies such as Microsoft and Amazon. New Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna stepped in with a plan: grow by acquisition.
Since then, he has bought more than 20 companies, the latest a Microsoft Azure consultancy called Neudesic. Founded in 2002, the Irvine, California-based firm employs more than 1,500 consultants in the U.S. and India, delivering digital transformation services spanning application development, DevOps, cloud migration, data engineering and visualization, and automation. A Microsoft Gold Partner, the firm provides services to clients in the financial services, energy and utilities, professional services, health and life sciences, and retail industries
A 30-year veteran of the company, Krishna launched an aggressive strategy that has expanded IBM’s consulting and cloud services verticals.
"As one of the leading cloud platforms, Microsoft Azure is key to many of our clients' ability to modernize and innovate," said John Granger, Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting. "Neudesic adds deep Azure cloud, data engineering and data analytics expertise to accelerate our clients' hybrid cloud journeys."
The newly-acq uired firm is slated to be rolled into the hybrid cloud business within the IBM Consulting division, further strengthening the technology powerhouse’s position as it continues to compete more aggressively against established players in the cloud consulting industry. The market continues to grow, with Gartner projecting a $200 billion market for cloud managed services and consulting by 2024.
Neudesic will join IBM Consulting as the latest in a string of acquisitions, including companies such as Sentaca, SXiQ, BoxBoat, Nordcloud, and Taos. The company has significantly expanded its portfolio of hybrid multicloud services in its efforts to push its hybrid cloud and AI strategy. It’s likely that the 110 year-old IBM will continue its acquisition efforts into the coming years, as it fleshes out its capabilities and innovates new market offerings.
