In 1991, IBM launched a management consulting division focused on business transformation and IT strategy consulting. As businesses began embracing the power of personal computing and IT infrastructure, its consulting work increasingly involved the delivery of technology to clients, and the division was dubbed IBM Global Business Services. In 2002, the division acquired PwC’s management consulting and technology services division PwC Consulting, which almost doubled IBM Global Business Services’ customer base. Today, the division boasts over 140,000 consultants providing digital strategy, cloud application, and cognitive process transformation services to customers around the world.
In a world where business needs are in a near-constant state of growth and evolution, firms that specialize in providing strategic guidance and technology solutions must evolve along with them, which is why IBM announced the rebranding of its Global Business Services division to IBM Consulting. The move comes as part of IBM’s overall rebranding and realignment efforts, and the name change was intended to mirror the space the division serves.
Mark Foster, senior VP of IBM Services, stated that the new brand name and tagline of “Accelerate Together” reflects the division's commitment to act as a collaborative partner delivering rapid business value. He added: “We are aligning our brand and strategy focus with the IBM strategy of hybrid cloud, AI and the power of the ecosystem… We will drive real innovation through the application of technology to create ever more intelligent workflows and deeply engage with the application modernization programs that every enterprise must deliver in a world of hybrid cloud environments.”
The IBM Consulting division has seen solid performance in FY2021, showing an 11.6% growth in revenue for a total of$4.3 billion, with growth in consulting up 16%, application management up 5%, global process services up 28%, and cloud revenue up 35%. The numbers reflect solid progress toward the company’s annual revenue growth and cash flow objectives, largely driven by client adoption of IBM Consulting’s hybrid cloud platform.
