IBM Corporation: Competing Globally Essay

1.Do you agree with IBM’s employment response to competition from software development contractors in India like Wipro that are expanding into IT consulting services? Why or why not? In order for IBM to continue its growth it will have to expand into areas like India. They need consulting groups who can personalize their product and keep the costs low in markets like Mexico which not only makes their product more readily available and affordable it create a type of familiarity among customers that keeps them buying the same products from the same marketers. 2.Will IBM’s plan to give away some of its IT assets and intellectual property and increase its support of open-source software products like Linux be a successful growth strategy in the â€Å"brutally competitive marketplace† in which it operates? Why or why not? To keep up with the growing demand for new software and product solutions it is imperative that IBM embrace and support open solution software products like Linux. As the saying goes, â€Å"If you can’t beat them, join them.† Linux is growing by leaps and bound and is quickly surpassing the software maker like Microsoft who at this point does not specialize in open source software. If they do not adapt to the new way that software is being used they will be just another software company that has been left behind. 3.Do you agree with IBM researchers’ assumption that IT will remain â€Å"hard to use, expensive, and labor-intensive, and with customers continuing to need help solving business problems† for a long time to come? Should IBM bet its business on that assumption? Defend your answers to both questions. IT will absolutely remain labor intensive hard to use and expensive because technology changes by the nano-second. As soon as one form of technology is mastered it is what I call â€Å"current history† meaning that it may be the technology this is used currently but there is a newer, more efficient, responsive and interactive solution already available.