IBM Global Services Asia

Also Known As: IBM Global Services, IBM Consulting, IBM

Consulting - Management and Strategy

VAULT RANKINGS 2013

#16 Prestige

#2 Information Technology Consulting

View all Rankings #6 Operational Consulting

GENERAL INFO

Headquarters: Armonk, NY
300 offices
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THE BUZZ…

· "Better for tech to biz solutions"

· "Bureaucratic; sales-oriented"

· "Very focused strategy, driving great benefits for other IBM businesses"

· "Huge teams billing off the back of a few talented individuals"

NEWS AND UPDATES

Vault's Scoop

Uppers

· "Globally recognizable brand name"

· Freedom to choose project and work content

· "Unlimited opportunities and learning"

· "Excellent exposure to different industries"

Downers

· "Internal politics"

· "Salary not best in class"

· Too much red tape

· "Very hard to get a promotion"

ABOUT THIS COMPANY:

Big Blue consulting

Yes, IBM stands for International Business Machines, but these days Big Blue goes well beyond computer manufacturing. IBM Global Services, which provides business and IT consulting, has become an increasingly important factor in its parent's bottom line. In 2008, IBM Global Services contributed 57.3 percent of IBM's total yearly revenue of US$103.6 billion.

IBM's first foray into IT services was in 1989, when the company signed a deal with Eastman Kodak to design, build and manage a state-of-the-art data center at Kodak headquarters in New York. Around the same time, IBM began offering business recovery services to its hardware and software clients.

In 2002, IBM solidified its reputation as a consulting provider, and not just a software/hardware firm, when it acquired PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting. The deal added 30,000 employees in 52 countries to IBM's consulting teams. That same year, Samuel Palmisano, then-chairman and CEO of IBM Global Services, stepped up to become IBM's global CEO, pledging to keep his former division strong. In 2005, IBM sold off its PC business—further proof that the sum of Big Blue is greater than its computer parts.

Infrastructure and professional services

Today, IBM's Global Services solutions typically revolve around consulting services, IT infrastructure and software. Within IBM Global Services, there are two separate segments: Global Technology Services (GTS) and Global Business Services (GBS). The former works primarily in infrastructure, relying on IBM's global scale, standardization and automation. This unit provides outsourcing services, integrated technology services and maintenance. GBS, meanwhile, is the professional services arm of the company, offering consulting, application management services and systems integration. According to company literature, GBS is "the world's largest consulting organization." As of 2008, there were more than 100,000 GBS employees across the world.

Meanwhile, GBS clients include more than 90 percent of the communications, retail and electronic companies in the Fortune 500 and more than half of all Fortune 1000 companies. GBS serves a litany of industries, including automotive, aerospace and defense, banking, chemicals and petroleum, consumer products, education, electronics, energy and utilities, financial markets, government, healthcare, insurance, life sciences, media and entertainment, retail, telecommunications, and travel and transportation.

Huge in Asia Pacific

In all its divisions worldwide, IBM has over 398,000 employees; of those, approximately 30 percent are based in the Asia Pacific region. At the close of fiscal 2008, the firm's non-U.S. operations generated approximately 65 percent of total revenue, with about 20 percent coming from Asia Pacific operations. Among all of IBM's regional groupings, the Asia Pacific region has shown the strongest revenue growth over the past few years, bringing in US$19.5 billion in 2008, an 8.3 percent increase over 2007. India had the fastest revenue growth for the firm in the Asia Pacific region in 2008, with total take increasing by 25.8 percent. Japan, meanwhile, contributed 49 percent of total Asia Pacific revenue for 2008, and grew by 8.5 percent for the year.

In 2008, revenue from the GTS segment totaled US$39.2 billion, an 8.8 percent increase from the previous year. According to the company, the growth was driven by a number of factors, including structural flexibility, higher value offerings and lower labor costs. Meanwhile, earnings for the GBS segment also rose significantly, also up 8.8 percent from 2007 to US$19.6 billion. IBM attributes this boost to resource optimization, effective balancing of domestic, global and subcontracted resources, deal selectivity, stable pricing, and ongoing operational efficiencies.

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SALARIES

IBM Global Services Asia salary & compensation reviews include all signing and year-end bonuses, vacation time and other perks and reimbursements that make up total compensation.

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SURVEY SAYS

Simply the best?

One insider describes IBM as the "best IT company in the world," while a colleague refers to it as "one of the best places to work." They're not alone when it comes to praising the culture, with most consultants giving high marks in this area. Over and over again, sources cite the "open, encouraging" and "friendly culture," where everyone is "approachable and helpful." As one respondent puts it, "You are comfortable on the very first day you join." This seems to have a lot to do with feelings about top management, who "respect individual ideas and appreciate employee input." A lot of importance is placed on "individual and personal growth," and when it comes to project placements, decisions are not "unilateral, but based on consensus between manager and consultant." It is, as one insider says, "a caring culture," in which "teaming and knowledge sharing is an important part of it."

When it comes to negative aspects of the firm, such as being "extremely bureaucratic," consultants blame its size. "It focuses too much on internal procedures and isn't flexible enough for events outside the norm," explains a contact. A colleague agrees, stating, "Policies are complex and certain processes are very time consuming, which is bound to be the case for such a huge company."

What the client wants

A high percentage of staffers at IBM admit to working weekends frequently, but at the same time they also reveal that they put in an average of 50 to 60 hours a week and believe that the work/life balance at their company "is much better than at many other firms." The reason for this is down to the flexibility the company offers, with the ability "to work from home" if there is no need to be at meetings or at the client's site. "While working on off-shore assignments, one can work from home, so far as the deliverables are met," explains a source. Of course the work comes "in peaks and troughs," and "during the peaks work/life balance goes out of the window". Also if you are working out of the client's location you are "expected to follow the time schedule of the client. So if the client works on weekends, then so do you."

Strain on the family

Traveling at IBM "can range from excessive to minimal", but if you do get put on a project that is client-based, it can mean months away from home. "They expect married people with kids to go to work in a location and stay there for six months," stresses a consultant. In addition to this, "policies to support the travel of spouses are not in place and not encouraged by the organization," claims a colleague. And while "monthly fly-backs to base locations are supported" by IBM, they only consist of "two working days every month." But, as stated earlier, "travel is limited to the client location. So the frequency of travel basically depends on the nature and duration of the projects."

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Getting Hired

Tips from the inside

Big Blue campus blitz

For Asia Pacific recruiting, IBM likes to cherry-pick from the "top business schools" across the globe, but we're told it favors those located in the Asia Pacific region. These include the top schools in India, such as the Indian Institutes of Management, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. In China, the firm chooses graduates from such establishments as Tsinghua and Peking University. Meanwhile, the firm draws candidates from "most, if not all, universities and polytechnics in Singapore," while the Malaysian office holds events at "most local universities and colleges." Seoul recruiters head to the top-five Korean universities as well as overseas universities to find qualified candidates. If there are no recruiting activities at your school, interested applicants can also check the country-specific web site of the office in which they want to work for details on how to apply.

Those who were lucky enough to get onto a summer internship while they were students say this was the main reason they accepted an offer of a job with the firm. "The experience was extremely enriching, the people and culture were good, and the learning was immense," says one such former intern. A colleague agrees, explaining, "My experience was good. I had an opportunity to interact with very senior people in my firm, and the project report I prepared was very well received by them."

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Other IBM Global Services Asia Profiles

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)-North America-Consulting - Management and Strategy, IBM Global Business Services-North America-Consulting - Management and Strategy, IBM Global Technology Services-North America-Consulting - Management and Strategy, IBM Global Services Europe-Europe-Consulting - Management and Strategy

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