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Questions for Mike Daniels, IBM Global Technology Services

Mike Daniels, IBM Global Technology Services Q. What are the biggest challenges you've seen for IBM's technology services clients over the past five years?
Mike Daniels: Security has to be one of the top challenges. Twenty-five years ago, the first virus started as a prank by a fifteen year old, who wanted to impress his friends. Now our clients face cyber terrorism and cyber crime, which are becoming increasingly sophisticated and dangerous. Because the security threat to businesses has really changed in the past five years, many companies have tried to combat the threats by bringing in a series of point products. We have found these fragmented and reactive approaches don't work anymore. We believe clients need to manage the risk across their businesses with a proactive approach—dealing with tomorrow's threats, not today's.

Q. What trends do you foresee for these clients in the next five years?
A. Becoming a truly global company is going to require that companies change. Globalization requires companies be part of a global supply chain, deal with worldwide labor supply and manage talent around the globe. Enterprises need the right tools, management processes and governance to explore new marketplaces, support customers, enable new levels of collaboration and expand their business operations. There is a tremendous convergence happening in the areas of voice, video, data, and mobility and application resources. "This is one way that we think clients can integrate their technologies—while controlling costs, improving productivity and collaboration, and enabling new business models."

Q. What is the biggest roadblock for companies to grow tomorrow?
A. When I talk to clients—CEOs and CIOs—they tell me about their power concerns. I am starting to hear over and over again that clients are literally running out of power. This energy crisis in the data center is the greatest obstacle that companies will face. Add to this that there is an ever-growing demand for computing power and storage capacity. This is really a great place for IBM to differentiate ourselves. Earlier this year, IBM announced Project Big Green, an initiative to help clients create energy efficient data centers and optimize their IT environments. Our approach can help clients contribute to their bottom line and aid the environment. We set out a five-step approach that provides critical insight for our clients so they can better recognize their energy use and its business impact and then take appropriate action to optimize their operations.