Steve Mills, once described as the most important software executive you’ve never heard of, recently expanded his influence into the computer hardware arena.
Since 2000 Mills has headed IBM’s software group – the world’s second-largest software business. But in July he was promoted, adding hardware and systems – hardware with integrated software – to his portfolio. That put him in charge of 100,000 employees that contribute about $40 billion to the technology giant’s annual revenue.
Mills, who is based in Somers, N.Y., reports directly to IBM’s CEO and chairman, Sam Palmisano.
On Tuesday, Mills visited IBM’s Research Triangle Park campus, which with an estimated 10,000 workers is the largest concentration of IBM employees in the world. Among other things, Mills hosted a group of information technology analysts to discuss the evolution of the data center. RTP was an apt site for such a gathering, given that IBM opened a new $362 million cloud computing center there last year.
During his visit, Mills talked with News & Observer reporter David Ranii. Below is an edited account of that conversation.
Q: A key part of the growth of the software business under your watch has been acquisitions. Does your promotion signal a shopping spree on the hardware side?
I would say it is a path we are already on, but I would expect we’ll find more opportunities. And I also think there will be some interesting things that will be at the intersection of … what the hardware team has been doing, the software team has been doing, and things that increasingly sit on the cusp, if you will, on both sides of the organization.
Q: Speaking of acquisitions, IBM is acquiring analytics company Netezza for $1.7 billion. That’s on top of more than $12 billion spent on 23 analytics companies that help customers gain business insights from their internal data. What’s the big attraction in the analytics space?
Customers are putting more money into analytics, going forward, than in many other areas. We are driving IBM’s portfolio, our investments, toward where the market is going.
Source:http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/09/24/699540/ibm-exec-steers-hardware-software.html
