Leading analysts in the Asia Pacific region have a unique opportunity to compare and contrast the capabilities and roadmap of the two legacy enterprise IT behemoths, IBM and HP in the next couple of weeks. In a fortuitous piece of timing, both firms will be having major regional analyst briefings on consecutive weeks in Singapore.
HP is first out of the blocks with a two day meeting starting August 27th focused on the Asia Pacific and Japan markets. IBM is out of the blocks on the 2nd of September with their Growth Markets Unit, (GMU – Asia, MEA, LatAm, CEMA) meeting.
Clearly a direct comparison will be readily drawn. Both firms will showcase key customers, investments and capabilities. What the leading analysts will be looking for is deep capability proof points beyond the marketing hype that is often around at these events. Geographic depth across the region will also be critical. There is no point show casing capabilities that only apply to a limited number of geographies, or that are constrained by language.
HP will enter the session still looking for an acceleration of the recovery it is attempting to undertake. IBM will come looking to showcase growth that is more consistent across the sub-geographies of the GMU. Both will look to convince that their core infrastructure hardware business and traditional IT Outsourcing can drive growth. Investments in SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud) are critical, although both vendors will do well to avoid overhyping if history is any guide.
It is worth noting that these firms represent the legacy provider space. Whilst they are critical particularly for the largest enterprises, the competitive environment and options for business and government buyers of technology and services continues to get more complicated, with the paradox of a desire for simplicity.
I look forward on reporting back what I will take away from the event and get a gauge as to whether or not they can compete in the world of cloud and commodity.
If you require further information, please contact Phil Hassey, Founder capioIT. capioIT is an advisory firm focused on helping organisations to understand emerging technology in emerging markets. Phil may be contacted by email below,
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