IBM seems to be placing all of its bets on Big Data

IBM is utterly focused on big data and analytics as its future growth engines, according to its annual report published over the weekend. But the company has hedged a little on the future of its semiconductor and hardware businesses. Rometty claims IBM has “built the world’s broadest and deepest capabilities in Big Data and analytics.” Big Blue apparently has 15,000 people in the field, including 400 mathematicians, and is now directing two thirds of its research effort towards analytics.

To lead IBM to greener pastures, the tech giant is banking on data, the cloud and “systems of engagement” for real-time communication. That’s what Big Blue said in the 2013 annual report it released to investors this morning. “The modern demands of Big Data, cloud and mobile require enterprise-strength computing, and no other company can match IBM’s ongoing capabilities and commitment to developing those essential technologies, IBM’s chief executive, Ginni Rometty, wrote in a letter to investors. Other big tech vendors, like Intel and Pivotal, are counting on cloud computing and big data to help them grow, not to mention social or mobile initiatives. But as IBM repositions hardware and software to focus more on those trends, it makes bold pronouncements that amount to the most conservative assessments of where technology is headed.