...is disguised as a hardware and services company. Yesterday's WSJ has a great article on IBM's software business, focusing in on the impact that Steve Mills has had in building it up. Some interesting facts from the article:IBM's M&A strategy for software is to acquire products that his sales force (already deeply embedded in every company on this planet and a few others) can accelerate sales for by 2-3x. IBM …is disguised as a hardware and services company. Yesterday’s WSJ has a great article on IBM’s software business, focusing in on the impact that Steve Mills has had in building it up. Some interesting facts from the article:IBM’s M&A strategy for software is to acquire products that his sales force (already deeply embedded in every company on this planet and a few others) can accelerate sales for by 2-3x. IBM has acquired 44 software companies since 2000, but for “only” $9.5B. The company tends to buy smaller companies that are more easily integrated. While software only accounts for 20% of IBM’s revenues, it brings in 40% of earnings. In other words, software is still delivering the fat margins that hardware and services just can’t, even in IBM’s hands. Companies that IBM acquires average 25% revenue growth the year after they are acquired. This is a feat of which most acquiring companies would love to be able to boast.IBM is an impressive company, and Mills is clearly a rock-solid manager, despite his antiquated views on open source. Now if he could only make Lotus Notes a product that is actually worth using. It is painfully bad, and yet maybe this is what makes Mills impressive – he’s still able to sell it. Open Source