Message from the Senior Vice President, Enterprise On Demand Transformation & Information Technology

One of the best ways we can help our clients is by sharing our own experience in applying and managing information technology (IT) to deliver business value. After all, IBM maintains one of the world's most complex and sophisticated IT infrastructures, which supports 350,000 employees operating in more than 170 countries around the globe.

This is why I am excited about this special issue of the IBM Systems Journal. We have enlisted some of our best technologists to share with you, our readers, details of their leading-edge projects. Here you will find insights into the various ways we are using IT investments to transform our business and make IBM the model for the globally integrated enterprise. Highlighted in this issue are the primary factors that contribute to a successful business transformation, such as establishing and implementing an enterprise-wide data architecture program, expanding the use of the service-oriented approach in transformational projects, the use of voice technologies to help people communicate better, and the use of business analytics to improve the effectiveness of the sales force. You will also find a discussion of a ClO-led collaborative innovation program and its impact on our workforce.

The IBM IT organization operates, as do our clients' organizations, in a world of limited resources and tight budgets. We are striving to deliver cost-effective IT solutions that help our clients improve productivity, stimulate innovation, and seize new business opportunities. We hope this issue provides practical suggestions and concrete ideas for new ways to deploy and manage IT for increased business value.

Linda Sanford