IBM Positioned in Leaders Quadrant for Storage Services

ARMONK, NY - 08 Aug 2008: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it has been positioned in the “Leaders” quadrant in Gartner, Inc.’s Magic Quadrant for Storage Professional and Support Services.(1)

The ability to execute and completeness of vision were examined while positioning each storage professional and support services provider. According to Gartner, Inc., “Leaders are performing well today, have a clear vision of market direction and are actively building competencies to sustain their leadership position in the market. Service providers in this quadrant have a strong worldwide presence, provide a broad range of services, invest in innovative service tools and technologies and articulate a clear vision of current and future customer requirements and storage service solutions.”

With key market drivers including the explosion of the volume of information and data, regulatory and compliance concerns and escalating information technology (IT) management costs, IBM Global Technology Services has unmatched worldwide scope of storage services delivery capabilities, and strategic outsourcing leadership.

In the past year, IBM Global Technology Services made three strategic acquisitions to build on its strategy of providing standardized storage and information protection services which deliver high value and more predictable business results to clients.

* In the first quarter of 2007, IBM acquired privately held data migration specialist Softek Storage Solutions Corp. Through this acquisition, IBM has assembled the most complete and unified data mobility offerings and worldwide delivery expertise for managing data in storage array, host, and virtualized information technology (IT) environments.

* In October 2007, IBM acquired storage solutions company NovusCG to provide clients with improved access to business information, enable stronger regulatory and corporate compliance, and boost their overall information technology performance.

* In January 2008, IBM acquired privately held information protection company Arsenal Digital Solutions to better align managed backup with business continuity and disaster recovery facilities for mid-market customers.

“IBM’s unique approach to storage and data services is founded on a client view of the problems they are trying to solve. Therefore, we integrate across our company -- with IBM Research and Development, the many recent IBM acquisitions like XiV, Diligent, and Cognos -- and with our robust partner network to provide end-to-end client solutions,” said Paul Fried, vice president for Storage and Data Services, IBM Global Technology Services. “In my opinion, this honor from Gartner shows that IBM’s evolving winning and well executed strategy is paying off, and demonstrates our continued commitment to helping clients more efficiently store, manage and understand, and leverage data so they can align their IT and business strategies to grow their respective businesses.”

IBM is the largest storage services provider worldwide and has over 100 System Storage Solution Centers. IBM Global Technology Services uses methodologies and prior engagement experiences to offer solutions that help maximize operational effectiveness and gain competitive advantage while minimizing costs for clients.

Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Storage Professional and Support Services is available to Gartner clients at www.Gartner.com.

About IBM
For more information about IBM, visit www.ibm.com.


(1) Gartner, Inc. “Magic Quadrant for Storage Professional and Support Services” by Adam W. Couture and Robert E. Passmore, July 30, 2008,


* Magic Quadrant Disclaimer
The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2008 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner’s analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the “Leaders” quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.