Report: IBM Global Business Services Ranked #1 in Thought Leadership

ARMONK, N.Y., March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today that its consulting organization was named the top provider of thought leadership materials by Source for Consulting, a leading provider of research about the management consulting market.

IBM is the leader among the top 24 consulting firms in the world based on the quality and impact of thought leadership material published by the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), according to Source for Consulting's new White Space report.

The IBM IBV provides leading-edge thought leadership and practical insights for business leaders. Its hallmark array of C-Suite studies, which have tracked and analyzed the priorities of global CXOs for more than a decade, are distinguished by the depth and intimacy of the research method. For example, IBM recently tapped a global team of business strategists, consultants, data scientists and statisticians to conduct face-to face interviews with more than 4,000 C-Suite executives to garner the insights released in the IBM 2013 C-suite study. Individual reports specific to professional roles, including  CEO, CIO, CFO, CMO, Chief HR Officers and others, are being released now.

"As an engine of insight that matters -- especially in this era of radically accelerated, technology-led business change -- we believe the method matters," said Peter Korsten, partner and vice president, global leader thought leadership and eminence, IBM Global Business Services. "The CXO Studies are a great example; the investment to conduct thousands of in-depth interviews creates unmatched depth, but also the ability to extract the nuances and ground the empirical data from first-person stories and experiences of global business leaders. That creates a different level of value to our clients and informs everything from our global client relationships to the development of new capabilities to address their evolving priorities."

The report from Source for Consulting highlights that aspect of differentiation from IBM and underscores "an unswerving focus on quality," noting that "it's hard to find any weak material" coming from IBM thought leaders.

"Thought leadership is the most important marketing tool that a consulting firm has at the moment," said Fiona Czerniawska, co-founder of Source for Consulting and White Space. "IBM has been moving up the rankings for many years now and its effort and discipline in delivering quality content is paying off."

IBM's content leads all firms in both 'Resilience of content to instill confidence in materials' and 'Prompting action from the reader.' This recognition of IBM's thought leadership is a result of IBM's ongoing commitment to provide quality information to its clients.

For more information on the Source for Consulting White Space Quality Report, visit http://www.sourceforconsulting.com/whitespace/ (subscription required).

About IBM Global Business Services
For more information, visit http://www.ibm.com/services/gbs.

About IBM Institute for Business Value
For more information, http://www.ibm.com/iibv
Download the IBM IBV app from iTunes and Android Market

About Source for Consulting
Source is the leading provider of research about the management consulting market in Europe and the Middle East, with a growing footprint in the US, China, Brazil, Australia and Africa. Founded by Fiona Czerniawska and Joy Burnford in 2007, and with offices in London and Dubai, Source serves both consulting firms and their clients with expert analysis, research and reporting.

About White Space
White Space is a subscriber-based web service which provides detailed analysis of the thought leadership of around 30 leading global consulting firms. This analysis is updated regularly, giving up-to-date market intelligence on the state of the thought leadership market.

Contact Information
Suzanne Aronowitz
IBM
617.693.1811
[email protected]

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SOURCE IBM