Palmisano: IT Spending In Holding Pattern

IBM

"I see [IT projects teed up and justified, but [customers are just waiting," Palmisano said. CEOs aren't questioning the value of the projects, he said, and in fact, there are unprecedented backlogs in the industry.

"The pipeline is greater than I've seen in recent memory," he said. But "nobody can predict when [the economic environment will turn around," he said.

Palmisano's comments came during IBM's quarterly security analyst meeting in New York.

While he focused primarily on long-term strategy rather than short-term financials, Palmisano said IBM plans to focus on earnings per share rather than topline revenue.

"Whether we are an $80 billion, $100 billion or $7 billion company is not the point," he said. Rather IBM will focus on a business model that will yield "double-digit EPS growth over the long term."