Pamisano

IBM CEO Sam Palmisano is so enamored with IBM’s “Sametime” instant messaging system that insiders call it “Samtime.” One IBM executive, meeting with CRN editors last year, even received a message during the meeting and explained, “Sam wants to know how it’s going.”

But just how detail-oriented can a guy who leads 330,000 employees really be?

After nearly 30 years at IBM, Palmisano had the unenviable task of stepping into the shoes of former Chairman Lou Gerstner in 2002. That was, and is, no mean feat. After all, Gerstner was the exec who by most accounts—including Gerstner’s own—saved IBM’s butt.

Palmisano’s mission has been to get IBM growing again, and he’s fighting the war of big numbers. For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, IBM’s sales were $23.4 billion, up 8.9 percent from last year. “This is equivalent to [growing] a whole new company each year,” says Harvey Najim, CEO of Sirius, an IBM solution provider in San Antonio.

IBM faces plenty of challenges, among them PR-damaging pension, environmental and SCO lawsuits and indications that its outsourcing business is no bed of roses. In one case, JPMorgan Chase pulled out of a $5 billion IGS contract five years before it expired.

AD
id	unit-1659132512259
type	Sponsored post

But partners say Palmisano has an ability to listen to customers and drill down on their problems. “One strength is his having been an insider for 30-plus years,” Najim says. “Another is his technical knowledge. This On Demand strategy is his, and it’s huge.”

On-demand computing is a central component to Palmisano’s strategy, which has included championing Linux, becoming a force in middleware, driving changes in data-center infrastructure and forging channel relationships. The 53-year-old hands-on executive has a lot to get his hands around.