Diagnostic Report On IBM's Cloud Computing Services Essay.

First, you must find a company that operates in an area or industry of your interest. Once you have located a company, you will be required to select one of their real-life B2B products or services, to use in your report. Assessment 1 diagnostic report must be detailed and in-depth 

Once you have chosen your company and your product, your task is as follows:

• Describe the background of the product and company– aspects to consider, could be the historical background of the product/company, such as brand, mission and vision.
  
  
• Explain the product details– this includes all aspects of the product, such as features, technical aspects, benefits to customers, varieties, etc.
  
  
• Analyse the relevant market situation that includes industry analysis, competitors, and market trends– this includes the micro (company, suppliers, intermediaries, customers, competitors and publics) and macro (political, economic, social, and technological) analysis. The other elements to include, could be competitors and other market trends.
  
  
• Analyse the market segmentation of this product– this includes the basis of segmentation for your product, with a clear section identified.
  
  
• Explain the importance of relationships in this industry- A comprehensive relationship management analysis should be included to show the importance of relationship in this industry.
  
  
• Explain the buying behaviour in this industry– your explanation should include the buying process in this industry and the relevant factors that affect buying behaviour.

Background of the product and company

This Business marketing report has been prepared which has covered different aspects of the business environment of a Business to Business Company operating in Australia. IBM is a Business to Business Company which is offering quality services to the customers. This report will discuss the background of the products offered by the company and of the company. Analysis of the market will be done by gathering relevant data for identifying the impact of these aspects on the business.

The company selected for this report is IBM which is an American global technology and innovation company. Its headquarter is located in Armonk, New York, United States. It was founded by Charles Ranlett Flint in the year 1911.  It is operating in more than 177 countries all around the globe. IBM is operating in the Cloud Computing and cognitive computing industry. It is having a strong employee base of more than 3,80,000 employees according to the data collected in the year 2016. IBM is offering products which belong to different categories and these categories include cloud computing, commerce, cognitive computing, data and analytics, Internet of Things, IT infrastructure, mobile, and security. IBM has set a mission which has guided the efforts of IBM. IBM is fulfilling its responsibility towards the different stakeholders of the society. IBM is focusing on improving the quality of the products offered for enhancing the satisfaction level of the customers of the business (IBM, 2017).

The mission of IBM is to lead the industry by offering innovative products by constantly engaging in the creation, invention, development, and manufacturing of the advanced information technologies which includes software, storage systems, microelectronics and computer systems. A wide range of products, services, and solutions are being offered by IBM to its customers. These products, services, and solutions are being offered to the companies operating in different industries including banking, aviation, energy and utilities, healthcare, federal, gaming, retail, media and entertainment and telecom industries. IBM has contributed to the local economy of Australia. The expertise and innovations offered by IBM have helped the economy of Australia for competing with the world economy. IBM has promoted digital transformation by utilizing the natural resources available for sustainable cities which is a/ national agenda for the government of Australia (IBM, 2017).

The product which has been selected for this report is cloud computing. IBM is offering cloud computing services to the customers. Cloud computing is a service which is offered over the internet. Cloud computing can be explained as the practice in which network of remote servers are used which are hosted on the internet for storing, managing and processing the data. These services are being offered on a pay-for-use basis. Different models of cloud computing are being offered by IBM which includes SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, Public Cloud, Hybrid Cloud and Private Cloud (Wyld, 2010). Features of cloud computing are listed below:

1. Elastic resources. Resource pooling is possible with the use of cloud computing
2. Self-service or on-demand service (IBM, 2017).  
3. Service measurement is possible so payment can be done for what is used by the customer (Chabrow, 2011)
4. It provides a broad network access. Cloud computing uses the internet as a base so it promotes access to the data anytime and anywhere as per the need of the customer (Sallehudin, et. al., 2015).

Product details

There are various benefits associated with the use of cloud computing which contributes to the performance and success of the business. These benefits are stated below:

1. One of the most important benefits of cloud computing is flexibility. Users can use this service offered by IBM according to their requirements and needs. Customisation of the cloud computing is possible and this can be accessed anytime and anywhere as these services are based on internet (IBM, 2017).
2. Efficiency is another benefit of cloud computing. Marketing can be done in less time without infrastructure and maintenance cost.
3. A competitive advantage is provided by cloud computing as this service is innovative technology. Cloud computing is a product is an effective approach for strategic value (Rajurkar, 2016).
4. Cloud computing provides backup service which saves the time of the business.
5. Better and easy share of the data is possible (Zhang & Chen, 2010).

IBM is performing well at the global level and providing quality services to the huge number of customers all around the globe. IBM is competing in a competitive business environment and for coping with this increased competition in the business environment, it has set a mission. This mission statement of IBM is guiding the efforts of the IBM in the right direction. There has been a rise in the market share of IBM of cloud space. IBM has taken initiatives for improving the position and for boosting the cloud offerings (Panettieri, 2016). In January 2016, it was analyzed that IBM holds 7 % public cloud market share in the Industry in Australia. Estimates have been made that the market share held by IBM will increase in the future. In the year 2016, IBM has performed better than the expected performance in the fourth quarter of 2016. An increasing trend has been identified in the industry of Australia due to the increase in the use of Cloud computing services (Gagliordi, 2017).

IBM has segmented or divided the market on the basis of different aspects so as to target the segment effectively by offering quality products or services. IBM has segmented the market on the basis of the products or services offered, on the basis of the industry, on the basis of the needs of the business, on the basis of the technology used by the customer, on the basis of the size of the business, on the basis of the IT issues, on the basis of the business partner and customer capabilities. These segments have been identified on the basis of the products, services, and solutions offered by IBM at the global level. Segmentation strategies adopted by IBM has helped the company in enhancing its customer base by satisfying the expectations and needs of the customers Panettieri, J. (2016).

It is vital to establish or maintain a healthy relationship in the industry as a healthy relationship in the industry promotes fair competition in the industry. All the companies operating in the industry are operating in a fair manner without creating harm to the other. IBM is maintaining a healthy relationship with the other companies in the industry. This has helped IBM in performing well in the industry. There is a high competition in the industry due to the change in the technology, need of the business and other factors of the business environment (Law, et. al., 2013).

Analysis of the relevant market situation

Buyer behavior is an important factor on which performance of the business is dependent. IBM is offering quality services for attracting the customers and enhancing their satisfaction level. There are various factors which can affect the behavior of the buyer in a positive as well as negative manner. These factors are stated below:

1. Cost of the product is the main factor which determines the decision of the buyer.
2. Another factor is the size of the business. Needs and requirements of the business changes with the change in the size of the business.
3. Need and requirement of the business (Zitkienea, et. al., 2017).
4. Quality of the products or services offered by the business.
5. The flexibility of the product or service.
6. Characteristics of the IT personnel (Porter & Heppelmann, 2014).

Conclusion

Thus, it can be concluded from the above discussion that IBM is performing well in the industry and is offering high-quality products and services to its customers. The discussion has been made regarding the analysis of the market for IBM, market segmentation done by IBM for targeting the segment for the product offered, relationship management and factors affecting the behavior of buyers.

References

Chabrow, E. (2011). 5 Essential Characteristics of Cloud Computing. InfoRisk Today. Accessed on: 12 October 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.inforisktoday.com/5-essential-characteristics-cloud-computing-a-4189

Gagliordi, N. (2017). IBM beats Q4 estimates, quarterly revenue down 1.3 percent. ZD Net.

IBM. (2017). About Us. [Online] IBM. Accessed on: 12 October 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.ibm.com/ibm/au/en/

IBM. (2017). Benefits of Cloud Computing. [Online] IBM. Accessed on: 12 October 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/au-en/learn-more/benefits-of-cloud-computing/

IBM. (2017). IBM Cloud. [Online] IBM. Accessed on: 12 October 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/au-en/services/cloud-managed-services/

IBM. (2017). What is Cloud computing. [Online] IBM. Accessed on: 12 October 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/au-en/learn-more/what-is-cloud-computing/

Law, A. K. Y., Ennew, C. T., & Mitussis, D. (2013). Adoption of Customer Relationship Management in the Service Sector and Its Impact on Performance. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 12(4), 301–330.

Panettieri, J. (2016). Cloud Market Share 2016. AWS, Microsoft, IBM, Google. Channele2e.

Porter, M. E. & Heppelmann, J. E. (2014). How smart, connected products are transforming competition. Harvard Business Review, 92(11), 64-88.

Rajurkar, A. (2016). 7 Features of Cloud Computing That Give Your Business The Edge. BodHost. Accessed on: 12 October 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.bodhost.com/blog/features-of-cloud-computing/

Rowland, C. (2017). IBM Five Forces Analysis (Porter’s) & Recommendations. Panmore Institute. Accessed on: 12 October 2017. Retrieved from: https://panmore.com/ibm-five-forces-analysis-porters-recommendations

Rowland, C. (2017). IBM PESTEL/PESTLE Analysis & Recommendations. Panmore Institute. Accessed on: 12 October 2017. Retrieved from: https://panmore.com/ibm-pestel-pestle-analysis-recommendations

Sallehudin, H., Razak, R. C. & Ismail, M. (2015). Factors Influencing Cloud Computing Adoption in the Public Sector: An Empirical Analysis. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business, 3(1), 30 - 45.

Wyld, D. C. (2010). The cloudy future of government IT: Cloud computing and the public sector around the world. International Journal of Web & Semantic Technology, 1(1), 1–20.

Zhang, W. & Chen, Q. (2010). From E-government to C-government via Cloud Computing. In 8th Iranian Conference on Electrical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.

Zitkienea, R., Markeviciutea, G. & Mickeviciene, M. (2017). Factors influencing consumer behaviour and decision to use smart technologies. Perspectives of Business and Entrepreneurship Development in Digital Age.