Ava AbbottLast updated: November 24, 2020
The International Business Machines Corporation, also known as IBM, is an information technology company. IBM has operations in more than 170 countries and is headquartered in New York.
IBM is a top producer and manufacturer of computer software and hardware and offers consulting and hosting services in multiple areas concerning mainframe computers and nanotechnology. As a major research organization, IBM has held the record for most U.S. patents generated by a business since 1993, 27 years consecutively.
IBM is the creator of inventions such as the automated teller machine (ATM), the floppy disk, the magnetic strip card, the hard disk drive, the relational database, the UPC barcode, the SQL programming language, and the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM).
Through the 1960s and 1970s, the IBM mainframe, specifically the System/360, was the main computing platform for two decades.
This guide reflects upon different Competitors and alternatives to IBM.
1. Hewlett-Packard
Year founded: 1939
Headquarter: Palo Alto, California
Founders: Bill Hewlett and David Packard
Hewlett-Packard, commonly known as HP, is an information technology company based in California. HP develops and manufactures hardware components related to software for consumers and businesses. The company has business dealings within the private and public sectors, including contracts with the government and public health and education. Last year, HP reported a total revenue of $58.76 billion.
2. Xerox
Year founded: 1906
Headquarter: Norwalk, Connecticut
Founders: Joseph C. Wilson and Chester Carlson
Xerox is a top producer and seller of print and digital products, servicing more than 160 countries. Xerox is known for its quality document technology, communications supplies, and software. Xerox’s market capitalization at the end of 2017 was more than $8 billion, with a sales value of more than $16 billion. Currently, the company employs around 40,000 people. In 2017, Xerox was ranked a top brand and the leading employer in the world.
3. Accenture
Year founded: 1989
Headquarter: Dublin, Ireland
Founder: Clarence DeLany
Accenture is a computer service and solutions company. Accenture is involved in various industries and provides their technology services and solutions to the banking, insurance, and telecommunications industries. As on 2019, the company reported an increase of 5% with over $6 billion in earnings and annual revenue of over $43 billion. Accenture employs more than 500,000 people and in 2017 was listed on the Forbes Top 500 list of businesses.
4. Oracle
Year founded: 1977
Headquarter: Redwood City, California
Founders: Bob Miner, Ed Oats, and Larry Ellison
Providing advanced technology solutions, Oracle is a big name in the software and programming industry. By the end of 2017, Oracle was valued at more $183 billion and currently employs over 100,000 around the world. Oracle provides a variety of computer products and services including servers, storage, and repairs.
5. DXC Technologies
Year founded: 2017
Headquarter: Tysons, Virginia
Founders: Roy Nutt, Fletcher Jones and Ross Perot (founded CSC and Electronic Data Systems which eventually merged to become DXC Technologies)
The result of the merging of CSC and HPE Enterprise Services (which started as EDS), DXC Technologies’ specialties include modernizing clients’ IT processes, ensuring system security, scalability and cloud optimization, and optimizing data architectures. Today, the company’s 130,000 employees serve almost 6,000 clients in more than 70 countries. DXC Technologies reached total revenues of $20.75 billion in 2018.
6. SAP
Year founded: 1972
Headquarter: Walldorf, Germany
Founders: Dietmar Hopp, Hasso Plattner, Hans-Werner Hector, Klaus Tschira, and Claus Wellenreuther
SAP is a software and programming company that provides business solutions and technology services. The company brought in over $25 billion in sales for last year’s annual revenue and employs over 80,000 people. SAP provides supply chain management and works in cloud software today.
7. Cognizant Technology Solutions
Year founded: 1994
Headquarter: Teaneck, New Jersey
Founder: Kumar Mahadeva
Cognizant is a professional services company that serves organizations by transforming and adapting their technological models to the digital era. Today, Cognizant has 280,000+ employees in North America, India, Europe, and the rest of the world. In 2018, the company reached $16.12 billion in revenue.
8. Intel
Year founded: 1968
Headquarter: Santa Clara, California
Founders: Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore
Intel is a supplier and manufacture of computer technology and products. The company rakes in sales over $60 billion and employs more than 100,000 people. Intel is best known for their computer technology for desktops, personal laptops, and mobile phones.
9. Microsoft
Year founded: 1975
Headquarter: Redmond, Washington
Founder: Bill Gates
Microsoft is one of the biggest names in the software and programming industry. The company’s sales value is over $90 billion and they employ over 100,000 people Microsoft provides operating systems, personal computers, and much more. Microsoft is continually ranked as one of the most valuable brands and companies.
10. Google
Year founded: 1998
Headquarter: Mountain View, California
Founders: Larry Page and Sergey Brin
Everyone knows Google, the company provides the largest internet search engine but they do much more now. Google operates in the information technology, software, and internet services industry. The company reported over $160 billion last year in annual revenue and employs approximately 100,000 people.
11. Amazon
Year founded: 1994
Headquarter: Seattle, Washington
Founder: Jeff Bezos
Amazon is one of the largest and most valuable businesses around the world. Amazon provides online shopping and shipping, entertainment streaming, and many other services. Last year, the company reported over $280 billion in annual revenue and employs hundreds of thousands of people across the world.
12. Dell
Year founded: 1984
Headquarter: Round Rock, Texas
Founder: Michael Dell
Dell Technologies is a leading technology and software company based in Texas. Dell develops and sells technology products including personal computers, servers, software, computer security, smartphones, televisions, and information security systems.
The company was featured on the 2018 Fortune 500 for largest corporations by revenue at #35. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Dell reported revenue was up 9% landing at $23.8 billion. Dell Technologies has business segments in converged infrastructure, scale-out architecture, and private cloud computing.
13. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Year founded: 1968
Headquarter: Mumbai, India
Founder: FC Kohli
Part of the Tata Group, TCS provides integrated solutions, consulting services and outsourcing to clients in a variety of industries. TCS is the biggest Indian multinational information technology service and consulting company, and the largest Indian company overall by market capitalization. As of March 2019, it generated $20 billion in annual revenue and has more than 420,000 employees.
14. Cisco Systems
Year founded: 1984
Headquarter: San Jose, California
Founders: Sandy Lerner and Leonard Bosack
Cisco is a global leader in IT, networking and cybersecurity solutions. The company develops, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software, telecom equipment and other high-tech services and products. Cisco generated $51.9 billion in revenues in 2019 and has around 75,900 employees.
15. Apple
Year founded: 1976
Headquarter: Cupertino, California
Founder: Steve Jobs
Apple is one of the largest and well-known brands and business in the world. The company designs and manufactures a variety of technology and software including personal computers and mobile devices. Apple operates around the world with more than 100,00 people and an annual revenue of over $200 billion.
16. Wipro
Year founded: 1945
Headquarter: Bangalore, India
Wipro is a large global information technology company dealing with integrated computing solutions and software design. The company has an annual revenue of over $20 billion last year and employs more than 170, 000 people.
17. Infosys
Year founded: 1981
Headquarter: Bangalore, India
Infosys is a provider of business solutions and computer software. The company deals in various segments including financial services and manufacturing. The company employs approximately 130,00 people and as of last year, reported sales at over $10 billion.
18. Cap Gemini
Year founded: 1967
Headquarter: Paris, France
Founder: Serge Kamp
Cap Gemini provides professional services, consulting, and Information Technology services. The company’s IT services are focused on system integration and design. Cap Gemini reported sales at over $14 billion last year and employs approximately 190,000 people.
19. Fujitsu
Year founded: 1935
Headquarter: Tokyo, Japan
Fujitsu is an information technology and technology solutions company providing services in infrastructure and system integration. The company is one of the largest IT companies around the world and reported last years sales at over $42 billion. Fujitsu employs around 10,000 people worldwide.
20. Adobe
Year founded: 1982
Headquarter: San Jose, California
Founders: John Warnock and Charles Geschke
Adobe is one of the largest providers of digital and technological services around the world. The company is best known for programs such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Acrobat. Last year, the company reported sales that surpassed the previous years $6 billion. The company employs more than 10,000 people.
References & more information
- Cisco. “Fiscal Year 2019 Report.” 2019. Cisco Investor Relations. https://investor.cisco.com/home/default.aspx.
- CSIMarket. “IBM’s comparison of Quarterly Growth Rates to its Peers.” n.d. CSIMarket. https://csimarket.com/stocks/competitionNO3.php?code=IBM.
- Elliot, Sean and Jason Mraz. “International Business Machines Corporation.” 5 October 2016. UConn. https://smf.business.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/818/2016/12/IBM-1-Page-Report.pdf.
- IBM. n.d. IBM. https://www.ibm.com/us-en/.
- “IBM PartnerWorld.” n.d. IBM. https://www.ibm.com/partnerworld/public?lnk=fif.
- Owler. “IBM’s Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions.” n.d. Owler. https://www.owler.com/company/ibm.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Xerox.” n.d. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Xerox-Corporation.
- “Top 10 IBM Competitors in 2020.” 3 February 2020. What Competitors. https://whatcompetitors.com/ibm/.
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Featured image by Carson Masterson on Unsplash
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