IBM Is Upping Its Game In Cloud Computing—And So Is Everyone Else

IBM today announced its biggest deal to date under its new CEO, Virginia Rometty, who took over last year. The company acquired cloud computing firm SoftLayer to help it compete with Amazon, the leader in public cloud services.

The question is whether the deal will help improve the overall business of IBM, which missed profit expectations last quarter for the first time since 2005. In April, IBM posted a 1% decline in profit and a 5% drop in revenue, an unusual turn of events for a company that has delivered consistent quarterly results for nearly a decade. IBM has been an investor darling, wooing sages like Warren Buffett. Rometty publicly blamed her sales staff for moving too slowly, and the surprising profit decline drove down IBM’s stock by 8%.