So why has it taken till now to bring it to the fore of its software strategy?
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Bill Reichert, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures or Deborah Magid, Director Software Strategy, IBM Venture Capital Group?
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Simultaneous cooperation and competition with Microsoft has been at the heart of IBM's software strategy since its new beginning.
"It's a great thing for the marketplace to see competition around a great design, " said Rob Chandhok, who heads software strategy for chip maker Qualcomm Inc.
It does have a lot of work to do to incorporate these products into its broader software-enabled strategy.
Pretty powerful stuff from Ballmer, whose company has ridden its software-only strategy for almost 40 years to become one of the most successful corporations in the history of American business.
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Agencies may purchase this software using the strategy and procurement vehicle they believe will best enable them to meet their needs in a timely and effective manner following the competition requirements associated with the procurement vehicle being used to conduct the acquisition.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Microsoft also is planning price breaks for its Windows and Office software as part of a strategy to spur lower-cost touch-screen devices enabled by its Windows software.
Intel has made a series of recent and successful software acquisitions to pursue a deliberate strategy focused on leading companies in their industry delivering software that takes advantage of silicon.
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The need to educate software developers in business strategy and to educate non-developers in coding and architecting solutions.
After that, it's "Let me hire someone more like Greg and less like Ted, " says Greg Thompson, director of strategy for software maker SuccessFactors.
That did not mean just overseeing strategy and software development.
Net platform, which is its strategy for delivering software as services available over the Internet from any computing device.
Since hardware can be copied quickly and pricing is largely controlled by mobile operators, software is the most reliable strategy to pursue, Greengart adds.
Salesforce.com will reveal its strategy for HR software at Dreamforce.
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Google follows a similar strategy but focuses on software rather than hardware.
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For the past couple of year, Cisco has been working hard on its SDN strategy, also known as software-defined networking.
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Accepting that there is an undisputed need for software development to globalize, a proper strategy must be implemented in order to engage teams across the globe, preserve knowledge, optimize productivity and gain expected innovation from the different locations.
Years ago IBM began to shift its long-term strategy away from hardware and toward software and services that come with far better margins.
Cobi Interactive Cobi Interactive is a leading South African mobile software development company that provides mobile technology and strategy consulting for top African corporations.
Another new choice, Computer Associates, vendor of software to corporate networks, is revamping its strategy to better compete with Oracle and recover its lost profitability.
The strategy suggests "kitemarking" cybersecurity software to help consumers and businesses avoid "scareware" - software which purports to be helpful but is, in fact, malicious.
In the business world, IBM is in the throes of a revolutionary five-year strategy to shift its product focus to software and services.
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Now it appears the PC maker is revamping its mobile strategy by hiring fresh talent to develop software that will run on its Android-based gadgets.
Godfrey's Indianapolis, Indiana-based company, Aprimo, sells software that plans and automates any company's marketing strategy.
The strategy: Sell a combination of equipment and software that guarantees customers energy savings of 30% or more a year.
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To help improve Autonomy's performance, Bill Veghte, HP's chief strategy officer and executive vice president of HP Software, will step in to lead Autonomy.
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Where his business is concerned, pattern-finding and analyzing Business Intelligence software is no longer the province of statistical analysts, strategy reports, or briefing books anymore.
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Apple is not stupid, they created the App Store to gain a stronghold on the entire software industry, after a decade of perfecting their business strategy.
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This strategy requires very visible signage, some nifty software that distinguishes the method of payment, and ultra-clear communication with customers about the reason for the difference so they don't feel they're being whacked unfairly.
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