Here we will discuss When was IBM founded and its history.
Introduction
International Business Machines was founded back in the year 1911 on June 16th. The computer hardware company has its headquarters based in New York itself at Armonk (USA). IBM is known for making incredible computers for business applications.
It was because of Charles Ranlett Flint, IBM company flourished in the technology market. Charles Ranlett Flint was the founder of the company. The current Chief Executive Officer of IBM is Arvind Krishna taking his position from 2020. Since the foundation of the company, there have been a lot of CEOs. Arvind Krishna is the 10th CEO of IBM.
List of IBM CEOs
| Names of CEO | Serving Period As CEO |
| Thomas J. Watson | 1914-1956 |
| Thomas J. Watson, Jr. | 1956-1971 |
| T. Vincent Learson | 1971-1973 |
| Frank T. Cary | 1973-1981 |
| John R. Opel | 1981-1985 |
| John Fellows Akers | 1985-1993 |
| Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. | 1993-2002 |
| Samuel J. Palmisano | 2002-2012 |
| Ginni Rometty | 2012-2020 |
| Arvind Krishna (Current) | (2020-) |
About IBM Corporation
IBM is the leading computer manufacturing company in the United States of America and as well as abroad. The company has major shares in the United States and as well as in several other countries.
During the company’s incorporation back in 1911, other companies made punch-card tabulators and other such office products. Because of the first CEO named Thomas J Watson, the company was given the name what it is today.
Thomas J. Watson was brilliant in his works, especially regarding leadership skills and marketing techniques. He was also the general manager (GM) of the company back in 1914. By the year 1924, Thomas J. Watson had gained almost complete control of the company.
Now, the company has spread its business into a wide range of products and services. The company not only sells computer hardware and software, but they are into research and development too.
Some of the most famous inventions made by IBM are as the following:
- Automated Teller Machine (ATM)
- Floppy Disk
- Hard disk drive
- The magnetic stripe card
- The relational database
- The SQL programming language
- UPC barcode
- DRAM (Dynamic Random-Access Memory)
IBM’s Acquisitions Since 1917
The computer hardware company was just formed when it began acquiring other companies. Within three years from its incorporation, IBM made so many acquisitions starting from 1917. Given below is the list of acquisitions made by the company.
| Name of The Acquired Companies | Year of Acquisition |
| American Automatic Scale Company | 1917 |
| Canadian Tabulating Company, International Time Recording and Computing Scale Co. | 1917 |
| Pierce Accounting Machine | 1921 |
| Ticketograph Company (Chicago) | 1921 |
| National Counting Scale Company | 1932 |
| Munitions Manufacturing Corporation | 1941 |
| Pierce Wire Recorder Corporation | 1959 |
| ROLM | 1984 |
| RealCom Communications Corporation | 1986 |
| Lotus Development Corporation | 1995 |
| Tivoli Systems | 1996 |
| Cyclade Consultants | 1996 |
| Professional Data Management | 1996 |
| CommQuest Technologies | 1998 |
| DataBeam Corporation | 1998 |
| Sequent Computer Systems | 1999 |
The list made above is only a part of the list because IBM had made several other acquisitions. Thus, one can say that IBM has worked hard to stay on the top of the market by acquiring most technology companies.
IBM History
Founded back in 1911, IBM got its name, not until the year 1924. In the beginning, the company was known as Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company. The company has got its operations in over more than 170 countries.
IBM manufactured machines for sale and also for lease ranging from various machinery products. Some of the machinery sold and kept for lease were time recorders, slicers of meat and cheese, and other such machines.
As years went by, IBM introduced several innovative machines like the magnetic stripe card. The common people benefited a lot from the inventions made by IBM. In addition, several engineers worked to create many innovative inventions.
Back in 2005, IBM sold its computing business to the Chinese technology company, Lenovo. Later, in 2009, Barrack Obama, the US President, was then awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
In 2002, the company got rid of its hardware business by selling it to the Japanese electronics firm Hitachi Ltd for 2.05 billion USD. On the other hand, while striking a deal with Lenovo, IBM acquired 18.9 percent of Lenovo’s stake.
For the past two decades, IBM’s supercomputers have been listed as number one as the most powerful machines measured by the standardized computations tests. It is also the only company to generate more than 3000 patents in a single year as per the 2001 year’s report.
Later, IBM gained more patents in a single year, and currently, the company holds more than 40,000 active patents generating its income from royalties. Moreover, the numbers have kept on growing and continue to grow as years go by.
The reputation of the company attracted a lot of young minds. These young minds wanted to be a part of the company. As a result, IBM now operates in more than 170 countries, and therefore, employees become the core part of the company.
How to work for IBM in the US?
Online job searching websites like Indeed.com shows advertisements of job offers for IBM. Interested candidates can go online and apply for it. IBM posts different job titles on these online job search websites.
Employees are working for IBM benefit a lot because the company has benefits designed for its employees. Some benefits like health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, and other such benefits can be availed.
The following are the steps to follow if you want to work for IBM:
- Visit online job searching websites like Indeed.com and apply for it accordingly.
- Expect a call back from the employer within 1-2 weeks
- Visit the website: https://www.ibm.com/us-en/employment/professionals/ to know more.
- The hiring process can last for at least two weeks and could go up to 10 months.
- Complete all the selection processes and get the offer letter.
How much money does a worker at IBM make?
On average, an employee working at IBM earns around $84,424 per year. However, not all jobs at IBM will have the same amount of salary. Higher jobs will have higher salaries. Some of the higher jobs are as the following:
- Research staff member
- Solutions architect
- Program manager
- Management consultant
Salaries for high jobs like a research staff member can earn around $116,531 per year. On the other hand, a Chief Architect can earn around $200,000 per year in the US. Call center specialists are the ones getting the lowest salary ($27,000/year).
Apart from the earnings, the working culture at IBM is great. However, most employees think that they get paid a little low. But, talking at an overall level working at IBM is great. In India, fresh candidates working for IBM can earn around INR 3.7 Lakhs per annum.
IBM Recruitment Graduation Criteria
IBM is one of the largest computer hardware companies globally, and working at IBM will require fresh candidates to fulfill some criteria before entering the company. The following are the recruitment graduation criteria:
- Engineering students/candidates who have passed out in the year 2020 are eligible to apply.
- Masters in Science graduates in Computer Science and Information technology can apply at IBM.
- MCA graduates can apply too.
You should know that for some jobs, IBM does not always require a college degree. Fresh candidates interested to learn can apply for doing an internship at IBM. However, to be at higher job posts, one should have degrees and master degrees.
You should also know that IBM is a company that is not easy to get into as an employee or an intern. People have said that it is very difficult, and the company is very strict about hiring employees.
IBM wants a certain set of skills from its employees, which not all candidates possess. However, this should not demoralize you because you should work harder to get placed in the company irrespective of your location.
Conclusion
Companies like IBM are still a dream for most people only because of their reputation and innovation. Even you can start your career working as an intern for IBM because there are many things that you can learn.
Once you start gaining experience, you can have the scope to achieve much higher targets; just like any other company IBM also has its major competitors in the market. If you are rejected at IBM, then there are plenty of opportunities that are waiting for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who is the founder and CEO of IBM?
Ans: International Business Machines Corporation was founded by Charles Ranlett Flint. The current CEO of IBM is Arvind Krishna.
- What is IBM best known for?
Ans: IBM is a computer hardware company best known for computing, tabulating, and recording. IBM was one of the largest providers of computer systems back in the 1800s for both business and scientific applications.
- Which companies are the competitors of IBM?
Ans: IBM’s competitors include the following companies:
- Accenture
- HP
- Wipro Technologies
- Microsoft
- Amazon
- Oracle
- What does a digital worker do at IBM?
Ans: Digital working at IBM means an effective representation of one’s traditional job activities. A digital worker at IBM focuses on offloading traditional jobs so that the impact of work is high.
