IBM全球CEO致全体员工的一封邮件

Dear IBMer：

I have important news to share with you.

Today we announced a definitive agreement with the Lenovo Group, China's largest manufacturer

and distributor of personal computers. Lenovo will acquire IBM's Personal Computing Division,

creating the third-largest PC business in the world. Headquartered in New York, Lenovo's new PC

business will be our preferred supplier of IBM- and Think-branded PCs. This will allow us to

continue to provide our clients with end-to-end integrated solutions -- but with the advantages

of a PC business with unique and powerful capabilities: significant economies of scale, global

distribution channels, strong brand recognition, an experienced and expert management team and

workforce, and number one market position in the world's fastest growing IT market. In

addition, IBM will be Lenovo's preferred services and financing provider. IBM will hold an 18.9

percent equity stake in Lenovo.

Today's announcement is the latest action we have taken in recent years to reposition IBM for

leadership in a rapidly changing industry. For some time we have said that there are two ways

to create long-term value for clients and shareholders in the IT industry: Invest heavily in

R&D and be the high-value innovation provider for enterprises, or differentiate by leveraging

vast economies of scale, high volumes and price.

IBM is an innovation company. We are committed to being the premier IT solutions partner for

enterprises of all sizes, in all industries. This business model requires that we continuously

create intellectual capital and that we reinvent everything we do -- our technologies, products

and services, our culture and our portfolio of businesses. This has been the hallmark of our

company and has enabled IBM to grow and to lead countless product and technology cycles over

many decades.

Today, computing and its uses are again changing radically -- to what we've been describing as

on demand business. This is opening up tremendous opportunities for IBM, and it's why we have

invested billions of dollars in recent years to strengthen our capabilities in hardware,

software, services and core technologies focused on transforming the enterprise. At the same

time, the PC business is rapidly taking on characteristics of the home and consumer electronics

industry, which favors economies of scale, pricing power and a focus on individual users and

buyers. These are very different business and economic models, and they will diverge even

further in the years ahead.

By combining our personal computing division with its own, highly complementary business,

Lenovo will be much better positioned to capture the opportunities in the PC industry. Lenovo

is committed to investing in, growing and winning in PCs. Lenovo will be a formidable

competitor, and our alliance gives IBM an even stronger position in China, while strengthening

our brand presence there.

Of course, IBM will continue to play a significant role in creating innovations for individuals

-- and not only through the broad PC alliance we are announcing today. As you know, our company

is investing heavily to create the computing platform of the future. Our microprocessors and

open software technologies underpin the next-generation on demand infrastructure, which will

extend from the enterprise to the home to the mobile product to an expanding array of connected

devices. In just the past couple of weeks, we've made significant announcements about advanced

microprocessors we are developing in partnership with some of the world's leading consumer

electronics companies, as well as initiatives to broaden adoption and support for these open

platforms.

We are excited by today's announcement and how it further positions IBM for leadership in the

days and years ahead.

Sam Palmisano

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer